Massage.
LandmarkLegDraft

Lateral malleolus

The bony bump on the outer side of the ankle, formed by the lower end of the fibula; it sits lower than the medial malleolus.

BoneFibula
RegionLeg

Find it

  1. Client supine or side-lying.
  2. Find the bump on the outer ankle and compare it with the inner ankle: the lateral malleolus reaches lower.
  3. Trace the groove behind and below it, then ask the client to turn the sole outward: the fibularis tendons tighten as they curve round the back of the malleolus.
  4. Follow the fibula up the outer side of the leg from here.

No muscle attaches to the lateral malleolus; it anchors the anterior talofibular, posterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments. The tendons of fibularis longus and fibularis brevis run in the groove behind it.

The sural nerve runs between the malleolus and the Achilles tendon, so keep pressure light there.

Muscles attaching or palpated here

  • Extensor digitorum longus — Feather-shaped muscle on the outer front of the lower leg that lifts the four small toes and helps lift the foot.
  • Extensor hallucis longus — Thin muscle on the front of the lower leg, partly hidden by its neighbours, that lifts the big toe and helps lift the foot.
  • Fibularis brevis — Shorter fibular muscle lying under fibularis longus on the outer leg; it turns the sole outwards and helps point the foot.
  • Fibularis longus — Long muscle on the outer side of the lower leg whose tendon wraps behind the outer ankle and under the foot to turn the sole outwards and support the arches.
  • Soleus — Broad, flat calf muscle lying under the gastrocnemius that points the foot and keeps the body from tipping forward when standing.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Malleolus
  2. Gray's Anatomy (1918), The Fibula (Bartleby, archived)