Football Season Bring Foot Injuries to the Headlines

Jamaal Charles, Dez Bryant, La’Veon Bell, Kirk Cousins, Champ Bailey, Russel Okung, Ryan Clady, Blaine Gabbert, Manti Te’o. These are the list of the players in the NFL who are suffering from foot injuries. The list goes on and on regarding the players who are kept on the injured list with foot injuries. Plantar Fasciitis, turf toe, foot sprains, tendon strains are all reasons for these premier athletes to be running on low tires.

Foot injuries are very common in football as the sharp cutting and twisting along with massive bodies collapsing over one another lends to high rate of injuries. LisFranc fractures and sprains of the midfoot made headlines over the last couple of years as Matt Schaub (Houston Texans QB and Santonio Holmes (NY Jets DB) suffered this break in what is known as the “keystone” of the foot’s arch. Ryan Clady (Denver Broncos OL) may miss the rest of this season as the All-Pro Tackle has a severe sprain of the Lisfranc ligament. The Lisfranc joint is one of the more commonly injured parts of the foot in football. Pressure pushing the forefoot away from the mid and rearfoot causes the strong ligaments holding the bones of the arch to separate and even break the base of the 2nd metatarsal where the Lisfranc ligament attaches. Immobilization or surgery are required to repair the Lisfranc injury and the prognosis is often negative.

Football Season Bring Foot Injuries to the Headlines

Turf toe is a commonly known injury when most commonly the big toe is over extended backwards towards. It causes a rupture of the ligaments underneath the big toe joint. Sharp cutting motions and pushing off of the big toe cause the injury and recovery can take 6-8 weeks and may often require surgery to put the ligaments and joint capsule back together.

Fractures of the bones of the foot often happen as in the scrum of a tackle or along the line big feet in cleats step on each other. Most fracture injuries heal in 4-6 weeks however a common fracture to the 5th metatarsal base (Jones Fracture) often times do not heal without surgery.

Plantar Fasciitis or heel spurs can also debilitate athletes. The excessive pull of the plantar fascia on the bottom of the heel can cause very significant pain and prevent athletes from being able to compete. Shin splints (micro-tearing to the muscles of the lower leg) can also be painful enough to prevent even the most athletic competitors from competing.

Ankle injuries are also very common in football. High ankle sprains (sprains of the ligament between the two bones of the leg) or common inversion ankle sprains occur often because of the use of the cleated shoes that plant deeply in the playing surfaces and do not have much give.

Regardless of the injury it is always interesting to learn how long it takes to heal, how bad it is or any other information from a foot specialists.

For more information regarding these and other sports injuries please contact

Dr. Marcin N. Vaclaw

Foot and Ankle Specialists of The Woodlands

9191 Pinecroft suite 150

The Woodlands, TX 77380

281.909.7722

info@FASthewoodlands.com