Foot-Related Sports Injuries

Athletes such as runners, soccer players, basketball players, dancers and gymnasts can suffer toe, foot and ankle injuries. Some occur from a direct blow; a fall; bending a limb abnormally; or twisting, jamming or jerking a limb. These include bruises, sprains to the joints, broken toes, pulled muscles and injuries to tendons such as a ruptured Achilles tendon in the heel. Others occur from overuse, when stress from a repeated activity is placed on a joint or tissue. These include retrocalcaneal bursitis, which is inflammation of the bursa in the heel, causing swelling and tenderness; a stress fracture, or a hairline crack in a bone; and Achilles tendonitis, where the tissues in and around the Achilles tendon break down. Treatment ranges from braces, splints and casts to special orthotic shoes, physical therapy, medicine and surgery.