How A Podiatrist Can Help You Avoid Ankle Injuries As An Athlete
If you are an athlete, then you might push your body to its limits on a daily basis. You might spend a lot of time at the gym, and you might spend a lot of time practicing and playing your preferred sport. If so, then you might worry about injuries due to the stress that you put on your body. For example, you might worry about ankle injuries, whether you have suffered from these injuries at some point in the past or not. If you meet with a podiatrist, they can help you avoid ankle injuries as an athlete. If you're wondering how they can do this, consider the points below.
Providing Suggestions About Warming Up
Warming up properly is important so that you can prepare your muscles and your overall body for the hard work that you are about to put them through. You might know this, but you might not know about stretches and warm-up exercises that can help your ankles in particular. Luckily, a podiatrist can provide some recommendations about warm-up exercises that will help you prevent your ankles from being injured.
Helping You With Finding Proper Footwear
You might not think that your footwear has much of an impact on your ankles. Instead, you might think that proper footwear can help your feet. It's true that proper footwear can go a long way toward preventing foot problems. However, proper footwear can help with things like ankle support, too. Your podiatrist can recommend the proper footwear for you to wear while you're playing sports.
Providing You With a Brace
If you don't already have an ankle brace to protect your ankles while you're playing sports, then you might need one. A podiatrist can help you determine if you need a brace and can provide you with one that works for you. They can also provide recommendations about when and how you should wear it.
Inspecting Injuries
If you find yourself dealing with a swollen or bruised ankle, or if you experience any pain in your ankle — even if you don't notice any visible symptoms — then you should not ignore the situation or try to handle it on your own. This is especially true if the problem persists for more than a day or two. Instead, you should be seen by a podiatrist. They can examine your affected ankle and can let you know if there are any issues. They can then provide you with treatment and can let you know if you need to take a break for a while so that you can properly heal.
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