Foot Fractures Common in Winter Sports

Starting on Feb. 4th, we at Goldsmith Podiatry know many of our Manhattan patients will focus on the Winter Olympics in Beijing. One hopeful of keeping an eye out for is Elsa Desmond from the UK, competing in the luge event. Desmond will be the first Irish woman to participate in luge at the Olympic level. Racing at speeds of over 130 kilometers an hour, Desmond has seen her share of injuries, including a broken foot. Injuries to the feet and hands are common in luge, Desmond notes.

It's not only Olympic athletes that suffer foot fractures, however. This injury is common in many winter sports, including snowboarding and skiing

A Wide Variety of Fractures

With 26 bones in your foot—about a quarter of all the bones in your body are in a pair of feet—it’s not surprising that there are several types of fractures with varying degrees of severity. Some types of foot fractures include:

• Displaced fracture—a broken bone that is out of alignment

• Compound fracture—a fragment of broken bone has punctured the skin

• Stress fracture—a hairline crack sometimes caused by overuse

• Calcaneal fracture—a broken heel bone

• Avulsion fracture—a small piece of bone pulled off the main bone

• Ankle fracture—any of the bones of the ankle

Treatment

The first step is recognizing you have a fracture. In some cases, especially if there's been an acute injury, a broken bone is obvious. As with a stress fracture, the pain may be more subtle and intermittent in other situations. Some other signs of a break besides pain include:

• Swelling

• Redness around the painful area

• Bruising

If our podiatrists, Dr. Howard Goldsmith, Dr. Rosanna Troia, and Dr. Kristina Ruff suspect a fracture. They order x-rays or other imaging studies to get a clear picture of the area. The location, type of fracture, and severity of the break will determine the course of treatment. For some, fractures, rest, icing, and immobilization allow the bone time to heal. In other cases, required surgery to repair the break properly. Prescribing physical therapy to help with the healing process.

Don’t fall for the myth that “it can’t be broken if I can walk on it.” If you suspect an injury, contact our Upper West Side office at 212-877-1002 for an appointment as soon as possible.