There are several muscles involved in jumping. They are among the largest, longest, and most powerful skeletal muscles of the human body. Also involved in sprinting, they are located in the pelvis, thigh, and leg regions. They are often used by soccer and basketball players when they leap or spring. According to their importance when performing this action, they are:
1) triceps surae, which is a muscle group made up of the gastrocnemius, which consists of two heads, and the soleus muscle, both sharing the same tendon: the Achilles tendon, that is inserted into the calcaneum bone. Action: plantar flexion, raising the body upwards when we stand on tiptoe, and off the ground at the moment of jumping. Innervation: tibial nerve (from sacral plexus);
2) quadriceps femoris, which is a group made up of four muscles (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius); action: they prop up the full weight of the body when we flex the knee just before jumping high, extending the leg at the knee-joint at the moment of jumping. Innervation: femoral nerve (from lumbar plexus);
3) gluteus maximus, which arises from the back of pelvis (ilium) and is inserted in posterior side of proximal portion of femur; action: it extends the thigh, pulling the femur backwards when running and jumping. Innervation: inferior gluteal nerve (from sacral plexus);
4) posterior group of thigh muscles: semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris. Action: they extend the thigh at the hip-joint, flexing the leg at the knee-joint. Innervation: branches of the sciatic nerve (from L4-S3 of lumbo-sacral plexus).
Below, the triceps surae group: the gastrocnemius extending superficialis over the soleus.
