Anyone who practices or had practiced a sport know how incapacitating it is to have an injury. An injury will not only create pain in the area, but it will also make other parts of your body more susceptible to get injured as they will take up more weight.
Myth
Every podiatrist has the same sports medicine training.
Reality
A podiatrist may acquire additional training to better diagnose and treat sports injuries. It includes Neuroproprioceptive Sports Tapping Techniques and Ultrasound Imaging Technique.
It is beneficial to see a podiatrist if:
- You are starting a new sport or getting back to one
- You want to improve your sport performance
- You are recovering from an injury
- A previous injury is preventing you from practicing a certain sport
- You want to prevent future injury
What is the process of a sport podiatric consultation?
Assuming you just got injured or decided to address an old injury, here is what you should expect from your podiatric consultation:
1. Identifying the injury
With an examination of the foot, posture, walking and running pattern, your podiatrist can establish where is the injury and what caused it in order to prevent it from happening again.
2. Visualizing the injury
Depending on your problem, your podiatrist can visualize the source of your pain and measure your injury using ultrasound technology. Your podiatrist can also prescribe an X-ray if needed.
3. Providing pain-relief
According to your health conditions, your podiatrist can prescribe painkillers, anti-inflammatories and muscles relaxants. Using ultrasound technology, you podiatrist can also provide rapid pain relief by injecting a small localized dose of cortisone.
4. Stretching Exercises
After identifying your problem, your podiatrist can create a personalized program of exercises to heal your injury and prevent it from happening again.
5. Providing support
In order to help you heal better and to prevent your injury from happening again, your podiatrist can build you a custom-made plantar orthotic and apply sport tapping.