Health is one of the major concerns for sportspersons who are prone to injuries due to the repetitive pounding of the game. The most common injuries are related to the foot and ankle, and the condition may take longer time to recover. Some of the common injuries are:
Heel pain
It is one of the most common and the severest form of pain when occurs when players undergo training without proper warm up. There are two types of heel pain:
It is acute pain in the thick tissue (Plantar fascia) at the bottom of the foot that connects the heel bone and toes. It occurs when tissue becomes swollen or inflamed. Ignoring this pain may result in chronic heel pain and can also change the way of walking.
Also, people with very flat feet or very high arches are more prone to plantar fasciitis. If a person has a flat foot or weak and misaligned first toe, the pain is sure to occur. Weak foot muscles with high arch can contribute to the same that also lead to tight and shortened calf muscles.
Achilles is the large tendon connecting the two calf muscles with the back of the heel bone. Heavy pain is felt in the heel when this tendon is ruptured and can lead to ankle pain as well. This may be caused due to overuse, excessive running without warm up exercises.
Shin Pain
It happens in the front and the inner aspect of the shin due to imbalance between the calf muscles and the muscles in the front leg. This happens as a reason of inadequate stretches, over pronation inclination of foot towards the ground.
Stress fracture
It is a tiny incomplete crack in the surface of bone found in the lower leg of the foot. A stress fracture is caused due to sudden increase in training. It can be present in any of the bones comprising the foot, but fractures occur most typically in the metatarsals.
Treatment
Pain in the knee and heel should never be ignored. Consult a knee, foot and ankle surgeon immediately if any of the above symptoms persist after one to two weeks of rest along with ice treatment. You may require to do blood tests and X-Rays. Blood tests may show low haemoglobin, iron levels or vitamin D3 levels. It may show stress fractures of the metatarsals or the leg bone (tibia). Heel pain may be because of a stress fracture of the calcaneum. If the X-rays are normal and pain persists, MRI may be required to assess the extent of the damage.
If your condition has developed recently, anti-inflammatory or analgesic medication (in tablet form), coupled with heel pads may be all that is necessary to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Stress fractures will require rest, analgesics and supportive treatment like a plaster or a walker boot for four to six weeks.
Along with rest, ice and compression, medical treatment is required to correct and abnormal blood levels like low haemoglobin and vitamin D levels. In case of heel pain, stretching is the best treatment as it helps to try to keep weight off your foot until the initial inflammation goes away. You can apply ice to the sore area for 20-30 minutes several times a day to relieve your symptoms. Home exercises to stretch your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia are the mainstay of treatment and reduce the chance of recurrence.
In case of the knee pain, hamstring stretches and stretching of other tight muscles is important for treatment. A supportive knee cap which reduces pressure on the knee cap may help. If the pain is not relieved by non-surgical methods, surgery may be required for fixation of the stress fracture or knee key hole surgery (arthroscopy) for knee pain or the release of the Iliotibial (IT) band.
The writer is Dr Pradeep Moonot Orthopaedic Surgeon & Podiatrist at Breach candy Hospital, Mumbai