An ankle injury or foot injury can bring your sports participation to a screeching halt. The ankle and foot are obviously an important part of the body when it comes to playing sports, not to mention participating in everyday activities, even simple things like walking.
Sprains, strains, fractures, tendonitis,
and chronic
inflammation are just a few of the injuries associated with the ankle
and foot.
The ankle - one of the most important joints in the body when it comes
to sports. Face it, without a normal, healthy ankle, you cannot
compete. Perhaps at chess, or poker...(that brings up a question...if
an event is on ESPN, does that make it a sport?)
Too many times I have heard people talk about the ankle like it is
unimportant..."it's just an ankle sprain, you will be fine in a week or
two." How little do they understand the importance of the ankle, or how
devastating an ankle injury can be.
Function of the body is centered around a concept of the kinetic chain.
This essentially means that everything in the body is connected...and
when something happens to one part or joint, it effects the parts or
joints both above and below.
Did you know that an ankle sprain, even one that is completely healed and no longer painful, can alter the way you squat, run, jump, and throw. I have seen more than one athlete walk into my clinic complaining about low back pain, and it turns out that they had an ankle sprain several months or years ago - and that is the culprit of their low back pain. It amazes me to this day that it is all connected so intricately.
Injury to the ankle can vary in both degree and nature. From ankle sprains to tendonitis, injury to the ankle comes in all kinds of forms. The key to limiting the long lasting effects is to understand your ankle injury, and to know how to fix it. Ankle injuries are a part of sports - the most common type of injury. But they should not, and can not be overlooked.
Below you will find links to the most common types of ankle injury, as well as information on foot injuries.
Ankle Sprains