Linksters: Keep Your Eye on the Ball... Of Your Foot

CHICAGO – Before hitting the golf course this year, make sure your spiked golf shoes are ready for another season of birdies, pars... and bogeys. Preventing sesamoiditis (an all too common pain in the ball of the foot often experienced by golfers) can be as simple as modifying the spike patterns on the sole of your footwear.

"No golf shoe should have a spike located directly beneath the ball of the foot," says Daniel J. Hatch, DPM, FACFAS, president of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS). "The pressure from that single spike, magnified by the 15,000 steps you’ll take during an average round of golf, can cause intense pain and swelling around the sesamoid bones, an area commonly referred to as the ball of your foot."

ACFAS recommends the purchase of golf shoes without a spike directly under the ball of the foot. Your current pair of golf shoes can be rendered "foot friendly" by removing the offending spikes without a loss of traction.

For more information on foot and ankle health, or to find a foot and ankle surgeon in your area, visit FootPhysicians.com, the ACFAS patient education Web site.