People play sports and train for a variety of different reasons. Some want to get in shape, some are competitive and others just do it because they love the game they’re involved in. Not everyone knows that they can injure their feet while playing their favorite sport.
That said, here’s a few common sports injuries that athletes suffer from.
Turf Toe
We will bet that most people reading this article didn’t expect that the big toe was going to be at the top of the list for sports injuries, but here it is. This is a problem that results from what is called hyperextension of the big toe. There are a few movements in different sports that can make this worse, like what’s called a triple extension when you’re lifting weights.
Much like the name implies, the symptoms are pretty straightforward. When you’re pushing off on your feet your big toe hurts and you don’t get a lot of leverage from it. The condition arises from injuring ligaments under the bottom of the toe.
Bunions
Second place on our list is one of the more common foot problems. Experts in the sporting world say that people who develop these bunions often overuse the ligaments and bones supporting the foot. In the end, problems start when athletes push off using their big toe rather than from all of their foot. Many factors can cause this condition, footwear, heredity, muscular imbalance, hypermobility and instability in the foot. A trained foot specialist is aware of this and trained to to appropriately address this complex condition.
Fractures
Sometimes, you can even get too much of a good thing. Overtraining can also be a big reason for foot injuries and athletes. People who are involved with CrossFit training have seen at high incident of bone fractures they believe come from the combination of poor diet and overtraining.
Here’s how that works. There are two groups of cells in the bones that are responsible for keeping them strong and healthy. A poor diet can create a situation where the bone weakens itself and too much pressure through training without a break can result in a fracture. Vitamin D and Calcium are of utmost importance in our diet to maintain bone health. Insufficiencies in these can contribute to bone loss.
Athletes Foot
We are willing to bet everyone expected this one to be included on the list. This common skin infection is the result of a fungus that’s commonly found in places like shoes and damp socks. It thrives in locker rooms and the areas around swimming pools.
If you catch it, you can start a treatment plan that includes keeping your toenails cut short and you should wash your feet on a daily basis. Usually, athlete’s foot needs to be treated by a foot specialist who can prescribe some kind of antifungal medicine.
