If you’ve been dealing with tight calves, tired legs when walking, or heel and arch discomfort, the problem may not be just your calves.
A small but important muscle at the front of your shin — the tibialis anterior — plays a big role in how efficiently your lower leg works.
When this muscle gets weak (which is extremely common), the calves start doing more than their fair share. That can lead to:
- calf tightness
- heel pain
- arch strain
- fatigue during walking
- reduced ankle control
The good news?
A very simple exercise can help.
⭐ What Does the Tibialis Anterior Do?
The tibialis anterior is the muscle that lifts your foot toward your shin.
You use it every time you:
- take a step
- walk uphill
- step off a curb
- control your foot position on uneven ground
When it's weak, the calves compensate — often leading to the tight, overloaded feeling many people describe.
Strengthening this muscle:
✔ reduces calf overload
✔ improves foot control
✔ supports the arch
✔ improves walking efficiency
✔ can assist with heel pain recovery
⭐ “Music Taps” — A Simple Exercise You Can Do Anywhere
This exercise strengthens the tibialis anterior in a controlled, safe way.
How to Do It
- Sit with your feet flat and knees at 90 degrees.
- Keeping your heel on the ground, lift your toes upward toward your shin.
- Lower slowly and with control.
- Continue until you reach fatigue.
What Is “Fatigue”?
Fatigue means the movement stops looking the same — your toes won’t lift as high, the movement slows down, or you lose control.
That’s your cue to stop.
How Many Should You Do?
- Most people reach fatigue around 12–20 reps
- Fewer than 12 reps → this muscle likely needs strengthening
- More than 25–30 reps → time to progress the exercise
⭐ What If You Can’t Lift Your Toes?
If your toes won’t lift off the ground at all, it usually means:
- Your calves are very tight, or
- Your ankle isn’t moving through its full range
If you’re not in pain, focus on improving calf flexibility and return to this exercise.
But if you’re getting heel pain, arch pain or persistent calf tightness, this may be part of the cause — and worth checking properly.
⭐ When to Seek Help
If you’ve been dealing with:
- calf tightness
- heel pain
- arch discomfort
- fatigue when walking
- recurring lower-leg issues
…for more than 1–2 weeks, it’s worth having it assessed.
We can check what’s limiting your ankle movement and help you get back on your feet comfortably.
👉 Book an Appointment
📞 Call us at 3820 6326 or book online at feetology.com.au
⭐ Full Video Transcript
Hi, it's Mark from Feetology Podiatry Centre.
Last month we focused on calf strength exercises, and today I want to show you a simple exercise that works the front of your lower leg — the tibialis anterior muscle.
This muscle helps lift your foot when you walk. But when it's weak, which is quite common, your calves have to do extra work. That can lead to calf tightness, heel pain, arch pain, and fatigue when you're on your feet.
Here’s how to do what I call Music Taps. This is going to work the tibialis anterior down the front of your leg.
Start seated with your feet flat and your knees at about 90 degrees.
Keeping your heels down and the ball of your foot on the ground, lift your toes toward the ceiling.
Now lift your toes up toward your shin and slowly lower your forefoot back down to the ground.
Do as many of these as you can until you reach fatigue.
Fatigue simply means the movement stops looking the same — your toes won’t lift as high, the movement slows down, or it gets harder to control. That’s your cue to stop.
Most people feel fatigue somewhere between 12 and 20 repetitions.
If you fatigue earlier than that, it usually means this muscle needs strengthening — so keep working on this exercise and build it up over time.
If you get past 25 to 30 reps easily, you can progress to a harder version.
If you try this exercise and you can’t lift your toes off the ground, that usually tells us one of two things:
your calf muscles are probably very tight, or your ankle isn’t moving through its full range of motion.
If you're not getting any pain, this is simply a sign you need to keep working on your calf flexibility — go back to last month’s calf raises and mobility work to help improve this.
But if you're also getting heel pain, arch pain, or calf tightness, then this lack of flexion in the ankle could be part of the cause. In that case, it's worth getting it checked so we can find out what's restricting the movement and help you improve it.
As always, listen to your body when you try new exercises.
You should feel the muscle working, but you shouldn’t feel sharp pain, cramping, or anything that doesn’t feel right.
If you're unsure, or if anything feels uncomfortable, stop and let us know — we can guide you safely.
Pair this with last month's calf raises and you'll strengthen the whole lower leg.
If you're dealing with calf tightness, heel pain, or arch pain that’s been going on for a couple of weeks or more, we can help.
You can book online at feetology.com.au or call 3820 6326.