How Sports Medicine Helps You Stay on Your Feet

We deal with various kinds of pain for many different reasons, but when it affects your feet, it can mean problems doing routine things we often take for granted. This includes activities such as sitting, walking, running, and other movements that use our lower body. A 2024 survey on foot pain reveals that an average of 81% of Americans experience it annually.

Pain in your feet can stem from many major and minor issues, so to stay on the move, sports medicine offers a range of ways to maintain foot health and help you prevent problems from recurring. Let’s look at the reasons for foot pain, how sports medicine can help you manage them, and what options we can offer to ease the discomfort.

Drs. Glen Beede and Gregory Jaryga, along with the Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists team, assist residents of the Fort Worth and Weatherford, Texas areas with sports medicine and various solutions for treating foot-related issues.

Common reasons for foot pain

A problem covering pain affecting your heels, toes, arches, and ankles, or any other part of the foot, the most common culprit for these issues is overuse, as our feet are one of the hardest-working parts of the body. This can involve standing for extended periods or walking long distances. However, several conditions cause foot pain, such as:

Injury

Bone fractures and soft tissue damage (sprains, strains, and tears) can result from impacts during running and jumping, as well as from awkward movements of your feet and ankles in sporting events, or from other causes.

Obesity

Extra weight means more pressure on your lower body, and your feet have to bear all of it, leading to pain and other problems.

Ill-fitting shoes

They may look cool, but if the shoes you buy don’t fit your feet well, pain and foot deformities can result if you wear them a lot. 

Aging

As we age, the wear and tear on our feet increases. Aging also means a higher risk of problems like arthritis, which inflames joints and can make feet miserable.

How sports medicine helps

The musculoskeletal problems (conditions that affect your bones, muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissue in joints) need to be diagnosed and treated. Sports medicine also helps with these issues and prevents future conditions by teaching you the proper way to move on your feet. 

Athletes need to maximize their performance when on their feet to run faster, work harder, and stay ahead of their competition. However, everyone benefits from understanding the causes of foot pain and learning practical ways to manage and prevent it.

Treatments we offer

After a consultation where we assess the extent of your problems and their cause, we use numerous options to manage foot pain, including the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), physical therapy, custom orthotics, splinting and bracing, and activity modification. 

Other treatment options to help ease pain include nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and injection therapy. Everyone’s pain problems are unique, so we use the best solutions to suit your individual needs.

Everyone deals with foot pain at some point, but when the problem becomes too much and you need help, schedule an appointment with Drs. Beede, Jaryga, and the Trinity Foot &Ankle specialists team for relief.