Foot and ankle injuries are common among people who participate in sports. Several factors contribute to this. They include failing to stretch or warm up properly, not wearing the proper type of shoe and not taping or providing other types of support for the ankle or foot. The most common foot and ankle injuries suffered by people involved in sports are plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains and Achilles tendon damage or ruptures. If not treated properly, they can lead to permanent disability.
Treating these injuries is relatively simple if they are identified and addressed early. Many athletes dismiss the initial aches and pains associated with injury as just soreness or tired muscles. Their first response is usually to try to work through it. This can lead to serious problems. Many minor injuries are made far more serious when athletes continue to put strain and pressure on them. That attitude can change a mild strain into a serious strain and a minor tear into a rupture. Athletes should have unusual aches and pains evaluated by Dr. DiNucci.
Plantar fasciitis is a painful injury. It is inflammation of the plantar fascia caused by small tears at the insertion into the bone. The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue running from the heel to the base of the toes. There are several effective treatments for this ailment. Doctors who know what they are doing often prescribe rest, massages, night splints, anti-inflammatory medication, corticosteroids or surgery, usually in that order. Doctors that don't know what they are doing frequently prescribe stretching a torn ligament, doing physical therapy and yanking and putting more tension on a torn ligament, rolling your foot on a rolling pin which continues to tear an already torn ligament. It is usually not effective to take a ligament or tendon that is already damaged and put more tension and strain on it. The most effective treatment for plantar fasciitis is orthotics, which offers foot support. Surgery is occasionally used as a last resort, but is also very effective and usually is a life-long lasting treatment. However, since over 90% of people can resolve plantar fasciitis without surgery, we don't need to go there very often. Dr. DiNucci specializes in a minimally invasive procedure called an endoscopic plantar fasciotomy. This is a very effective method of resolving chronic plantar fasciitis so that it doesn't come back.
One thing to remember with chronic plantar fasciitis is that if there is burning, tingling or numbness (all nerve symptoms) associated with your pain, that means that a nerve is now entrapped in that area. If you address only the plantar fascia (as most doctors do) then the patient will be left with the nerve symptoms after the plantar fasciitis is gone. In fact, in most cases of plantar fasciitis that have surgery and continued pain, it is the nerves that are causing the pain. The nerve pain was not addressed. Nerve pain is most likely caused by the medial calcaneal nerve. In the early days of nerve entrapment this nerve may calm down with conservative care. However, if it doesn't then conservative care frequently fails and if surgery is delayed, the nerve symptoms can travel to the other branches inducing a tarsal tunnel syndrome with the medial and lateral plantar nerve entrapments as well. A patient would know this because they will have more burning or pain with an orthotic. More tingling or numbness in the arch, ball of the foot that shoots up into the toes and causes the toes to tingle. If this is you, then you need to see Dr. DiNucci right away and he can possibly help with this chronic, debilating problem.
The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. It connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. Running, jumping and walking all impact this tendon. Two common injuries to the Achilles tendon are tendonitis and a rupture of the tendon. Tendonitis is inflammation in the tendon often caused by an increase in the amount of stress placed on it. Non-surgical treatments include rest, ice or anti-inflammatory medication. A rupture (tear) of the Achilles tendon can be treated by placing the lower leg in a cast for several weeks or with surgery. Many physicians feel surgery is the better option because it lowers the risk of re-ruptures. Both methods require 4 to 6 months of rehabilitation.
