The pandemic changed our lives in countless ways, and it also affected our lifestyle and physical activity habits. This change in normal activity had an impact on our bodies and our feet, and it resulted in greater risk of certain types of injuries. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the foot and ankle injury trends that have spiked due in part to changes in daily activity caused by the pandemic.
Foot Injuries And The Pandemic
The following trends are things we’ve seen in our practice, seen in the community or read about from trustworthy online sources. Here’s a look into some of the trends we’re noticing fueled in part by the pandemic:
Increase In Plantar Fasciitis Pain – We’ve noticed that our plantar fasciitis pages have gotten more traction over the past few months, and we believe the pandemic has played a role in more people looking for information on the condition. Plantar fasciitis occurs when the plantar fascia that runs from the underside of your heel to your toes becomes inflamed due to abnormal or repetitive stress. Many people have spent more time than normal walking around their homes barefoot or without shoes on, especially if they transitioned to a work from home environment. This change to more barefoot walking because of the pandemic could absolutely be fueling cases of plantar fasciitis.
Toe Fractures – There hasn’t exactly been an increase in toe fractures, in fact, the total number of toe fractures likely decreased during the pandemic because organized sports were oftentimes suspended. Toe fractures were still happening, but how they were occurring had shifted. Instead of athletic activities, we treated toe fractures from stubbed toes on furniture, because heavy objects were dropped on them, or from tripping down the stairs. Indoor causes of toe fractures increased, whereas outdoor causes decreased.
Stress Fractures And Stress-Related Injuries – Stress-related foot injuries also occurred frequently during the pandemic. For those who took up a new workout during the pandemic to stay active, oftentimes this new shift in activity or repetitive strain led to stress fractures or stress-related pain. And on the flip side, those who became more sedentary and gained weight found that their feet were forced to displace more stress, also increasing their risk of a stress-related injury.
Delayed Treatment Issues – A final foot and ankle injury trend that we noticed during the pandemic was an increase in lingering symptoms and prolonged injuries due to delays in treatment after an initial injury. Many people didn’t seek treatment for injuries that normally would have sent them to urgent care or the emergency room in the past, be it because they didn’t want to expose themselves to COVID-19, didn’t want to pull resources away from those who needed it most, or because their normal doctors were busy helping treat COVID patients. Ligament damage from untreated ankle sprains can linger and lead to lateral ankle instability, and diabetic foot conditions can lead to extreme complications if not actively treated. If you put off care for a foot or ankle injury because of the pandemic and symptoms are still lingering, now is the time to see a foot specialist in person or through a tele-health appointment.
When you’re getting back into “normal” activities as we progress out of the pandemic, make sure you slowly increase your workload, otherwise you may overload your feet and put them at a heightened risk for injury. Slowly increase your activity intensity and duration so that muscles and ligaments aren’t overloaded as you work to get your conditioning back to pre-pandemic levels.