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How to prevent blisters on feet when playing basketball
Tips to Prevent and Treat Blisters
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Gregory P. Tayler, MD
Anyone who exercises frequently knows foot blisters are an uncomfortable and unfortunate part of being active. If you bike, run, or even hike, you know a blister can literally stop you in your tracks. But thankfully, a blister doesn't mean the end of your fun. Thinking ahead can help prevent blisters and it's important to know how to treat them. Start with these tips.
You have a blister, now what?
Stop and adjust
When you get a blister it's important to stop whatever activity you're participating in and decide how to treat it. Powering through the pain can make your blister pop or even become infected. Readjusting your footwear can help prevent your blister from becoming larger. Straighten out bunched socks. Change your socks for a dry pair if they're sweaty or wet, and change your shoes if they're causing you discomfort.
Use padding
Blister pads, bandages, or moleskin are all great options for preventing blisters. Padding can also protect existing blisters. Keep in mind that not all pads stay in place effectively. You may need to try several options before finding one that works for you.
To pop or not to pop?
The best scenario for treating a blister is to keep it intact. Popping can increase the opportunity for infections to form. Most blisters will heal themselves if you give them a few days. If you have a large blister that's affecting your walking, it might be better to pop it. Follow these steps to safely pop a blister:
Check for signs of infection (pus that's green or yellow in color and swelling). If the blister is infected you should contact your doctor.
Wash your hands with soap and water, then clean the blister with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
Sterilize a needle with rubbing alcohol.
Locate the blister's edge and poke it with the needle in several places. Use clean gauze to soak up the fluid that comes out.
Apply antibiotic ointment over the blister and cover with gauze and tape or a bandage.
After several days you can cut away the dead skin and apply more ointment, then bandage again until healed.
Throughout this process, keep your blister clean. This will prevent infection.
Tips for preventing blisters
If you're active and tend to get blisters often, here are tips to help prevent new blisters from forming.
Wear better shoes. Shoes are often the culprit when it comes to blisters forming on your feet. Avoid shoes that rub certain areas of your feet or that cramp or squeeze your feet. The right shoe can make all the difference. New shoes may give you a blister the first few times you wear them. Take it slow and easy as you break in a new pair of shoes.
Wear better socks. Choose non-cotton socks that wick away moisture. If you know you'll be doing blister-inducing activities, double up your socks. One layer will soak up moisture and the other layer will give extra padding. Double-layer socks are more expensive but may help you avoid blisters. If you're in for a long run or hike, change your socks partially through, or whenever they become moist. Good socks can be expensive, but they're worth the cost if they keeps you from getting blisters.
Lubricate your feet before you exercise. Friction causes blisters, so it stands to reason that reducing friction can help reduce blisters. Rub petroleum jelly or other lubricants designed for runners on problem spots on your feet. That way your feet will slide around rather than rub.
Keep the calluses. It's tempting to shave off or pumice down unsightly calluses, but they help protect your feet.
Keep your feet dry. Other than changing your socks regularly, you can add corn starch or talcum powder to your shoes and socks to help wick up moisture. If you're going a long distance, take a minute to add more powder partially through your event.
Cover areas that are prone to blister. Just like you'd cover up a blister after it formed, you'll want to pad areas that are prone to blistering. The extra layer of protection helps to prevent a blister from forming.
A basketball blister is a patch of skin that swells and produces watery pus. Blisters are an often overlooked issue for basketball players and can be difficult to deal with for a regular player. The blister’s normal presence would be a white area of dense skin and is sensitive to the touch. When left unprotected, basketball blisters can break open, revealing the vulnerable, fragile skin beneath and increasing the possibility of infection.
If you’ve had basketball blisters before, you know how bad they can get and how long they can take you out of the game. Protect yourself with Foot Glide® Balm. These balms, which are made entirely of natural ingredients, establish a protective barrier between your skin and everything it may come into contact with. This protective layer wicks perspiration, sweat, and moisture away from your skin, allowing you to keep playing without worrying about getting basketball blisters.
Basketball Blister Prevention
Keep your feet covered. Consider wearing two pairs of socks (if wearing one pair does not help). Shoes should not be too tight or too loose.
Apply Foot Glide® Balm to the region of concern. This helps decrease friction when the skin rubs together or against clothing. The balm is sweat and water resistant – it keeps pores clog free by allowing sweat to escape and lets skin breathe. The effective and long lasting formula gives you all-day protection. Use daily in humid and dry conditions for a pain free active lifestyle.
Wear moisture-wicking clothing during physical exercise. Avoid clothing manufactured from cotton because it retains sweat and moisture.
Try using sticky moleskin or other lightweight bandages for problem regions, such as the feet or thighs. Make sure you securely add the bandages.
How To Treat Basketball Blisters
Basketball blisters eventually heal on their own. Although not recommended unless absolutely necessary, popping blisters should be avoided. If a blister needs to be relieved, use a sterilized needle to puncture the basketball blister and drain the puss. Apply an antibiotic ointment and bandage. Within a few days, the wound should heal. If you encounter further symptoms of inflammation, such as puss, redness, swelling, increased pain or bleeding, please contact medical professionals. After it has healed make sure to apply Foot Glide® Balm to prevent any future blister from forming.
