Acute Pain and Injuries Treatment

What You Need To Know

Understanding acute foot and ankle injuries and when to seek professional care.

Care for Sudden Foot and Ankle Injuries

A foot injury can significantly impact your mobility and your regular level of healthy activity. An injury to the foot can affect any of its 26 bones, as well as its joints, ligaments, muscles, or tendons. Injuries are usually due to overuse or trauma and can include sprains, fractures, lacerations, burns, and sesamoid problems.

Injuries to the intricate structures of the foot can cause inflammation, swelling, pain, inability to bear weight, nerve damage, and hindered mobility. If left untreated, foot injuries can cause issues for the knees, legs, hips, and low back and may affect your long-term ability to walk, run, or engage in sports.

Common causes of foot and ankle trauma include impact injuries from accidents and falls, overtraining in sports, medical conditions like arthritis or low bone density, age-related bone weakening, obesity placing extra pressure on the bones, and ill-fitting footwear. Sports that place significant strain on the ankle and foot also increase the risk of strains, sprains, tendinitis, and torn tendons.

Mild foot trauma may respond to rest, over-the-counter medication, and RICE therapy. However, if symptoms do not improve within a day or begin to worsen, it is time to see a podiatrist. Piercing or throbbing pain, bruising, deformity, difficulty bearing weight, or a change in gait all warrant professional evaluation. After a thorough health history, physical exam, and diagnostic testing, our team will develop a treatment plan to help you get back on your feet.

Common Acute Foot and Ankle Injuries

Achilles tendonitis or tear affects the tendon connecting the calf muscles to the heel bone. It can suffer damage with overuse, causing pain and inflammation, or rupture from sudden trauma during high impact sports.

Ankle sprains occur when the ligaments that hold the ankle joint together stretch beyond their normal range. Sprains may be mild enough to treat at home with rest, but if they happen often, they can weaken the ankle over time.

Stress fractures develop when pressure is applied to weak points in the foot. They are common in people with osteoporosis, in older adults with more brittle bones, and in athletes who train heavily for running-based sports. Ankle fractures usually result from a traumatic injury or impact, and because mild fracture symptoms can resemble those of a sprain, prompt evaluation is important.

Sesamoid injuries involve the small bones beneath the big toe joint and include turf toe, acute or chronic fractures, and sesamoiditis. These injuries are often linked to activities that place increased pressure on the ball of the foot, such as running, basketball, tennis, and ballet. Burns and lacerations of the foot also require timely attention to prevent infection and lasting damage.

Many of these injuries can be avoided with proper foot and ankle support and by stretching before strenuous activity. When an injury does happen, early evaluation gives you the best chance at a full recovery and a return to the activities you enjoy.