The Health & Fitness Show with Tracy - Podcast
The Health & Fitness Show with Tracy is your source of practical, uplifting, and science-rooted guidance for living a stronger, safer, and more confident life — at any age.
Hosted by Tracy Markley, internationally recognized fitness educator, award-winning author, stroke recovery specialist, and creator of the bestselling books The Stroke Recovery Workbook, Brain & Body, and Balance Walking and Fall Prevention, this podcast blends expertise with heart. Tracy’s decades of experience helping stroke survivors, seniors, and everyday adults rebuild strength, balance, mobility, and hope shine through every episode.
Whether you’re looking to improve your proprioception, feel steadier on your feet, better understand your body, prevent falls, recover from injury, or simply age with power and grace, this show gives you real tools — not fluff. Tracy brings compassion, clear explanations, and encouraging motivation to help you feel capable, empowered, and ready to move forward.
🎧 Tune in for:
- Balance, gait, and fall-prevention tips
- Stroke recovery insights from one of the most trusted voices in the field
- Fitness and mobility guidance for seniors and pre-seniors
- Brain–body education and nervous system support
- Strength training, walking programs, and functional movement
- Real stories from people who regained independence and confidence
- Encouragement, mindset support, and realistic strategies you can use today
- Hearing loss
- Fitness and exercise for all ages
- Muscles, joints, ligaments, fascia and more
- and much more
⭐ Learn More & Stay Connected
Website: https://www.tracymarkley.com
Books by Tracy Markley: https://www.amazon.com/author/tracymarkley
YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@TracyMarkley
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracy.markley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyfitt
⭐ Your Host
Tracy Markley is a fitness trainer, educator, and author known for blending anatomy, neuroscience, and compassion to help others move better and live better. Her work has transformed lives around the world — from stroke survivors rebuilding mobility to adults who simply want their body to feel like home again
The Health & Fitness Show with Tracy - Podcast
How Your Calf Muscles Cause Knee Pain
Most people don’t realize that knee pain often begins in the calf — not the knee.
In this important educational episode, fitness professional and author Tracy L. Markley explains how the two major calf muscles — the Gastrocnemius and the Soleus — directly influence knee comfort, movement, and alignment.
Tracy breaks down how each of these muscles attaches near or around the knee joint, why tightness or weakness in the calves can create knee pain, and how surrounding muscles contribute to tension or instability. Many people don’t know the calves are part of the knee-support system — and this lack of awareness often leads to misdiagnosis, improper stretching, or unnecessary frustration.
Listeners will learn how to better understand their lower-body mechanics, how the calves interact with other knee-supporting muscles, and how proper flexibility and strength can dramatically reduce discomfort.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:
- Why the calves play a major role in knee mechanics
- The difference between the Gastrocnemius and Soleus muscles
- How these muscles attach and influence knee movement
- How tightness in the calves can mimic or cause knee pain
- Why people often overlook calf involvement when assessing knee issues
- How surrounding muscles around the knee affect alignment and comfort
- The importance of proper stretching and strength for knee support
This episode empowers listeners with body knowledge that can prevent knee injuries, reduce pain, and improve the way they move every day.
🌐 LEARN MORE FROM TRACY
Website: www.tracymarkley.com
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/tracymarkley
Instagram: www.instagram.com/motivate_healthyfit