Foot and ankle sports injury in cold areas

Abstract

Exposure to cold environments significantly elevates the risk of sports-related foot and ankle injuries. Low temperatures induce stiffness in muscles, tendons, and ligaments, reduce tissue elasticity, and diminish overall joint flexibility. At the same time, frozen or hardened ground surfaces heighten impact forces while impairing the body's shock-absorption and adaptive response mechanisms. As a result, injuries such as ankle sprains (ligament tears), tendonitis, and stress fractures become more prevalent. Prevention is therefore essential and should focus on comprehensive warm-up routines, use of thermal and supportive equipment—including ankle braces—selection of footwear with adequate traction, and timely replacement of damp socks after exercise to maintain foot warmth and dryness.

Keywords

foot and ankle sports injury / treatment of foot and ankle sports injury / diagnosis of foot and ankle sports injury

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

Research ethics

Not applicable.

Informed consent

Not applicable.

Author contributions

Wang H and Zhu Z were responsible for research design and manuscript writing, Zhang H Y and He H were responsible for literature review and manuscript submission.

Use of large language models, AI and machine learning tools

No large language models, AI or machine learning tool was used for any part of the present study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Research funding

This research was supported by the Fund for 2023 Heilongjiang Provincial Health Commission Science and Technology Plan (No.20230404070193).

Data availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript.

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