The NBA season has just started and already the Portland Trailblazers are dealing with an injury to their highly anticipated rookie. Greg Oden, the first overall draft pick last year, missed his entire first year due to an injury of his knee. Last night he started his very first NBA game with much hype and excitement. He left the game against the L.A. Lakers in the first half, going scoreless on 4 shots. The reason he left is a foot injury. X-rays were taken and were negative for fractures. The injury is being called a mid-foot sprain and an MRI is scheduled for later this week.
Each human foot contains 28 bones, 33 joints and over one hundred ligaments. The x-ray showed no broken bones but it can not be used to evaluate the many ligaments and tendons in the foot. An MRI is a specialized imaging study that can detect stretched and torn ligaments that can be found in a mid-foot sprain. This is a very common sports injury and it happens in tennis, football, basketball and volleyball to name a few. In basketball it often occurs when a player jumps up and then lands on the foot of another player. This causes a twisting movement at the foot and stretches or tears the ligaments of the foot.
A mid-foot sprain presents as tenderness, swelling and pain usually following a traumatic twisting event. Some people are able to walk following the injury and others are not. Initially the sprain should be treated with rest, ice, compression and elevation. The is commonly called RICE therapy by athletic trainers and sports doctors. If the pain and swelling are not significantly better using RICE therapy after a few days you should consult a podiatrist.
Committed to your health,
Dr. Craig Conti
Sarasota Foot Care Center
http://http://www.sarasotafootcarecenter.com/
