Common Sports Related Injuries for Foot and Ankle

Our feet are very complex parts of the body that are crucial for our movement. Incorrect footwear, sports injuries or accidents can lead to straining, pain and abnormalities. The foot and ankle are heavily loaded during routine athlete workout or everyday exercise. Sometimes, up to 10 times of own body weight is lifted by athletes. Maybe that is the reason why more than 15% of all sports injuries; athletes encounter on the field concern the foot and ankle. Trauma (a sports accident) is the main cause of sports injuries to the foot and ankle. Other causes and risk factors are o0verload, poor warming, incorrect footwear and sports on a hard surface. Every sport has typical injuries and each has its own course of treatment and precautions. Therefore, it should be quickly and accurately diagnosed for a better cure. Good cooperation between the physician and the physiotherapist is indispensable to obtain a quick and complete recovery. We see acute sports injuries mainly in contact and jumping sports such as football, tennis, basketball, volleyball and hockey. We think of an ankle sprain, bone fracture, tendon tear or cartilage lesion. Chronic sports injuries are more frequent with endurance sports such as running: tendonitis, fatigue fracture. Ankle sprain An ankle sprain which is also known as twisted ankle, or rolled ankle; is caused by the foot turning over, often during exercise. The wrong movement of the joint causes sudden pain. The ankle joint has made a movement that goes beyond what the bone structures and ligaments allow. So an X-ray is very necessary to rule out a fracture. Often the ankle swells and bruising can also result from internal bleeding. The ligaments may be torn. Tendonitis Minor tears in a tendon is enough to make you feel sick. Eventually you will feel a painful lump on the course of the tendon. Sports or exercises no longer work. You also have typical "starting pain" in everyday life. Instability only: Unstable ankle The stability of the ankle joint is ensured by normal joint proportions, intact ligaments on the inside and outside of the ankle, good muscle function and a good sense of balance. A disturbance in any of these factors can lead to ankle instability. Small bumps in the surface can cause you to trip and sprain your ankle. Fracture: ankle, foot Fracture is the medical term for bone fracture. A fracture has created a crack in the bone. This can be accomplished in three ways: by an accident where a large, external force causes the bone to break, by applying normal force to a weakened bone or by prolonged and regular overload on a healthy bone until it breaks. Footballer's Ankle A footballer's ankle can happen to anyone. In this case there is a clamping (impingement or pinching) in the ankle joint (at the front or at the back). With strong movement of the foot upwards (dorsiflexion) or downwards (plantar flexion) you will feel pain in the ankle. Cartilage injury When turning over your ankle, it is possible that a small piece of your articular cartilage will be damaged. As a result, you can move your ankle joint less smoothly and you get pain when loading the ankle. Sometimes the ankle also 'creaks'. When a piece of cartilage comes loose and wanders around in the ankle, the joint can become blocked. Loose or damaged cartilage causes an inflammatory reaction in the ankle. This can cause the ankle to swell and be painful. The demand for the treatment of this type of complaints is increasing in New York and maybe that is the reason why foot surgery in NYC is not much expensive as compare to other states of America. Are you also feeling symptoms of any of these injuries? Would you also like advice from a specialist? Then make an appointment for the specialist near you.