Common Sport & Training Injuries to Feet and Lower Leg

Symptoms:numbness and tingling in the toes.

Cause: A neuroma arises from a nerve getting pinched between the metatarsal bones. Wearing a wider shoe allows the foot to spread out and the pressure on the nerve to be reduced.

Symptoms: Heel pain when you get up in the morning or after a period of rest.

Cause: The plantar fascia – a big thick band of tissue connecting the heel to the forefoot and helping to create the arch - gets pulled away from the heel bone by injury or over-use.

Symptoms: Extreme heel pain and deformity

Cause: Chronic plantar fasciitis. Eventually a bone spur grows where the plantar fascia is being pulled away from the heel bone.

A break in the metatarsal bone, due to over-use or trauma injury (i.e. dropping something on your foot, or being stamped upon (common in football!). Can also be caused or exacerbated by calcium shortage.

Achilles problems occur at the back of the leg down toward the heel. Three muscles at the back of the leg join together to make up the Achilles tendon, which then attaches to the bottom of the heel.

Tendonitis

Symptoms: Pain and sometimes a creaky feeling to the back of the heel area.

Cause: Inflammation of the achilles tendon due to unbalanced biomechanical set-up, or not properly warming up and stretching before exercise.

Ruptured Achilles

The Achilles tendon snaps. This often occurs in older athletes on the squash or tennis court. The Achilles tendon has a poor blood supply and can blow apart when called upon in an explosive sport if you haven't prepared with sufficient warming-up exercises.

A bursa is a natural sac of fluid found at various points around the body where lubrication or padding is required between bones, tendons or ligaments. If over-stressed they can become irritated and inflamed.

The leg is attached to the ankle (bone to bone) by ligaments. These ligaments can be overstretched when the ankle is forced to roll too much to the inside or outside. In the worst case, the ligaments can be ripped away from the bone at one end, which is a lot more serious and long term.

Symptoms: Any pain in the shin region. Running a thumb up and down the edge of the bone will be painful. In chronic conditions lumps can be felt.

Cause: Shin splints are a common term for any muscle to bone injury on either the outside or inside of the shin bone. Over-use or injury causes the muscle to develop little tears along the bone.

All muscles are surrounded by a muscle sheath or covering. Compartment syndrome is a condition where the muscle gets larger than the sheath, and can often affect the calf muscle.

A break in either the tibia or fibular leg bones as a result of over use. Can be exacerbated by a calcium deficiency.

Pain behind the knee cap can be caused by a muscle imbalance pulling the knee cap off line.

Arthritis is a common joint problem. It is a degeneration of the joint usually due to age or injury, or carrying too much weight. It will hurt more in the colder months. Building muscle around the joint and doing everything to remove stress from the area is important in managing the condition.

Cartilage is a tough, fibrous tissue that lines bone and creates connections between bones and tendons in joints. Knee problems are often due to cartilage being damaged or torn loose.

Symptoms: Typically pain on the outerside of the knee joint, which may radiate up the thigh or down the outerside of the shin and is exacerbated by running. Usually, the knee pain from ITBFS is only present during activity and settles when the person rests. However, in some cases it can also be extremely uncomfortable going up or down stairs.

A tear to the hamstring muscle at the back of the thigh. Not a particularly common running or walking injury - more prevalent in explosive sports that involve bursts of sprinting.

Fungal infections on the feet are called athletes foot, and are often due to a build-up of moisture. They can occur between the toes, under the arch or anywhere on the foot. Between the toes the skin looks damp. On the foot it can appear damp or dry, red and spotty.

Wearing a synthetic or manmade fibre for sport is good for moisture management, however if worn all day this can in itself lead to fungal infections. Cotton socks seem to be better for all day use. Some socks have anti fungal properties. Fungal infections can also be helped by the use of an astringent such as surgical spirit, and over-the-counter anti-fungal creams.

Blisters are most commonly caused by friction, but can sometimes be the result of infection. Infection blisters will usually itch and be surrounded by redness which is inflammation. Friction blisters are caused by the shoe (or sock!) somehow rubbing against the area blistering. Most common on the heel, arch and toes.

These can be caused by the toe rubbing against the end of the shoe, resulting in the nail bed becoming inflamed and starting to produce a thicker nail. Most commonly found on the second toe as this one is often longer and bangs up against the end of the shoe. Can also be caused by fungal infections of the toenail bed, or injury. A thickened nail can be thinned down. Once it has thickened it is unlikely to return to normal.

A painful condition where a spike of nail is growing into the side of the toe. It is caused by poor nail cutting or the nail being too wide or badly shaped, and can become infected if not dealt with. Treated by a removing the nail spike and reshaping the nail.