When you play sports or do other activities, you can end up with foot or ankle injuries if you’re not careful. From sprained ankles to foot fractures, these injuries can stop you from enjoying your usual activities and lead to chronic pain in some cases. Keep the following tips in mind to prevent ankle and foot pain.
Don’t Skip Warm-Ups
Warming up your muscles is an important part of lowering your risk of injuries, since it helps improve your flexibility. Doing warm-up exercises, such as stretches, also helps prepare your ankle and foot tendons, joints, and bones for physical activity, which makes them less vulnerable to injuries. You should plan to spend about 10 minutes warming up prior to participating in sports or doing a workout routine. You can do simple stretches, such as rotating your ankles or holding your toes while stretching the bottoms of your feet. When you’re done playing sports or exercising, you should spend about 10 minutes doing cool-down stretches to help lower your risk of injuries even more.
Wear Supportive Shoes
The shoes you wear while doing physical activities or playing sports can have a big impact on your risk of injuries. Shoes that fit poorly or don’t give you much support can make you more likely to fall or develop injuries from wear and tear on tendons and other ankle and foot structures. You should wear shoes that fit properly and provide your feet and ankles with plenty of support and cushioning. This helps reduce your risk of spraining an ankle, developing tendonitis in your feet, or getting other kinds of injuries while you’re active. Make sure you replace your shoes when they begin to wear out.
Begin Slowly
If you’re just getting started with a certain activity that can put a lot of stress on your ankles and feet, such as basketball or running, don’t rush into it. Start these kinds of activities slowly, so you won’t put too much strain on your feet and ankles all at once. If you experience foot or ankle pain after doing these activities, you can try doing stretches to become more flexible. However, you should plan on scheduling a visit with your nearest Pasadena orthopedics clinic if you continue having pain. Depending on how severe your injury is, you can explore different treatment options if needed, such as foot or ankle surgery.
Build Your Balance
Focusing on improving your balance can help lower your risk of hurting your ankles or feet while exercising, playing sports, or doing other activities. When you have good balance, you’re less likely to fall and possibly fracture or sprain your foot or ankle. You can build better balance with simple exercises, such as holding one foot while keeping your knee pointed forward, then switching to the other foot.
Use Caution on Certain Surfaces
If possible, limit or try to avoid running or exercising on surfaces that can increase your risk of ankle and foot injuries, such as uneven, rough, or slick surfaces. Stick to doing these activities on surfaces that are dry, even, and smooth if you can. If you’ll be running or exercising on nature trails, keep an eye out for tree branches, rocks, and other objects that could cause you to trip and fall. Make sure you have appropriate footwear that helps lower your risk of slipping or falling.
If you have foot or ankle pain, please contact us for more information on our Pasadena orthopedics services. We can evaluate your injury and discuss treatment options with you, such as ankle or foot surgery for severe or ongoing pain.