Foot sprains, ankle sprains, and stress fractures are just a few of the most common, and more serious, skateboarding foot injuries. While everyone tends to get bruises and minor cuts from skateboarding, these other injuries can have lasting effects, which makes them much more serious.
Skateboarding is hard on feet, and care should be taken to protect your children’s feet, or your own, if you are an adult skater. At the Foot & Ankle Center of Washington, our doctors, Dr. Douglas S. Hale and Dr. Lawrence Z. Huppin are skilled foot and ankle physicians with advanced training, respected credentials and meaningful experience.
“Riding the rail” and “catching air” on a skateboard is great fun for children of all ages, even including many adults. However, these tricks, while certainly fun, can place a great deal of stress on the feet and ankles, at times causing serious injuries. Even if you “nail the landing” your feet and ankles will feel the impact, which can cause serious damage.
All across the country, podiatrists continue to see serious injuries to the lower extremities among skateboarders of all ages. The professionals recommend that all skaters use caution when riding their boards, and to wear protective gear. In addition to helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads, wearing a pair of supportive shoes while riding will help to absorb the shock of landing tricks, and will help to prevent these injuries.
Sprains and fractures are not the only skateboarding foot injuries to be wary of, however. The repetitive, forceful motions involved in skateboarding may also contribute to other serious foot conditions, such as plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and Neuromas. These conditions should never be ignored, for they require more intensive, longer-term therapies to resolve.
Skateboarding foot injuries are quite common, and should be treated as quickly as possible to reduce the possibility of long-term damage. It is very important that the injured skater see a podiatrist for proper diagnosis and treatment. If seeing your doctor is not immediately possible, cease riding your board and treat the injury with Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE). This will help to control the swelling and reduce the pain in the injured area, until you can see your doctor.
It is simply NOT true that if you can place weight on your foot it is not broken. There may, in fact, be a fracture that is not particularly painful.
For the proper diagnosis and treatment of possible skateboarding foot injuries, make an appointment to see us in our Seattle office as soon as possible.
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