You may not have paid much attention to your feet during youth sports, but that likely won’t be the case if you want to continue playing recreational or competitive sports into your thirties, forties, fifties and beyond. We want you to be active and challenge your feet as you age, but you need to be a little more proactive in your approach to caring for your feet so that they can handle the stress that you throw at them. We’re going to share how you can do that effectively in today’s blog.
How Older Athletes Can Prevent Foot Injuries
There is no perfect playbook for keeping your feet injury-free during athletics, and the fact of the matter is some foot injuries simply can’t be prevented. That said, if you keep these tips in mind, you can reduce your risk of some of the more preventable types of foot injuries during athletics.
1. Stretch – Stretching your body helps to prepare it for the activity to come, and you shouldn’t overlook your feet when doing your stretching routine. Ankle rotations and some flexion/extension exercises can help you ankle joints prepare for the stress that will follow during sporting activities. Putting a lot of stress on your feet without warning can lead to soft tissue injuries, so make sure that you include your feet during your stretching routine.
2. Gradual Increases – If you’re picking up a new athletic hobby like walking, cycling or hiking, you’ll want to pace yourself at the outset. Taking on too much activity too quickly is a recipe for overstress injuries. This is similar to how we tell athletes that they need to start preparing for the upcoming sports season well before tryouts or two-a-days. You want to slowly build up your duration and intensity so as not to overload your feet while they’re acclimating to a new activity.
3. Swim – If you’re looking for a crosstraining activity that targets your feet, ankles, calves and more, swim some laps in your free time. Water offers natural resistance to movement, which is great for muscle development. It’s also a no-impact exercise, which can be extremely beneficial if you’re working your way back from an injury, as you won’t have to deal with the stress of an impact like you may during a running or box-jump workout. We recommend lap swimming or a water workout to all athletes who are looking for some non-sport specific exercises that will help to improve their performance on the field.
4. Wear The Right Equipment – You can also work to prevent injuries by ensuring your feet are in the right shoe for the activity. That old pair of running shoes or those cleats that you have from high school simply may not cut it anymore. If your shoes are lacking tread or ligament support, it may only be a matter of time before an injury strikes. Protect your feet by ensuring the shoes you’re wearing are designed to provide support for that specific activity.
5. Stop Small Injuries – Finally, one of the biggest things you need to learn to do as you get older is to listen to your body and begin to differentiate between normal soreness and unnatural pain. As we age, soreness becomes a little more common after activity, but if you notice acute pain or discomfort that doesn’t fade, this could be the result of an injury. When you suffer an injury, don’t try to keep playing through the pain. Pushing your body when it is already weakened can greatly exacerbate an injury. Proactively treat small injuries and recognize that it’s much better to miss a game or two than to try to push through the pain, make things worse and be done for the rest of the year.