It’s Madness! Watch out for These Common Basketball Injuries
The brackets are out! The fields for all 68 teams in the NCAA Division 1 men’s and women’s basketball tournament are no longer a mystery. And for the next few weeks leading up to April 3, it’s March Madness for basketball fans everywhere.
There’s no shortage of talent in D1 college basketball. Unfortunately, neither is there a shortage of foot and ankle injuries: Liam Robbins of Vanderbilt – out for the season for an ankle injury; Deivon Smith of Georgia Tech – out indefinitely due to an ankle injury; Juan Munoz of Hawaii – out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury. And the list goes on.
Types of foot and ankle injuries
Basketball injuries reach way beyond the college courts. From elementary school to high school, on town recreation courts and pick-up games down the block, foot and ankle injuries fall into the same three categories:
- Accidents: For example, players often jump and land improperly on their feet, sustaining torn ligaments, ankle sprains, and fractures.
- Sudden stops: A defensive move from the other team can easily cause a player to stop quickly and change direction. That sudden stopping can involve so much force on the Achilles tendon, the large tendon above your heel) that it can rupture.
- Overuse: Too much time on the court leads to repetitive stress injuries, including tendonitis (inflamed tendons, often the Achilles), sesamoiditis (inflammation in the ball of the foot), and plantar fasciitis (heel pain).
If you get injured playing basketball, you can’t get back the time you’re out of commission. You can’t redshirt the season, as they do in college athletics. Your best hope is to minimize the damage and downtime caused by your injury. Make an appointment for prompt foot and ankle care with a qualified podiatrist.
In Fairfax County and Western D.C., choose board-certified podiatrist Dr. Kenneth R. Wilhelm at Clifton Foot & Ankle Center. To make an appointment with Dr. Wilhelm, who has more than 23 years of experience treating foot and ankle injuries with care and compassion, contact us online or call our Centreville office at (703) 996-3000.
