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Sportspeople’s feet
19 Jan 2018
Sportspeople’s feet

People who regularly engage in sports put greater stress on one of the most important parts of their anatomy during physical activity: the foot. The intensity and frequency of the activity can cause the foot to undergo traumas or will leave it not in the best condition; it is therefore useful to know that especially in these cases the feet require special care.

Each sport involves specific movements of the muscles, tendons and bones and depending on the type of activity certain problems can arise.
Sports involving repetitive actions can lead to inflammations of the tendons and plantar fasciitis caused by a postural deficit. Unsuitable footwear in these cases can be the cause of pathologies such as Haglund’s deformity.

In the most popular sports such as football, basketball, volleyball or rugby in which athletes put a lot of stress on the feet when jumping and landing again, incorrect placement can cause inflammatory disorders such as Morton’s neuroma or acute ones such as metatarsalgia. The advice in these cases is to use a soft and flexible shoe that supports the foot movements in order to prevent blisters and grazes.

The feet of dancers are instead stressed especially on the ends and are therefore prone to pathologies that affect the big toe.

The levels at which sportspeople’s feet perspire inside their footwear forms the ideal environment for another pathology that is commonly found in the world of sport but elsewhere too: athlete’s foot.

Sportspeople’s feet are also subject to pathologies affecting the toenails that can be brought on by footwear or insufficient environmental hygiene, examples of these are:

It is advisable for all sportspeople to seek a podiatric examination in order to have the health of their feet checked and to exclude pathological situations which if neglected could develop into serious conditions that require much longer to heal.

The advice is the same for anyone noticing localised pain or irritation in their feet (toes, sole and heel) which if neglected could become worse and eventually compromise movement of the feet and limbs.

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