Sports Medicine

Repetitive movements, overtraining, improper form or technique, and accidents can cause sports injuries. Grand Central Podiatry: Ernest Levi, DPM, offers complete sports medicine care at offices bordering East and West Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Dr. Levi, an experienced foot doctor and sports medicine specialist, conducts a thorough evaluation to get to the root of your problem and fix it. He also helps you avoid further injuries and provides valuable tips to keep you in top form. Call Grand Central Podiatry: Ernest Levi, DPM, today at 607-536-4515 or book a sports medicine appointment online.

What is sports medicine?

Podiatrists specializing in sports medicine treat and prevent injuries affecting athletes, dancers, and other active people.

Professional and amateur athletes and dancers rely heavily on their feet and ankles. Every time they train, perform, or compete, they put immense stress and strain on the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones of the feet and ankles.

Dr. Levi’s sports medicine expertise ensures that you get back in the game or on the stage without unnecessary delay and helps you achieve peak performance.

Which sports injuries might affect me?

Common sports injuries include:

Overuse injuries

Overuse injuries are common in athletes and dancers. They develop gradually and might not be so painful that you stop your activity. But even mild overuse injuries get worse with time, becoming more challenging to treat. Common overuse injuries in athletes and dancers include:

• Stress fractures
• Morton’s neuroma (nerve damage)
• Achilles tendon injuries
• Plantar fasciitis (heel pain)
• Ankle sprains
• Contusions (bruises)
• Ankle impingement (a common dance injury)
• Trigger toe
• Sesamoiditis (inflammation in the ball of your foot)

Overuse injury causes include repetitive stress, inappropriate footwear, improper training or recovery, previous injuries, age, weight, and biomechanical abnormalities (walking or running in a way that stresses the feet and ankles).

Acute injuries

Acute sports injuries happen abruptly during traumatic events like collisions, blows or other impacts, falls, twists, and sudden changes in direction.

Acute injuries cause immediate, severe pain. You could also experience swelling, bruising, redness, physical deformities like protruding bone, restricted movement, or complete immobility.

Common acute injuries athletes and dancers suffer from include:

• Ankle sprains
• Ankle strains
• Fractures
• Achilles tendon ruptures
• Shin splints
• Crush injuries
• Turf toe
• Joint dislocations

You could ignore your sports injury symptoms and continue training, competing, or performing. But without prompt, proper treatment, the injury can get worse and lead to severe complications.

What treatments are used in sports medicine?

Sports medicine treatments include:

• Rest
• Icing
• Avoiding painful activities
• Strapping and taping
• Splints and braces
• Stretching exercises
• Physical therapy
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs)
• Custom-fitted orthotics (shoe inserts)
• Footwear changes
• Multiwave locked system (MLS) laser therapy
• Extracorporeal shockwave therapy
• Steroid injections

Some patients need surgery to align broken bones, reconstruct or fuse joints, or repair or reconstruct torn tendons and ligaments.

No matter what kind of athlete you are, you shouldn’t ignore pain, swelling, bruising, or reduced mobility in your feet or ankles.

Call Grand Central Podiatry: Ernest Levi, DPM, today at 607-536-4515 or book an appointment online for exceptional foot and ankle sports medicine.