Ankle/foot injury advice please

14 year old daughter with a history of ankle issues (mainly due to her netball playing I suspect). She recently had an MRI which showed no underlying issues and has been referred to physio to get exercises to help improve muscle strength to help support it (all sounds fair enough – netball is notoriously tough on ankles) – she has her first session next Wednesday.

However, last Wednesday she got another injury, but rather than being the normal ankle pain, it is more pain in the arch of the (same) foot (is a collapsed arch a possibility)? It hurts to walk on it but it is more comfortable when she wears her specialist supporting insoles (‘prescribed’ by a foot specialist she went to see). Today it’s netball league and she is desperate to play and just wants it strapping up but I am worried she might do further damage as it is a different injury to the ‘niggle’ ankle injury that she ordinarily can work off.

Is she mad to play or am I worrying overly and if she can play on it, she won’t do any further injury?

Nobody?

how did it go?
ice, ibuprofen, thai boxing liniment, massage, stretching and strapping?
Ive been reading a lot about how ankle sprains are not taken seriously enough nor treated to heal properly and go on to occur repeatedly

Exercise Overview
In 2021, Smith et al introduced the PAASS framework, which is a group of items that the authors recommend assessing after a lateral ankle sprain prior to returning to sport. These items are

Pain severity
Ankle impairments, including range of motion, strength, endurance, and power
Athlete perception, such as your perceived confidence and readiness
Sensorimotor control, including proprioception and dynamic balance
Sport/functional performance, such as hopping, jumping, and sport-specific activities
see article here

Im trying a fairly intensive rehab for my ankle (twisted last month) and wondering how much is too much
Advice seems to be if it hurts back off

Also i get bad foot cramp so somethings wrong there too.
But im getting old and dont heal so quick. When you exercise, you create micro tears in the muscles, so during sleep the muscle repairs even stronger. Do you need to actually be asleep for this repair process or is it just a matter of rest?
Sorry i cant help more

On the latter injury, might be worth getting checked out for plantar fasciitis, I’m no expert but from personal experience, sounds similar. In which case it’s possible competing will only make it worse and much enjoyable physio standing on a golf ball awaits.

We talked to her about it and recommended she didn’t play as we don’t know what it is, and with the physio appt. being on Wednesday she won’t have long to wait for a professional opinion. The problem is, she’s a teenager and can’t be bothered spending the time she needs to doing exercises!

could try Swimming.

I have ‘hyper mobility’ in most joints, as a result any activity that involves quick changes of direction is liable to result in a rolled ankle.

I first sprained both at junior school and repeated numerous sprains for years after. Running (pretty straight) helps strengthen and lessen the chances of injury. But at the moment I’m back to having pain in the right with a feeling of discomfort around the arch area and the tendons under. My personal opinion is this is a result of an injury and the over-working of muscles and tendons while the healing happens, but I am no expert, aside from being a lifetime owner of flappy ankles.

When I went to a physio they tried ultrasound – to no effect. I went to an Osteo/Sports massage type (I appreciate there is a lot of Osteo not being ‘good’ science around). It sorted me out, I go back from time to time, feels like I may need to go again soon too.

Not sure if this is much help, but it’s my experience.

Don’t power on through ignoring it. I was probably guilty of such in the past.

I’n currently sitting here with my foot in a boot having just had a bit of achilles and ankle reconstruction…..

these ankle exercises give me enough concern about my stability, that Im determined to carry on with them. Just starting i find Im so wobbly that its crucial to learn to do them properly.My balnce etc is much worse than i thought it was
Im much better on a bike

If you could get her to ‘prove’ that she can do those xercises well,get her interested in something that would show her how bad her balnce is, maybe she’d take it seriously

Sounds like plantar fasciitis.

I get foot problems on and off – usually when I sleep funny, and cross my legs with my heat on the top of my foot – it put’s pressure on the nerves on the top and I’m in agony for days. Often get arch pain and in my big toe. Usually happens once a year, but takes a while to recover – other things like wearing shoes too tight.

She’s going to have to lay off impact sports until it recovers, fairly simple.  I find I’m OK to cycle when any of my symptoms come up as my shoes are rigid. As soon as I need to walk it’s agony.

I broke my foot years ago, loads of physio for mobility, but he said best thing is walking on beach barefoot.  I still do it, really good workout.  Soft sand is the best, hard work getting started as whole leg aches, but soon build up strength.

If you don’t live near a beach, could just make a sand pit and push off with feet.