Sports and Podiatry: Treating & Preventing Foot Injuries
Any sport that loads your feet can lead to injury - from shin splints and Achilles pain to stress fractures. Here's how a sports podiatrist assesses the cause, treats it, and helps you get back to activity safely.
High-impact sports - running, football, basketball, netball, cricket - put big forces through the feet and ankles, so injuries are common. A sports podiatrist looks past the symptom to the cause: how your foot moves and loads, and why the injury happened in the first place. That's how we help athletes across Bexley and southern Sydney recover and stay injury-free.
Why sport is tough on your feet
During high-impact activity, the forces between your feet and the ground are amplified many times over. Add your individual biomechanics - foot type, strength, flexibility - and certain injuries become more likely. Most sports injuries fall into two groups.
Overuse injuries
These build up from repeated load rather than a single moment - think shin splints, runner's knee, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis and stress fractures. They're the ones people tend to 'run through' until they can't.
Acute injuries
These happen in an instant - a rolled ankle, a sprain, a sudden tendon strain. Prompt, correct management here makes a big difference to how well and how fast you recover.
How we assess a sports injury
Our sports injury assessment is a proper biomechanical work-up. We look at your posture, strength, flexibility and movement, and analyse how your feet influence the whole lower limb. Where imaging is needed to rule out a stress fracture or structural issue, we arrange it.
Treatment and getting back to sport
Treatment is tailored to the diagnosis and might include:
- Footwear advice and, where needed, custom orthotics to control load.
- A targeted strengthening and stretching programme.
- Shockwave therapy for stubborn tendon and heel conditions.
- Load management - adjusting training so tissue heals without you losing all your fitness.
- A clear, staged return-to-sport plan so you come back safely, not too soon.
Don't just push through it
Overuse injuries rarely fix themselves if you keep training on them. Getting assessed early usually means a shorter recovery and less time on the sidelines.
Sports podiatry in Bexley & the St George area
Whether you're a weekend runner or play club sport around Rockdale, Kogarah or Brighton-Le-Sands, we'll get you a clear diagnosis and a plan to return to what you love. Book a sports assessment online or call 1300 345 226.
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Reviewed by Dr Fadel Ghazi, BHSc, MPodMed, DipRM. This article is general information, not a diagnosis - for advice about your own feet, book an assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Should I stop exercising completely with a sports injury?
Rarely. Complete rest often isn't necessary or helpful. We usually modify your training - load management - so the tissue can heal while you keep as much fitness as possible, then guide a staged return to sport.
What is a biomechanical assessment?
It's a detailed look at your posture, strength, flexibility and how your feet move and load during walking or running. It tells us why an injury happened, so treatment addresses the cause, not just the symptom.
Do I need a referral to see a sports podiatrist?
No - you can book directly. If you have a GP referral or recent scans, bring them along. Private health extras with podiatry cover can be claimed on the spot.
