If you’re excited to lace up your skates and play some pond hockey, or you’re training for another season at an indoor facility, you’re probably aware of just how hard hockey can be on your feet. In today’s blog, we take a look at some foot and ankle injuries that commonly affect hockey players, and how to best treat these injuries.
Common Foot And Ankle Hockey Injuries
Here’s a closer look at some of the more common foot and ankle injuries we see from recreational and competitive hockey players on a regular basis at our clinic.
Ankle Sprains – Hockey players suffer ankle sprain-style injuries all the time, but given the design of a hockey skate, it doesn’t occur in the same way that a basketball player may sprain their ankle when they land on an opponent’s foot after grabbing a rebound. Instead, what’s more common in hockey is a high-ankle sprain. This occurs when the tendons that attach to the tibia and fibula are stretched beyond normal range of motion. This can happen when the ankle rolls outward (eversion). Aside from localized pain above the ankle and shinbone, you’ll also feel discomfort when you flex your foot upwards. These types of sprains can take between 4-8 weeks to heal, and oftentimes require a course of rest, ice, compression, elevation and physical therapy for best results. You can work to prevent ankle sprains by wearing quality skates that fit properly and by avoiding ice with ruts, cracks or other impediments that could inhibit normal skate motion.
Skate Bite – Skate bite describes pain that is housed at the front of your ankle and across the top of your foot. The forces required to skate effectively require you to ask a lot of your extensor hallucis longus tendon. If it is overworked, and if the skate or the tongue of the skate is too tight, it can lead to inflammation of this tendon. Giving your feet enough time to rest between skating sessions and making sure your skates fit well but are not overly tight are great ways to prevent and treat skate bite.
Haglund’s Deformity – Haglund’s deformity is a condition we’ve described on the blog in the past, and it involves the development of a bony prominence on the back of a person’s heel. Oftentimes it’s described as a “pump bump,” it predominantly affects women who wear tight-fitting high heels, but it can also be caused by ice skates that are overly tight in the heel and have a hard back. Again, wearing the right size skates and soft-soled shoes when you’re not on the ice is key to preventing and treating the condition. If the bump becomes too large or uncomfortable, it can be removed with a minimally invasive operation.
Fractures – Finally, we also have seen the effects of someone taking a slap shot to the shin. Even though skates have some built in padding, a direct shot to the ankle or leg can result in a fracture. Fractures are categorized by extreme pain, inhibited gait and the inability to bear weight on the area. If you believe you have suffered a fracture, it’s imperative that you sync up with a foot and ankle specialist like Dr. Silverman.