Guide or ask the patient to stand facing away from you. With the patient relaxed and with permission, place your fingers on the lateral side and also perhaps the medial side of the calcaneal tendon (Achilles tendon), in the distal calf. Ask the patient to stand with the knees bent and in a plantarflexed ankle posture. This action allows the superficial gastrocnemius muscle to be relatively relaxed while the deeper soleus muscle is very active. The two heads of the gastrocnemius muscle with the soleus muscle form the triceps surae muscle complex.
The calcaneal tendon (Achilles tendon), the combined tendon of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, is easily visible and palpable on the distal superficial leg, as the tendon attaches to the calcaneus. The soleus muscle extends more distally than the heads of the gastrocnemius muscle, and therefore is palpable on the sides of the Achilles tendon, usually more so on the lateral side.