Muscles and Tendons Attachment of Foot and Ankle Joint

• Abductor hallucis: short muscle on medial side that pulls the great toe away from other toes and supports medial longitudinal arch.
• Achilles tendon: the long tendon of the calf composed of the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris muscles and inserting into the calcaneus; also called heel cord and tendocalcaneus.
• adductor hallucis: short muscle that attaches to base of great toe, pulls it toward the second toe, and prevents spreading of the metatarsal bones.
• anterior tibial tendon (tibialis anterior): long tendon of the anterior leg; inserts into the medial cuneiform and first metatarsal; helps to dorsiflex the foot.
• extensor digitorum longus and brevis: long tendon from the leg and short tendon from foot, respectively; pulls the lesser toes up in dorsiflexion (extension) and stabilizes the lesser metatarsophalangeal joints. There is no brevis tendon to the fifth toe.
• extensor hallucis longus and brevis: long tendon from the leg and short tendon from foot, respectively; pulls the great toe up in dorsiflexion (extension) and stabilizes the first metatarsophalangeal joint.
• flexor digitorum longus and brevis: long tendon from the leg and short muscle and tendon from the foot, respectively; insert into the distal and middle phalanges, respectively; plantar flexes the toes at all three joints.
• flexor hallucis longus and brevis: long tendon from the leg and short muscle from the foot, respectively; insert into distal and proximal phalanges of the great toe, respectively; function to flex the great toe and support the medial longitudinal arch of foot; may have a role in equilibrium.
• interosseous muscles: the group of small muscles between the metatarsals that attach to the extensor tendons over the toes; extend the interphalangeal joints and flex the metatarsophalangeal joints.
• peroneus brevis tendon: arises from the leg and courses along the posterior fibula; inserts onto the dorsolateral base of the fifth metatarsal; functions to evert the hindfoot.
• peroneus longus tendon: arises from the leg and courses along the posterior fibula; turns medially at the cuboid to cross the foot and insert onto the plantar base of the first metatarsal; functions to plantar flex the first metatarsal, stabilize the arch, and everts the hindfoot.
• peroneus tertius: arises from the leg and courses along the anterior fibula; inserts onto the dorsolateral base of the fifth metatarsal; functions to dorsiflex and evert the foot.
• peroneus quartus: arises from the leg and courses along the posterior fibula; inserts onto the lateral calcaneus, cuboid, or base of the fifth metatarsal. It is not commonly present.
• posterior tibial tendon: tendon of the tibialis posterior muscle; passes along the medial malleolus and inserts diffusely into the navicular, medial cuneiform, and plantar aspect of the midfoot; functions to invert and plantarflex the foot, assist the gastrocsoleus complex, and stabilize the longitudinal arch; also called tibialis posterior.
• quadratus plantae: muscle arising from the plantar surface of the calcaneus; functions to assist toe flexion and stabilize the longitudinal arch.

Intrinsic muscles: similar to the hand, the intrinsic muscles arise from the metatarsals. The intrinsic muscles include:

• abductor hallucis
• abductor digiti minimi
• adductor hallucis
• dorsal and plantar interosseous
• extensor digitorum brevis
• extensor hallucis brevis
• flexor digitorum brevis
• flexor digiti minimi
• flexor hallucis brevis
• lumbricals
• quadratus plantae