The Most Prevalent Foot And Ankle Injuries
Being an athlete is hard work: there is intense physical training, practice, and stiff competition. But while athletes may get a lot more physical activity than others, they unfortunately pay the price in injuries that occur from their respective activities. There are a variety of injuries that athletes endure during physical activity, but depending on the sport, athletes tend to see a lot more foot and ankle injuries. Here are some of the most common:
Achilles Tendinitis
You’ve probably heard athletes talk about their Achilles tendons. This tendon is the largest in the body and can be overused in sports related activities. When that happens, the tendon can degenerate or wear down over time with age as well. This ailment causes pain and stiffness, bone spurs, swelling and more. Treatment depends on the severity, but can end in surgery.
Plantar Fasciitis
This area of the foot supports the arch and takes on a lot of stress from running and other physical sporting events. If the tissues are strained, they can become inflamed and that causes pain at the heel of the foot. Injury to the plantar fasciitis is increasingly common and most patients can recover without surgery. If the issue is caused from overuse, resting, icing, and stretching can help.
Stress Fractures
High impact sports, like running, gymnastics, basketball, tennis and others, give athletes a higher risk for foot and ankle stress fractures. They are repeatedly placing stress on those areas and if they make one wrong move, stress fractures can occur. These fractures aren’t complete breaks in the bone, but rather just small cracks. They occur when repeated impact happens on the bone and the muscles can’t take the stress any longer.
Ankle Sprains
Sprained ankles can be moderate or more severe and they can make walking or even standing painful and hard to do. Sprained ankles happen when the foot is twisted and the ligaments in the ankle are damaged. Inversion ankle sprains are when the foot twists inward while eversion are outward ankle twists, which usually cause more damage.
Heel Spurs
Calcium can deposit on the heel bone within the foot and cause the tissues to stretch away from the heel. This is most prevalent in athletes with flat feet or high arches. IF they run on hard surfaces, don’t wear the right shoes, or are older, they are at a higher risk. Spurs can be very painful, but can often be treated with stretches and physical therapy as well as taping and anti-inflammatory medication.
Neuroma
If your feet are tingling and numb in spots, that could be a neuroma or a pinched nerve. Most people notice it between their toes and while there’s no exact cause, physical exertion often causes a role. If you overuse or stress your feet, are wearing the wrong style or size shoe, or have a trauma occur to that region, neuroma can occur.
Get The Foot And Ankle Injury Treatment You Need
No matter what sport you enjoy and what foot or ankle injuries you end up enduring over the years, Sports & Spine Orthopaedics is here to help you with treatment and recovery options. Come see a doctor today to evaluate your injuries.
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