NBA Regular Season Ends

The NBA regular season ends today, April 15th, with playoff rosters being set tomorrow. This is an exciting time of year for basketball fans, with the College playoffs just ending and the NBA playoffs getting ready to start. And many people are ready to transition their pickup games from the gym to outdoor courts. We would like to provide you some information about how basketball relates to your feet.

The main foot-related basketball injuries are caused by two factors: either over-use, chronic or stress related issues, or acute trauma. These overuse injuries include: Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, posterior tibial and peroneal tenosynovitis, metatarsalgia, and stress fractures. These are a concern because they can grow into larger problems (like a stress fracture becoming a true fracture, or they can increase your risk of a one-time, acute injury.
The type of movement involved in basketball creates specific pressures on the feet. The game involves lots of starting and stopping, linear running and sprinting, lateral movements and lots of jumping, all of which increase pressure on the forefoot and midfoot. The size of the player, the playing surface, and the amount of time invested in practice and play of the game also can increase the amount of stress on the feet.
Contacting your podiatrist is a great way to prevent and treat foot pain in relation to basketball. Custom made orthotic devises have been shown to not only help treat cases of pain and injury in basketball players, but also to prevent these problems before they occur.