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Fouling Out: 5 Game-Stopping Basketball Foot Injuries

The NBA finals are here, which means summer leagues, AAU, and intense training sessions are upon us. We at Carrollton Foot Center understand that basketball is a fast-paced sport that demands a lot from your feet all year round.

Whether you’re a seasoned player or just starting out, learning common basketball foot injuries and proper foot care is essential for staying healthy and hitting those jumpers this summer. That’s what this blog’s about.

Common Basketball Foot Injuries

The constant jumping, stopping, and changing directions on the court carries a risk for various injuries:

  • Ankle Sprains: This is perhaps the most common basketball injury, occurring when the ligaments in your ankle overstretch or tear. It can happen due to landing awkwardly, stepping on someone’s foot, or rolling your ankle outwards. Symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, and difficulty walking.
  • Plantar Fasciitis: This painful inflammation of the heel is often linked to repetitive stress from activities like basketball.
  • Achilles Tendonitis: Even legends such as Kobe Bryant have experienced issues with their Achilles. Overuse or tight calf muscles can irritate this tendon, causing pain and stiffness, particularly in the back of your heel and ankle.
  • Stress Fractures: These tiny cracks in the bones of your foot can develop from repetitive stress, especially in athletes who increase their training intensity too quickly.
  • Ingrown Toenails: Tight-fitting basketball shoes can put pressure on your toes, increasing the risk of ingrown toenails that dig into the surrounding skin, causing pain, redness, and swelling.

Essential Foot Care for Basketball Players

  • Invest in high-quality basketball shoes that provide adequate support, cushioning, and stability for your feet. Choose shoes specific to your playing position.
  • Regularly consulting a podiatrist can be highly beneficial, especially for athletes. They can assess your feet, identify potential problems early on, and recommend orthotics or other preventative measures.

By incorporating proper foot care practices into your routine, you can significantly reduce your risk of injuries and keep your feet healthy for optimal performance.

Consult with Board-certified podiatrist Dr. Naghmeh Lilly Khavari, a well-respected expert who is eager to assist her patients in Denton, Dallas, and Collins Counties. She treats a vast array of issues, from ingrown toenails to plantar fasciitis. Call Carrollton Foot Center’s office (located in Carrollton, Texas) at (469)-998-3668 to book your initial consultation today!

Custom Orthotics Cater to Feet of All Ages

Sometimes, we all need a little extra support to function. And when it comes to your feet, that’s especially true! Tired arches and aching heels don’t usually mend themselves, and leaving problems untreated can lead to further complications. This holds true for both our youngest patients and the senior citizens that we treat at Carrollton Foot Center.

In many cases, conservative interventions can make all the difference. That’s where custom orthotics come in, offering personalized solutions for both children and adults. Take a look at the information below to find out what these sole savers can do for you!

Growing Strong: Orthotics for Developing Feet

  • Children’s feet are constantly growing and evolving, and sometimes, that growth can lead to misalignments like flat feet or high arches.
  • Custom orthotics, crafted to mold perfectly to a child’s unique foot shape, can promote proper development, guiding growing bones into correct alignment while reducing the risk of long-term problems like hip and knee pain.
  • Early intervention with orthotics can address issues like heel pain and ingrown toenails, improving a child’s overall comfort and participation in activities.
  • By providing stability and support, orthotics can improve balance, coordination, and endurance, giving young athletes a boost in their chosen sports.

Stepping Ahead: Orthotics for Adult Feet

  • Whether it’s plantar fasciitis, arthritis, or simply tired feet, orthotics can redistribute pressure and provide cushioning, leading to pain relief and improved mobility.
  • Orthotics can address problems like foot pronation or supination, preventing further damage and improving overall posture and gait.
  • For individuals with diabetes or neurological issues, orthotics can play a crucial role in preventing foot ulcers and promoting wound healing.

Customized for You

  • Unlike the one-size-fits-all approach of over-the-counter inserts, custom orthotics are made specifically for each individual’s foot.
  • The precise fit minimizes pressure points, providing targeted support exactly where it’s needed.
  • High-quality materials ensure your orthotics withstand the demands of daily life.
  • With proper care, custom orthotics can offer years of improved foot health and comfort.

Wondering if orthotics are right for you? Come ask board-certified podiatrist Dr. Naghmeh Lilly Khavari! Committed to helping all her clients in Carrollton, TX, she offers a wide variety of treatments, from ingrown toenails to advanced surgical solutionsContact Carrollton Foot Center’s office at 469-998-3668 to schedule an appointment today!

Flat Feet Can Stop Your Stride

Flat feet seem like no big deal at first, but Dr. Lilly Khavari at Carrollton Foot Center urges you to reconsider. Think about it – our feet are an essential part of our ability to be mobile on two legs. Imagine you’re riding a bike and over time your once circular bicycle wheels become slightly less circular and more oblong. In order to ride smoothly, you end up having to overcompensate to ride like you did when the wheels were round. This is similar to what our bodies do when our arches have fallen or become flat! The other structures in and around our feet and ankles will overcompensate, become fatigued, and develop other issues.

Foot Problems Associated with Flat Feet:

  • Plantar fasciitis – flat feet, or fallen arches, can lead to developing plantar fasciitis. This condition affects the plantar fascia, a band of muscles found on the bottom of our feet. It extends the length of our feet and, when damaged, can become inflamed and painful.
  • Calluses – while less serious than plantar fasciitis, calluses can still negatively impact your everyday life as a side effect of flat feet. Due to the lack of support from the arch, the skin of your foot takes more impact than nature intended, requiring it to ‘toughen up’ and form calluses to handle the workload.
  • Heel spurs – sometimes also called a bone spur, heel spurs can happen for various reasons. One of the most common reasons, however, is as a result of fallen arches. Heel spurs can go hand in hand with plantar fasciitis and accentuate the inflammation and discomfort brought on by both.

Not only will flat feet, or fallen arches, change the shape of your feet, but it will also change the course of the health of your feet and ankles. Contact us today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule an appointment at our location in Carrollton, Texas which serves Denton, Dallas and Collin Counties.

When Ankle Pain Isn’t Ankle Pain

When it comes to getting us around every day, our feet do a majority of the work. Between every individual part of our feet, our ankles are arguably one of the most hardworking features of the lower halves of our bodies. They connect the rest of our body to our feet and grant us the flexibility do things like rock climbing or stair climbing! Considering our feet do so much for us, it’s inevitable that we might get ankle pain along with aches sometimes.

Because everyone is different, everyone experiences discomfort and pain in different ways. This can sometimes make it hard to decipher what really hurts. Many of the symptoms of plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, flat feet, and fatigued ankles are similar.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you pinpoint where your pain is:

  • When you wake up in the morning, do the bottoms of your heels feel painful? Sometimes this pain can radiate into the back of our ankles. Take note of when and where it hurts.
  • If you’ve been walking around all day, are you experiencing significant discomfort or pain along the back of your heel to your ankle? Does the pain radiate up your ankle?
  • Have you noticed any swelling between the bony sides of your ankles after standing for a long, or even a short period of time? Does the swelling come on quickly, and is it accompanied by aching pain?

We hope that this list of questions to ask yourself might benefit you when it comes time to schedule an appointment with Dr. Lilly Khavari. Getting a quick and accurate diagnosis will only benefit you more in the long run! This will help you get to treatment more quickly – for example, if it truly is Achilles tendonitis, you definitely want to ask Dr. Khavari about shockwave therapy to speed up your healing process! Call us today at (469) 998-3668 to schedule an appointment at our location in Carrollton, Texas.

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