What Foot Injuries Can Happen While Playing Sports?

Whether you watch or play sports, you know that injuries can happen to your feet or ankles at any time. Dr. Marco Vargas, of Foot & Ankle Associates, sees patients regularly who suffer from sports injuries.

If you are participating in a sport activity, you are at a greater risk for injuring your foot or ankle. Why? Well, when you play sports your feet experience a great amount of pressure. Think about when you start, stop or run at full speed to get that last touchdown. Your feet take on your body weight plus more!

Foot injuries can happen from trauma, improper warm-up, overuse, intense workouts, wearing the wrong footwear and playing on hard surfaces. Below are some common foot injuries you can get from playing sports, which include:

• Turf Toe – Happens when the ligaments around the big toe joint are sprained. Symptoms include pain, swelling and limited movement.
• Stress Fractures – Happens when the bone acquires a small crack. Many times overuse can cause these cracks to occur. Symptoms include gradual pain and difficulty bearing weight on the area. Also, tenderness, swelling and bruising on the affected area.
• Sprains and Strains – A sprain happens when the ligaments in your foot or ankle have been stretched or torn. A strain happens when the muscle or tendon has been stretched or torn. Symptoms include pain, swelling and the inability to move the affected joints or muscles.

If you play sports and notice pain in your foot or ankle, call Dr. Vargas to set up an appointment. You can schedule an appointment at his Sugar Land office at (281) 313-0090.