Your feet are the foundation of everything you do, especially in sports. Whether you play team sports such as soccer or football, or participate in solo sports such as fitness walking, track, golf or tennis, the health of your feet is key to playing the best game and giving your best performance possible. Podiatrists specialize in injuries or disorders of the feet, and consulting with your podiatrist in Chicago regarding any problems or pain can only improve your game and keep you off the sidelines with acute or chronic injuries that may require surgery.
A podiatrist can also help you choose the most effective shoe available for your particular sport or training by analyzing your specific foot type or problem. In addition, a podiatrist can check the effectiveness on a regular basis, keeping your feet healthy and improving your game.
Keeping Up With The Times
A podiatrist doesn't only treat disorders of the foot, however. These days the scope of practice has extended much further. Treating problems of the ankle, knee, leg, and hip, your Chicago podiatrist puts the best of technology to work in diagnosing many sports-related injuries. Through motion analysis and thorough examinations, a podiatrist can recommend the most appropriate treatment and exercises to decrease down time from sports injuries, as well as improve performance on the field.
Much of the pressure contemporary parents feel with respect to dressing children in designer clothes, teaching young children academics, and giving them instruction in sports derives directly from our need to use our children to impress others with our economic surplus. We find “good” rather than real reasons for letting our children go along with the crowd.
—David Elkind (20th century)
Looking At The Complete Picture
No foot is an island. By analyzing the mechanics of a patient's stance, postural alignment, and flexibility of the hips and back, recommendations can be made for orthotics or a course of physical therapy designed to strengthen core muscles. Many times, with the right treatment, surgery can be avoided, thus diminishing the recovery time from a variety of injuries or disorders. Therefore, you'll spend less time on the bench and more time on the field. By strengthening core muscles in the ankle and calf along with ensuring proper alignment and foot mechanics, injuries can be minimized when on the field, keeping you fit, healthy and strong.
Modern Podiatry Can Improve Your Game
The bottom line is modern sports podiatry looks at more than just the injury itself. It also analyzes the causes of the injuries and makes recommendations for orthotics and exercises designed to improve overall performance. By taking an integrated view through evaluation of several factors including overall postural alignment, flexibility, and strength, a treatment plan can be customized for patients for maximum results.
The needs of a society determine its ethics, and in the Black American ghettos the hero is that man who is offered only the crumbs from his country’s table but by ingenuity and courage is able to take for himself a Lucullan feast. Hence the janitor who lives in one room but sports a robin’s-egg-blue Cadillac is not laughed at but admired, and the domestic who buys forty-dollar shoes is not criticized but is appreciated. We know that they have put to use their full mental and physical powers. Each single gain feeds into the gains of the body collective.
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
Playing any kind of sport can be strenuous on your body, but your feet take the brunt of the stress. Finding a qualified Chicago podiatrist can save you precious playing time, improve your game, and give you more time doing what you love to do rather than sitting on the sidelines. Always consult with your physician or podiatrist before beginning any fitness program for a complete physical and foot examination.
Sean Hartmen writes for Affiliated Podiatrists, Ltd., leading podiatrists in Chicago and the first providers of PinPointe FootLaser in Chicago. Offering an array of specialized treatments for foot and ankle conditions, this Chicago podiatrist at Six Corners Medical Center is equipped to handle any podiatric need.