Youth football is an integral part of American culture, and the Super Bowl is the most watched annual event on television. Soccer, which fills huge stadiums the world over, is among the most popular youth sports in the United States. Other contact sports like lacrosse, from Native American tradition, and British rugby have become popular as well. It also provides a soft landing surface on which to crash.
Injuries are inevitable in contact sports.
But with proper conditioning, equipment, and technique, competitors in contact sports have successful, healthy playing seasons. Podiatric physicicans, specialists in care of the lower extremity, not only treat injuries athletes and get them back into competition as soon as safely possible, but also help athletes get into a condition that minimizes their risk of injury to the foot and ankle. The time a football, soccer, or lacrosse player spends in an actual game represents only a tiny fraction of time spent in practice, conditioning for competition. Practice involves hours of running, repetitive drills, and scrimmages every day. These injuries can nag at a player and hamper, if not end, a season of competition.