Although Ohio NFL teams will not be facing the Washington Redskins for a few weeks, they may still gain an advantage if Redskins’ wide receiver Pierre Garcon does not take extra good care of his feet until then! Foot problems have affected a large number of football players as usual this year varying from Hakeem Nicks of the New York Giants foot infection to Cedric Benson of the Green Bay Packers lisfranc injury. Pierre Garcon’s injury has capsulitis of his second toe of his right foot, meaning that the joint capsule at the base of the toe has become irritated and inflamed.
Garcon’s injury may sound minor, but has been severe enough hinder his ability to play to his full capacity. A number of factors can contribute to an irritation to the capsule at the base of a toe. The second toe is most commonly affected due to a number of structural reasons. A long 2nd metatarsal (the bone at the base of the toe), the presence of a bunion, overpronation and tight calf muscles have all been found to be contributing factors to the development of this condition. Patients with capsulitis will often have a thick callus on the ball of the foot at the base of the painful toe. This callus and the bottom of the base of the toe will often be excruciatingly painful with pressure, as is likely the case for Pierre Garcon. This form of metatarsalgia will often feel like there is a lump in the ball of the foot, like the patient is walking on a stone. Capsulitis of the toe is also known as “predislocation syndrome” because, if not properly addressed, the toe can not only progress to develop a severe claw toe or crossover toe but can eventually dislocate.
For Garcon, hopefully he has had custom orthotics made to correct biomechanical deformities that have led to his capsulitis and to offload the painful area on the ball of his foot. While cortisone injections can be used to temporarily relieve pain in some conditions, they can actually accelerate the degeneration of the bottom of the joint in predislocation syndrome and should be avoided in most cases. After his season, Garcon’s best option for pain relief in the future may be metatarsal surgery to decompress and alleviate stress on the joint and plantar surface of the foot. Predislocation syndrome can frequently be confused with stress fracture, neuroma, or various other conditions and your podiatrist should be contacted to correctly diagnose and treat the true problem.
Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885-3338 (FEET) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.
Columbus Podiatry & Surgery has opened a new location in Gahanna, near Easton. Please call 614-476-3338 (FEET) for an appointment with a podiatrist in Gahanna, OH today.
