Posts Tagged ‘sports injury’

When the joints of the foot are torn or otherwise damaged due to excessive or repetitive stress placed on the foot, it can damage the foot’s cartilage and connective tissue. This injury, known as a foot sprain, also can result from a forceful twisting of the foot during sports, especially contact sports (such as football), running and gymnastics. It can also be due to long-term strain among people with low arches or flat feet.

Symptoms of a foot sprain include pain when the sprain occurs, as well as lingering pain that may not begin immediately (it may begin the next morning) and which is exacerbated by activities such as standing on one’s toes, jumping and running. The foot, toes or ankle may all be painful, and pressing on the foot may cause pain or tenderness.

If you suspect you have sprained your foot, consult a sports medicine specialist. He or she can evaluate your injury, possibly using diagnostic tools such as X-ray, computed tomography (CT), or a magnetic resonance image (MRI) to rule out other possible sources of your pain, such as a bone fracture.

If you do have a foot sprain, it’s important to take a break from all activities that cause you pain and exacerbate the injury; to make sure you do not put any pressure on the affected foot, you may need to use crutches. Additionally, taping the foot or using a brace also can be useful, as these protect the joints of the foot from further becoming damaged. Icing and using compression bandages on the foot can also reduce swelling and spur a quicker recovery.

It’s important to remember that after resting the foot until it heals, strengthening or rehabilitation exercises likely will be necessary to strengthen and stretch the foot after the period of immobilization. With the aid of these exercises, you should little by little return to your athletic regimen, adding mileage and increasing training time gradually.

To prevent the return of a sprain, people with poor arches might benefit from shoe orthotics to support the foot. Additionally, adding mileage slowly can avoid putting too much strain on the foot and can help you keep the foot healthy.

Injury comes with the territory of being an athlete.  No matter what age and what level, injuries of varying severity are likely to occur.  Professional athletes are no exception.  They train day in and day out with considerable pressure to perform.  How well they perform can dictate how well they are paid, and one of the greatest roadblocks to performing at their best includes injury.  In fact, some contracts with professional athletes include sections requiring athletes to maintain good health and well-being

This September, Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player, sustained an abdominal muscle injury forcing him to pull out of the Thailand Open and rest for at least two weeks. Fortunately, Nadal recovered from his pulled muscle enough to play in the Shanghai Masters and made it to the final.  Demonstrating how injury riddles professional sports, Nadal beat out his opponent Feliciano Lopez who retired from the match because he was suffering from an ankle injury.  Nadal was relieved to be playing again saying, “I’m just happy to be in the final –my first after the injury comeback.”

The recovery process for injured athletes includes an important piece that Nadal mentioned, the comeback.  Injured athletes who hope to return to their sport can have a challenging road ahead.  The injury can sometimes cause increased performance anxiety, fear of re-injury, and decreased confidence.  In a study about elite athletes returning to their sport after injury, Podlog and Eklund (2009) followed participants for 8 months after injury.  They found that athletes believed they would be successful in their comeback if they felt capable, independent, and connected and supported with those around them.

In professional sports, injury is sometimes portrayed as something to be ashamed of.  However, sometimes the greatest challenge in an athlete’s career is “the comeback”. There is value to the experience, hopefully one each athlete at any level can recognize.  Portland State football player, Jimmy Brown, speaks to that value, “Having an injury like that is a real learning experience.  It’s a heart breaker, but I discovered a determination I didn’t know I had.”

Even the slightest movement can cause a muscle pull if your body is not ready. Watch as this skateboarder pulls a groin muscle doing a simple trick. There can be many causes of a groin pull. To learn how to treat symptoms and recover faster see our groin pull treatment tips.