For anyone who’s active in sports, the feet and ankles are under a fair amount of demand and injuries can occur. Dr. Adejoke Babalola, the Podiatrist of Perfect Footcare in New York City specializes in sports injuries, providing the latest treatments and technology available and also works with patients to prevent injury in the first place.

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What are the most common sports-related injuries in the feet and ankles?

It would be logical, and correct, to assume that sports-related injuries in the feet are common since the feet play a part in almost every sport. The most common sports injuries to the feet and ankles include:

  • Ankle sprains
  • Achilles tendon issues
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Turf toe
  • Heel pain
  • Heel spurs
  • Stress fractures
  • Neuroma — a pinched nerve in the foot

What are the common causes of foot injuries?

Under the wide umbrella of “sports injuries in the feet,” the causes can largely be narrowed down to the following:

  • Trauma
  • Poor or insufficient warm-up
  • Over repetition
  • The wrong footwear
  • Hard surfaces
  • Overly intense use

What are the treatments for sports injuries?

Dr. Babalola specializes in sports injuries in the feet, and she’s equipped to handle most issues that arise among active patients, from fractures and sprains to nerve and tendon issues. No matter how a stress injury presents itself, the common ingredients for good recovery are patience and diligence. On top of that, Dr. Babalola usually prescribes:

  • Orthotics
  • Physical therapy
  • Medications
  • Rest
  • Injections
  • Surgery

Dr. Babalola’s goal is to treat the injury as minimally invasively as possible to get you back in your game as quickly as healing allows.

How do I prevent sports injuries?

One of the most important components of sports medicine are the preventive measures one can take to avoid injury in the first place. To that end, Dr. Babalola works with her athletic patients to best prepare and protect them from injuries to the foot and ankle by recommending strength and exercise plans that best fit each patient’s activity level.

For example, if you are a long distance runner, you put a higher demand on your feet than most and Dr. Babalola comes up with a plan to help strengthen the stress-load areas, and she’ll also recommend countermeasures for the stress.

If you play a sport that involves a lot of stopping, starting and turning (think basketball or soccer), Dr. Babalola has a different set of recommendations and exercises.

No matter what your preferred athletic pursuit is, Dr. Babalola works with you to remain as healthy and injury-free as possible.