The Challenge Of Painful Sports Injuries
Sports Injuries
The only consolation for having to deal with a sports injury is knowing there are foot specialists like Ottawa Foot Clinic to help you get through it. With expert knowledge, extensive training, and exciting new treatment protocols, the staff at Ottawa Foot Clinic in Ontario offer hope to anyone who enjoys sportsbut doesnt enjoy the pain and down time caused by an injury. When you hurt, we can help! Following are some of the conditions we often see and treat at our office in the nations capital.
Tending Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis involves an overstretching or tearing of the large tendon at the back of your ankle. Symptoms include pain and tenderness above your heel, swelling, stiffness, and difficulty pointing your toes or standing on tiptoe. It is a common problem whether you are a runner, play field sports, or compete on a court. Dancers and gymnasts are also at risk. We can do a gait analysis to determine any biomechanical or overpronation factors, and provide effective treatment using orthotics, among others.
Fixing Fractures
There are two main ways to break a bone. The first involves trauma of some sort that causes the bone to snap in two or more pieces. The second, a stress fracture, comes from repetitive motion and overuse that cause hairline cracks in the surface of the bone.
A full fracture can result from a fall or hard landing, something heavy (like another player) landing on your foot, or a severe twist of turn of the bone. A surface stress fracture is more often the result of quick increase in your level of activity, like suddenly doing a 5 mile run when you normally do 1 or 2, or playing a hard game of basketball only once or twice a month.
In addition to immobilization with a boot or cast and proper pain medication, we offer healing stimulation with laser and ultrasound treatments to speed up your recovery time.
Soothing Sprains
Ankle sprains are common injuries, but other parts of your foot can be sprained or strained too, including ligaments and tendons around your big toe joint.
When your ankle is pushed too far to one side or the other, the ligaments can be stretched beyond their normal range and become weakened or torn. Your ankle can swell up and become very painful, so you cant walk on it. We treat sprains with the RICE protocol (Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation) along with immobilization and use of crutches for serious sprains.
When the big toe is hyperextended and the joint is sprainedcalled turf toedamage to the tissues causes pain, swelling, stiffness and limited movement. The RICE method should be used here too, but we can also use taping, stiff-soled shoes, or orthotics to limit movement of the toe as it heals.
Rehabilitating Running Injuries
The stress of pounding the pavement over and over can cause many types of injuries for runners. Along with the previous conditions, you can experience:
- Shin splints (pain in the front of your lower leg)
- Runners knee (kneecap moves out of position or deteriorates)
- Muscle pulls (small strains or tears in the muscle fibers)
- Plantar fasciitis (inflammation and damage to the ligament under your arch)
- Overpronation problems (fasciitis, tendonitis, metatarsalgia, along with corns, calluses and foot deformities like bunions and hammertoes)
- Blisters (from friction caused by poor-fitting shoes)
- Sesamoiditis
Get Expert Help, So You Can Get Out and Play!
Dont let the idea of a sports injury scare you off from enjoying your favorite activity. Along with great treatment and foot care, we can offer you wonderful advice on ways to prevent such injuries from happening to you. Exercise is so important, and playing your favorite sport is a way to get you out and active.
Call Ottawa Foot Clinic in Ontario at (613) 595-9700 if you want more information or need an appointment to treat an injury. Our staff will be delighted to help you get back in the game as soon as you safely can.