Our Dedicated Podiatrists Advise Patients on How to Help Avoid Sports Injuries to Feet and Ankles
Most athletes know that their feet and ankles work hard for them, supporting their body weight and providing mobility and stability. For anyone who participates in sports but for athletes in particular, these body parts are often overworked, stressed, and at a high risk of injury. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that approximately 25% of athletic injuries are to the foot and/or ankle, and any sport that requires an athlete to kick, run, jump, and make quick direction changes can cause a foot or ankle-related injury. 
If you suffer a sports injury to your feet or ankle, it’s important to see a podiatrist to help ensure the proper diagnosis and treatment. Here, the skilled podiatrists at Austin Foot and Ankle Specialists discuss common foot and ankle injuries, ways to help prevent them, and why you need to see a foot and ankle doctor when you’re injured.
Types of Sports Injuries Our Austin Podiatrists Treat
Understanding how injuries occur can make it easier to avoid getting hurt. When a person is playing sports, there are two ways they usually injure their ankles and feet:
Overuse Injuries
An overuse injury, also called a repetitive stress injury, happens when you place too much stress on a particular body part. Often, if an athlete engages in a sport or training that involves repetitive motion, high impact workouts, or actions that require abrupt changes in direction, they are more prone to ankle and foot injuries. These injuries develop over time, and if not treated properly, can cause chronic pain.
Traumatic Injuries
A traumatic injury occurs suddenly, causes immediate pain and damage, and usually needs medical attention right away. It usually affects the bone, tendons, muscles, nerves, or joints in the foot or ankle. You could suffer a traumatic foot or ankle injury by colliding with another player, landing wrong after a jump, or during a race.
Common Overuse Foot Injuries
Foot injuries from overuse are usually the easiest to avoid because athletes have the opportunity to make choices that prevent them.
Plantar Fasciitis
When the plantar fascia, the thick band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes, becomes inflamed, the result is often pain, swelling, and stiffness in the heel of the foot. Symptoms are often worse first thing in the morning and after long periods of inactivity. It may be particularly painful for people with this condition to walk barefoot on hard surfaces such as tile floors.
Achilles Tendinitis
The tendon at the back of the ankle can become irritated by overuse, leading to pain, swelling, and stiffness along the back of the calf and the heel. It may be difficult for people with Achilles tendinitis to flex their feet upward toward their shins. Ignoring this injury can lead to tearing of the tendon, which requires surgery to repair.
Stress Fractures
High-impact sports that put stress on your feet and ankles and involve running and jumping can cause tiny cracks in the bones of the foot, leading to pain, swelling, and discomfort.
Metatarsalgia
Excessive pressure on the ball of your foot can cause metatarsalgia. Basketball players, soccer players, and track and field runners are at an increased risk of developing this condition which can cause pain and swelling in the foot and make it difficult to walk and stand.
Shin Splints
Pain on the inner edge of the shin bone may result from overworking the bone tissue, tendons, and muscles in the legs.
Strains
These injuries can be acute or chronic. A chronic strain usually occurs when the ankle muscles are being overused.
Heel Spurs
Painful, bony bumps can form when calcium deposits form on the heel bone. This is more common among athletes with flat feet or high arches, as well as those who run on hard surfaces, wear improper footwear, or have an unusual gait.
Common Traumatic Foot Injuries
Traumatic foot and ankle injuries happen quickly and usually involve the bone, joints, and/or soft tissue. It’s not easy to avoid them, as they occur suddenly--often due to a collision, fall, or fast-paced activity.
Sprains
When you twist, turn, or roll your ankle the wrong way, it can cause the ligaments to tear or stretch. You may notice a popping sound at the moment the injury occurs. Athletes often experience a sprain when they run into another player, lose their balance and fall, land wrong after a jump, or when another player lands on their foot. Sprains can range in severity with varying degrees of pain and swelling. Often, a sprain will heal with rest; however, sometimes, medical care is needed. Symptoms of a sprain can include ankle instability, tenderness, decreased range of motion, bruising, and difficulty walking.
Shin Splints
Pain on the inner edge of the shin bone may result from overworking the bone tissue, tendons, and muscles in the legs.
Heel Spurs
Painful, bony bumps can form when calcium deposits form on the heel bone. This is more common among athletes with flat feet or high arches, as well as those who run on hard surfaces, wear improper footwear, or who have an unusual gait.
Turf Toe
When an athlete jams their big toe against the end of their shoe while stopping short or pushing off a hard surface, it can injure the ligaments around the joint of the toe. Footwear and hard surfaces are often the cause of turf toe, which may cause pain, stiffness, swelling, bruising, and decreased mobility in the big toe. Bending the toe or bearing weight may result in sharp pain.
Ways to Help Prevent Foot and Ankle Injuries During Sports
Our podiatric team can help you prevent foot and ankle injuries so you lose less time recuperating and enjoy more time playing sports. We can help you:
- Choose the right footwear
- Make a plan to train properly and gradually increase your workouts
- Develop a cross-training strategy that will help reduce the load on your feed and ankles
- Identify stretching and strengthening exercises that will help protect your muscles, tendons, and fascia from injuries
- Ensure you are giving your body enough time to rest and recover between workouts
When to Call an Austin Podiatrist
Sometimes, injuries can’t be avoided. Minor foot and ankle injuries can sometimes be managed on your own with RICE therapy and over-the-counter pain relievers. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, however, you should seek out medical care right away:
- Persistent pain that doesn’t respond to RICE therapy
- Changes to the structure of your foot
- Difficulty walking
Austin Foot and Ankle Specialists Can Get You Back in the Game Fast
The doctors at our central Texas clinic offer a wide range of traditional and advanced interventions, to expedite your recovery and get you back on your feet:
- Physical therapy
- Immobilization with a cast, brace, or boot
- Orthotics
- Massage
- Night splints
- Extracorporeal shockwave therapy
- MLS laser therapy
- Steroid injections
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
- Amniogenic therapy
- Surgery
