Football is one of the most popular sports in the world and one in which the feet are most exposed to injury. Statistics show that between two and 9.4 football players suffer an injury to their feet per 1,000 hours of exposure. Of these injuries, we most commonly find sprains, fractures and torn ligaments as well as various blows and bruises. The type of foot is considered to be an intrinsic factor when taking the injury into consideration, while at the same time the football boot is considered an extrinsic factor.
A higher proportion of foot injuries in football occur as the result of foul play and involve direct contact with the injured foot. The majority of foot injuries are caused by tackles from the side involving lateral or medial forces on the foot that create an inversion or eversion force. The weight-bearing status of the injured foot is an important consideration. The severity of injury where the athlete is weight-bearing is generally higher that that observed for the non-weight-bearing foot.1-3
In this module, we aim to tackle the most common foot injuries in football along with practical aspects of skin, footwear, alignment problems and rehabilitation.