Foot and ankle troubles affect both amateur and professional tennis players alike. Despite good self-care, properly hydrating, stretching and wearing appropriate shoes, injuries can still happen. Running, cutting, jumping, quick stops and starts on hard surfaces set the stage for foot and ankle trauma.
6 Common Foot and Ankle Tennis Injuries
1. Subungual hematoma - blood underneath the toenail. Quick sudden stops and starts with tight shoes can cause injury to the nail bed causing blood to collect underneath the nail plate. Draining the nail may be required if more than 25% of the nail plate is involved.
2. Sesamoiditis –inflammation of the sesamoid bone, a small pea-sized bone under the big toe joint. Injury is due to faulty mechanics and excessive pressure to the first toe. Conservative treatment includes offloading the area of the dancer pad and orthotics. Sesamoiditis is very challenging to treat if it becomes chronic.
3. Peroneal tendonitis –pain along the outside of the foot and ankle. One or both tendons on the outside of the ankle can become inflamed with repetitive excessive stress to the foot and ankle. Treatment includes Kinesio taping and orthotics.
4. Achilles tendinitis – inflammation of the Achilles tendon, pain to the back of the heel. Achilles tendinitis can present in 2 places, near the heel bone and as a painful nodule within the tendon. Inflammation occurs due to repetitive stress from jumping and lateral movements. Treatment includes stretching, icing, Kinesio taping and orthotics.
5. Plantar fasciitis - heel pain on the bottom of the foot. Plantar fasciitis can occur from excessive strain to the plantar fascia, a band on the bottom of the foot and inadequate stretching. Treatment includes stretching, Kinesio taping and orthotics.
6. Ankle sprains - Injury to the ligaments to the outside of the ankle from jumping and landing awkwardly on the ankle or twisting the ankle. Treatment includes ankle brace, taping, range of motion exercises and icing.
Acute conditions are much easier to treat and resolve faster than chronic ones. For chronic injuries MRI or ultrasound aid in the diagnosis. If conservative measures have failed advanced therapies like Shockwave, Class IV laser or amniotic membrane injections may treat and fix the injury for good.
If you have foot or ankle troubles please call Michele Kurlanski, DPM at Lighthouse Foot and Ankle Center. Dr. Kurlanski offers expert and professional podiatry services in Cumberland County, Maine. Please call us today at 207-774-0028 to schedule your appointment in our Scarborough office.