A Foot Exam is a Gift to the Young Athlete

Where there are athletes, there will be sports injuries. Where there are young athletes, there’s often an increased risk of injury. That’s because kids from grade school to high school are still growing. They’ve got growth plates that haven’t finished forming into solid bone. Their muscles, tendons, and ligaments aren’t fully grown, either, so they’re also vulnerable to injury.  

Overuse injuries are especially common in growing athletes. One reason is that many kids concentrate on one sport all year round. They’re performing the same moves over and over. Repetitive movements and nonstop impact can cause injuries to the lower limbs such as

• Sever’s disease - damage to the growth plate in the heel of the foot

• tendinitis - chronic inflammation of any of the many tendons in the lower leg and foot, especially the largest tendon in the body, the Achilles tendon

• shin splints - when the soft tissues surrounding the lower leg bones become inflamed

• stress fractures - small cracks in any of the 26 bones in each foot 

What’s more, if an overuse injury to a young athlete’s feet or ankles isn’t treated properly, it could impair future growth or set your child up for a lifetime of continued foot problems. 

A complete foot exam today can help prevent injuries tomorrow  

Your child’s feet and ankles are unique. Their biomechanics may make them prone to certain foot problems before they even begin playing. Identify potential problems with a complete foot exam at our Monmouth County podiatry office, Affiliated Foot & Ankle Associates. Such a preventative exam can reveal if there’s a problem with bone alignment or flat feet, for example, which would benefit from treatment. 

Our board-certified podiatrists Dr. Samantha Boyd, Dr. Hal Ornstein, Dr. Dan Phan, and Dr. Joseph Saka are especially enthusiastic about caring for the feet and ankles of young athletes. We want to help them get the most out of their sport and protect them from injury. For a complete foot exam or treatment of an existing injury, make an appointment at our podiatry office in Howell or Jackson, New Jersey. Call (732) 905-1110 or contact us online.