Referencing Styles : Harvard “When you ask a patient to plantar flex a foot, what changes occur within the muscles involved?” Word count – 509 The movement of the foot at which the ankle is bent is known as Plantar Flexion[a1] . This was suggested by Maitalnd.[a2] The posture[a3] when an individual is standing on the tip toes or he/she pushes the gas pedal of a vehicle then this plantar flexion movement takes place. By this movement the ankle muscles and the calf are in a relaxing position so that it can work properly[a4] . This movement is known as the movement of the toe in which the toe is pointed downwards due to the extension or straightening of the ankle[a5] . The muscles here are gastrocnemius, tibialis posterior, soleus, flexor digitorumlongus, peroneus brevis, flexor hallucislongus and peroneus longus. All these are involved in plantor flexion movement. It can be said as the foot movement that is away from the body and attained by bending the ankle.The posterior compartment of leg contains the muscles for this movement. The three main muscles involved in plantar flexion are tibialis posterior, hallucis longus, and the flexor digitorum. The superficial posterior compartment muscles are the soleus, plantaris and the gastrocnemius which are to some extent cause this movement (Cook, Chad E, 2012[a6] ).[a7] When an individual is asked to plantar flex his/her foot then it involves the movement of all the muscles mentioned above and the combine movement of all to make the foot move[a8] . When the muscles contract then only the movements takes place (Swartz, Mark H, 2010[a9] ). The main evident outcome of the immobilization or low movement is the loss of the forces of the muscle. The loss of force and the loss of the muscle mass is a process that is dependent on time. But however the loss in muscle force is not directly proportional to the loss of mass of the muscle as some other factors like neural input 15, 16 and the metabolic energy stores 17 are also involved to identify the amount of the force input. In case the heel is subsequently raised by an individual there is a contraction is the muscle fibers of the gastrocnemius muscle. In case if the knee is fully flexed and the plantar flexed foot the muscles soleus contracts and the muscle gastrocnemius remains in a relaxed position. All this is the upper and lower attachments present in gastrocnemius muscles are brought close together and it causes the shortening of the muscles and preventing it from further contraction (Kendall, Florence Peterson; [et al, 2005).[a10] In the individuals who are injury free a loss of 50% strength can be seen but after the knee immobilization that occurs in the quadricepos and also in the muscles of the hand. All this is followed by 35% value for flexors and the arm extensors and a reduction of 20% in the plantar flexor. All these facts makes it evident that there is no relationship between muscle size, strength loss and the location of the muscles. So, it can be concluded that in plantor flexion movement the joints in the ankle are involved mainly and the muscles present in the lower compartment has weak involvement. [a11] ]Is it? Surely dorsiflexion also occurs when the ankle is bent? Make sure that you are specific. [a2](Year). [a3]?? [a4]Which ankle muscles? Are you sure the calf (which itself is a non-specific term) is relaxed when plantarflexing? [a5]This is a better definition but appears a little ‘at odds’ with your definition in the opening sentence. ( [a6]Cook and Chad, 2012) [a7]A lot of text to be supported by only one reference. This is unnecessary repetition. [a9]Check referencing style closely Again, check referencing style closely. This essay veers off point quite quickly and several instances of the description are contradictory with each other. It shows a lack of understanding of the subject matter. There is also under-referencing occurring throughout and a key segment of the essay is missing – namely describing the changes that occur within a muscle to make it contract.