NBA Playoffs: Full of Foot & Ankle Problems

I have admitted before that I am not a huge NBA fan but could not avoid the news recently as several players have made the news with foot and ankle problems.

First off, Tiago Splitter of the Spurs sprained his left ankle earlier this week in game 3 against the Lakers.  Radiographs were reported as negative, but to me that doesn't mean much as a bad ankle sprain can be very painful and needs treated appropriately.

To a Chicago news station this week, Joakim Noah stated that "plantar fasciitis sucks."  This is a very common condition I see, and I am sure many of my patients will relate.  However, with the right treatment we can help most people significantly.

Chicago's first round opponent, the Nets, also apparently has a player suffering from plantar fasciitis as well.  Joe Johnson received a "cortisone injection" for plantar fasciitis earlier this week and Johnson admitted that this was very helpful.  When appropriate I can also give injections as part of my treatment.

As I often say you do not have to be an athlete to suffer from these conditions.  Come see us at Spring Hill Podiatry with any foot or ankle problems.

Kobe Bryant's "Bone Spur"

Thursday night after the Lakers game against the Bucks, the Lakers revealed that Bryant has a "bone spur" in his left foot.  This could mean many things as there are several places that an individual could have a bone spur in the foot.  However, there are really only two places where a bone spur is common.  The most common is at the bottom of the heel bone.  This is also called the "plantar" part of the heel and a band of tissue that attaches there called the plantar fascia can often get inflamed.  Not always, but usually heel spur syndrome and plantar fasciitis are the same thing and treated the same way.

The other common area for spurring is at the back of the heel where the largest tendon, the achilles, attaches.  This can be more difficult to treat and when conservative measures fail surgery to remove the spur and reattach the achilles tendon is often necessary.

It is difficult to say exactly were Bryant's spur is, but Laker fans should hope it is at the bottom of the heel instead of the back.  Either way, however, both conditions can be very painful.  Fortunately, though, both conditions can be treated and in most instances successfully resolved.

Pau Gasol's Plantar Fascia Tear

Last week, a doctor confirmed that Pau Gasol tore his plantar fascia and will be out for 6-8 weeks from playing with the Lakers.  Apparently it is also unknown if surgery will be required.  As a podiatrist, this is of course interesting to me.  I see plantar fascia problems several times a day.  What confuses me is the issue of surgery as I have never seen a torn fascia repaired.  Usually, the opposite is true as I have seen chronic inflamed fascia "released" surgically.  In fact, I often perform this procedure myself.

Anyone can suffer from problems with plantar fascia but usually a tear or rupture on a traumatic level is much less common.  The plantar fascia is a band of tissue (or fascia) on the bottom (or plantar) surface of the foot.  It attaches at the bottom of the heel and extends out towards the toes widening before attaching in the ball of the foot.

We commonly see inflammation of the fascia or plantar fasciitis.  This is when the fascia tears on a very small scale repeatedly.  This can be caused by wearing the wrong shoes for two long, going barefoot for to long, or sometimes, but not as common, from trauma (as in Pau Gasol's case).  It is important that if you experience chronic or severe heel pain you are seen by a podiatrist.  We will work to 1) reduce the inflammation and 2) try to prevent the fascia from becoming inflamed again.

It's That Time of Year Again

I admit I am a bit late talking about this, but being from the North I am not quite used to putting up Christmas decorations in 75 degree weather.  As the holiday season approaches, may of us are undoubtedly busy and on our feet.  Some of us do a lot more walking with all our holiday shopping than we are used to.  Our feet and ankles don't like this sudden increase in activity and this is when we set ourselves up for "overuse injuries."  These injuries include: stress fractures, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, as well as pain from any arthritis that might be present.

Of course we want to avoid foot and ankle pain, so the best advice I can give is to wear a supportive shoe.  If you do experience foot pain after a long day shopping, icing is a safe way to bring down pain and inflammation.  If the icing still does not help, do not put off seeing a podiatrist as often these conditions can just worsen and be more difficult to deal with and also take longer to treat.