Extensor digitorum longus muscle

Extensor digitorum longus muscle Anatomy

The extensor digitorum longus (EDL muscle) is a feather-like muscle of the anterior (extensor) compartment of the leg. Besides the EDL muscle, this compartment also contains the tibialis anterior, extensor hallucis longus, and fibularis (peroneus) Tertius muscles.

Origin

Anterior lateral condyle of tibia, the anterior shaft of fibula, and superior 3/4 of interosseous membrane.

Insertion

Dorsal surface; middle and distal phalanges of lateral four digits.

Blood supply

The leg portion of the muscle is supplied by two arteries of the leg; the proximal part is supplied by the anterior tibial artery, while the distal part receives blood from the fibular artery.

Nerve supply

The extensor digitorum longus is innervated by the deep fibular nerve (L5, S1), a branch of the common fibular nerve.

Actions

extension of toes and dorsiflexion of the ankle.

Stretching exercise:

Stand with your toes of the left foot on the floor on the outside of your right foot. Bend the right leg to push your ankle towards the ground. Hold for between 10 and 30 seconds.

Strengthening exercise

1. little toes lift:

keep the big toe driven down into the floor while lifting the other toes up towards the ceiling. The key here is to keep the arch of the foot strong for this exercise, don’t allow the foot to roll in while lifting the small toes up. This may give you a false sense of toe elevation here.