The golf world was in awe yesterday as Tiger Woods returned to glory to capture his 15th major victory by bringing home the green jacket at The Masters, and although the weather isn’t exactly ideal yet, soon many Minnesotans will be dusting off their clubs and hitting the links themselves. Golf can be a fun and relaxing sport, but it also requires a lot of torque and strain on your body. Your back takes the brunt of this stress, but so too do your feet.
Because of this, foot and ankle injuries are pretty common among golfers. So today, we wanted to take a closer look at how four types of injuries tend to develop among golfers and how the problems can be treated.
Common Golf Injuries and Treatment
Here’s a look at four common golf injuries and how they can be best treated and prevented:
1. Intermetatarsal Neuroma – One of the more common golf injuries, an intermetatarsal neuroma occurs as a result of the repetitive force put on your feet when you swing. If you’re right handed, it often develops on the third metatarsal of your left foot, and vice versa for lefties. Stress during your swing is channeled onto a nerve between the metatarsal, which can lead to pain and numbness. Treatment involves anti-inflammatory medications, rest, injections, surgery and swing adjustments to decrease inversion and supination of the foot.
2. Extensor Tendinitis – This is an interesting condition because it often is noticed when using a golf cart and engaging the brake pedal. If you’re familiar with the brake pedal on a golf cart, it’s split in two pieces with a standard brake and then a parking brake on the top of the pedal. If you’re excessively pressing down on the parking brake with the top of your foot, extensor tendinitis may set in as this action puts extra strain on these tendons. Shift your foot up and press on the parking brake with the middle of your foot instead of the top of your foot, limit the use of the parking brake or walk the course to help prevent against extensor tendinitis.
3. Ankle Discomfort From Repetitive Strain – Your ankle ligaments channel a lot of stress during your swing as you shift your weight forward through your swing, and even if you don’t roll your ankle, you may have some pain and soreness in the area after a round. Stabilizing the area with an ankle brace before you tee it up can be helpful, as can rest and over-the-counter NSAIDs.
4. Big Toe Hematoma – A number of golfers end up channeling a lot of stress through the big toe on their back foot as they complete their swing and end up with their weight forward and their back heel off the ground. This can cause the big toe to hit the front of the shoe with every swing and lead to swelling and discomfort. OTC pain relievers and rest between rounds can help with swelling, but if pressure under the nail bed becomes too great, drainage of the blood under the nail may become an option.
If you are having foot pain after a round of golf, or you want a foot issue taken care of before you hit the links this year, reach out to Dr. Silverman and his team at Silverman Ankle & Foot today.
