The Achilles tendon, the largest tendon in your child's body, connects the calf muscle to the heel bone in the foot. Overuse of this tendon during play or intense exercise can cause rupture or inflammation of the tissue and lead to conditions such...
Casts protect and support injured or broken bones in order to reduce muscle spasms, pain, swelling and further injury. Casts come in various materials, but the most widely used materials are plastic and fiberglass. Depending on the type of injury,...
The fibula is a bone in the lower leg that runs in parallel with the tibia. The bone is located between the knee and the ankle joints and can be felt on the outside part of the lower leg. Fractures or breaking a bone can occur at any portion of...
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammatory condition of the fascia, the thick tissue stretching from the heel to the toe joints along the bottom of the foot.The most common symptoms include burning, pain and a stabbing sensation at the heel. A patient...
Ankle fractures are a common orthopedic problem. Assessing the instability of the ankle fragments helps guide management of the fracture. Not all fractures require surgery, but sometimes surgery is preferred to improve outcomes. Initial fracture...
Wearing a cast is no fun. It interferes with activities as basic as bathing and, of course, moving around. Luckily, some injuries require only a walking cast, which allows more mobility. A walking cast is smaller than a regular leg cast, but it...
The peroneal tendons originate from the peroneal muscles of the lower leg and run just behind the bone of the outer ankle, or lateral malleolus. According to the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy, these tendons help keep the...
Few things are more intimidating to someone with a broken leg than a set of stairs. Yet unless you live on one floor or have the ability to set up your sleeping and bathing quarters on the ground floor, at some point you will need to negotiate...
The tarsal navicular bone is a bone in the midfoot. The bone can be a site of midfoot pain when either a fracture or another condition affecting the bone has occurred. It can case a variety of conditions ranging from arthritis or joint space...
You may experience calf pain after your leg cast has been removed. This pain can be caused by muscle tightness, arthritic changes or decreased circulation. There are simple exercises and activities that you can do to decrease your pain.
The thigh bone, or femur, is a very strong bone, and a great deal of energy is required to break it. That is why most femur fractures occur with motor vehicle accidents or falls from height. The signs of a femur fracture are usually pretty...
Achilles tendonitis or achilles strain is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon, the tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heal bone. Overuse may cause this inflammation, and inflammation can be chronic. Some factors that may contribute...
You get out of bed one morning and begin to cross the floor only to be stopped in your tracks by excruciating heel pain. Sound familiar? It's a classic case of plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia ligament that stretches from your heel to the...
Your patellar tendon runs underneath the kneecap, connecting it to your shinbone. You use the patellar tendon, along with your quadriceps muscles and quadriceps tendon to straighten the knee. A patellar tendon rupture signifies the tendon is...
The name peroneal refers to the two muscles and their corresponding tendons that anchor those muscles to the outer edge of the bone near the ankle. A dislocation occurs when the fibers of the tendon snap out of their position, causing pain,...
A torn meniscus is a common knee injury that can sideline a football player for several months. Your meniscus provides shock absorption in your knee, and when it is torn it can cause pain and damage to other parts of your knee. Since football...
A broken leg may keep you from playing 18 holes, but it does not have to stop you from at least getting some practice in while you are laid up. You can practice a variety of different golf drills with a broken leg, mainly ones that focus on the...
A knee sprain can occur to any of the four ligaments within your knee joint -- the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the lateral and medial collateral ligaments. The injury is classified in three grades of increasing severity, with...
The severity of a broken kneecap can range from stable, nondisplaced fractures to multipiece breaks that require corrective surgery. The initial recovery period will take you off the baseball field for a few weeks, and there could be long-term...
The patella is one of the most exposed bones in the body. The body's design offers little protection between impact and bone. Impact trauma or being on your knees for a long period of time can cause the knee to develop bursitis or a broken...
Clubfoot, a congenital birth defect where one or both feet point downward and inward, affects 1.2 in 1,000 children, reports the University of Missouri Health System. In around 50 percent of cases, clubfoot affects both feet. Clubfoot affects boys...
Stress fractures may be minor injuries, but they are nothing to play around with. Stress fractures are small bone fractures that commonly occur in the foot, ankle or lower leg as a result of repeated high impact on the feet and legs, as well as...
The quadriceps are a large group of muscles located on the front of the thighs. They are a powerful knee extensor used in climbing, jumping and rising from a seated position. In her book "Anatomy and Physiology," Elaine Marieb notes that the tone...
A fracture is a partial or complete break in a bone. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, a fractured ankle means that one or more of the bones that make up the ankle joint has separated into pieces. There may be ligaments...
There are a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions that can affect the knee joint. The knee joint is made up of bone, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and soft tissue structures. Acute conditions range from infection to meniscal tears to...
Western health professionals and researchers have experimented with electrical stimulation of muscles since the 1970s, and, as of 2010, continue to do so. Electrical stimulation can build strength and prevent atrophy in injured patients, and keep...
Your tibia is the large bone of your lower leg that connects your thigh bone to your foot. The end of this bone closest to your foot is vulnerable to fracture as a result of forceful trauma to your foot or lower leg. This can be a debilitating...
No brace or alternative running gear allows an athlete with a fracture to continue activity without aggravating the injury. Stress fractures in the lower leg are associated with running and jumping because ground-reaction forces increase 12-fold...
Your shinbone, also called your tibia, is the largest bone in your lower leg. Your tibia serves as an attachment point for the large muscles of your upper leg, such as your quadriceps and hamstrings. A fracture in your tibia can be a debilitating...
