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Exercise is supposed to keep you healthier. Sometimes, though, you can have too much of a good thing. Overuse injuries can crop up. Other times, a sudden incident — like landing on your ankle wrong — leaves you with a problem.
If you love being active or you love the health benefits it delivers, it can be tempting to push through. By doing so, though, you risk making your injury worse or slowing its healing.
Watch out for indicators that you should come see William T. DeCarbo, DPM, FACFAS, and our team at Greater Pittsburgh Foot & Ankle Center. With an emphasis on sports injury care, we help people in Wexford, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area get back to doing what they love.
Here are a few warning signs you shouldn’t ignore.
Pain that doesn’t go away with rest
Being active strains your body. That’s a good thing. The added load helps strengthen your muscles and your cardiovascular system.
The human body isn’t impervious, though. When the strain becomes too much, your body tells you through pain. Don’t ignore that alert, especially when it comes to your feet and ankles.
If you have foot or ankle pain, take a few days off from your sport or physical activity of choice. Your feet and ankles already have to manage the burden of transporting you through your daily life. Limiting their strain beyond that allows your injury time to heal.
If the pain isn’t getting better after a few days of rest, come see Dr. DeCarbo. He can develop a plan to support your recovery.
Visible changes
Even if the area isn’t painful, watch out for any noticeable adjustments in the way your feet or ankles look. Symptoms like bruising and swelling are telltale signs of a sports injury.
Don’t ignore these visible changes. Again, take a few days off to see if the way your foot or ankle looks goes back to normal. If not, come see Dr. DeCarbo to find out what’s going on.
Injuries that keep coming back
You usually know the moment you get an acute sports injury. Maybe you fell or felt something pop.
Chronic sports injuries, on the other hand, develop over time because of overuse. If your injury keeps coming back, it could be because you’ve never really given the foot or ankle the time and support it needs to heal. Sometimes, it might need extra care moving forward. With chronic ankle instability, for example, wearing a brace or doing balance training can help prevent future sprains.
If symptoms of an injury keep coming and going, don’t just ignore them. Getting care helps injured soft tissues heal fully and properly.
Here at our office, Dr. DeCarbo can evaluate your injury and determine what your foot or ankle needs. He develops a treatment plan to help your injury heal fully so you can get back to your activity of choice. Call us or book your appointment online today.