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Why Do Blisters Form While Playing Basketball?
Skin irritation, friction, and moisture can trigger a basketball blister. Basketball players are prone to developing foot blisters due to the strenuous demands of the sport, the repetitive motion, like pivoting, induces skin irritation and discomfort. Improper shoes or ill-fitting socks exacerbate excessive rubbing resulting in basketball blisters.
How to avoid chafing and blisters while running
adidas retro poster about chafed nipples in men
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First of all, you need to understand that all these problems are running injuries. Therefore, first, they must be taken seriously; secondly, to eliminate the cause of the injury, and not its consequence.
It is not the corn that needs to be treated, but the foot needs to be strengthened; treat not black nails, but buy sneakers a size larger.
So let's start with calluses. To understand where corns come from, you need to imagine three "tops": heat, humidity, friction . These peaks in different combinations lead to the appearance of corns. Remove any top to avoid calluses.
Calluses are of two types:
Corns. These are dry corns, appear from pressure and friction, consist of keratinized parts of the skin.
Wet corns - lymph accumulates inside them. They are caused by a combination of heat, moisture and friction. The lymph in them works like an antibacterial bandage, in no case do not break through the skin on wet calluses for at least a day.
How to protect yourself from corns?
There are three "protective peaks": socks, powders, creams.
Socks - wick moisture and prevent friction, so cotton socks are not suitable for running (do not wick moisture). Dual layer socks reduce friction, two layers move independently.
Powders - reduce moisture, which reduces friction on the surface of the skin. Creams also fight friction like lubricants in machine parts. For prevention, before training, coat your toes and inner seams in socks with petroleum jelly.
There are other ways to prevent calluses:
foot strengthening exercises — weak feet rub more often;
temporary arch support insoles;
skin firming creams;
protective patches and tapes;
correct lacing and distribution of pressure on the foot;
frequent change of running socks, as well as shoe wear (watch your running shoes).
How to protect yourself from skin irritation?
An analogy can be drawn with calluses and the "three peaks": moisture, heat, friction.
Irritation occurs due to salt crystals that remain on the skin between the legs, under the arms and around the nipples when sweating and act like sandpaper on wood, removing layer after layer.
For protection, remove any of the three components:
Warmth - try to dress lighter (beginners use excessively warm clothes, which leads to moisture accumulation).
Moisture - as a result of excessive heat, choose clothes designed for running (they are made of polyester).
Friction - before training, apply cream or petroleum jelly to the most vulnerable areas: armpits, toes, perineum. Feel free to coat these places generously and thoroughly.
To prevent chafing of the nipples before a long workout, cover them with a band-aid!
Black nail formation
Possible causes of nail bleeding:
bumps when running in tight shoes,
weak lacing, which causes the foot to fidget inside (or just the shoes do not fit you).
"All nails go to heaven"
Prevention:
for long workouts, buy shoes one size or half a size up,
make sure you lace correctly using all the holes for the laces, this will prevent the foot from fidgeting inside the shoe,
do regular arch exercises, including running barefoot on soft ground,
temporary orthopedic insoles for arch support.
We have listed the main skin injuries in runners, found out the causes of their occurrence and gave recommendations on how to avoid banal, but certainly important problems on the one hand (for example, the causes of chafing of the nipples in men and ways to avoid it).
Running should bring joy and pleasure, good starts and personal records!
What else to read:
Strange things that happen to our body due to running - with explanations and advice from sports doctors
How to avoid calluses, cracks and black nails and what to do if they appear
For girls only: the whole truth about the cons of running
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How to protect yourself from injuries when playing basketball
2 minutes to read
Basketball is a contact and dynamic game where contact with an opponent, work with the body and legs are inevitable. In terms of the number of injuries, basketball is second only to martial arts. The knees, ankles, and Achilles tendons are most commonly injured. This does not mean that you can no longer play your favorite game. It is important to follow a few guidelines to reduce the risk of injury and continue to play for fun.
Body temperature at rest is lower than during physical activity. That is why it is necessary to prepare the ligamentous apparatus, muscles and tendons for the upcoming loads. Pay attention to every part of the body, especially the arms, legs and back. The warm-up may include light jogging, joint exercises, and ball exercises. Basketball has a lot of short explosive runs and not warming up before them will increase the risk of injury.
There are always jumps in the game of basketball players - during shots, rebounds, block shots. Shoes soften impacts from landings, reduce the load on the joints and give additional jumping ability. Basketball shoes have non-slip soles so that movements on the floor are clear and stable. Additional ankle support will help with a weak ligamentous apparatus.
Models with a Concept Power Frame system under the insole reduce the risk of foot dislocation. Often shoes are tied with both laces and Velcro to fix the legs.
You can play basketball both indoors and outdoors. When playing in the hall, opt for loose shorts and a T-shirt. Clothing should not restrict movement or interfere. You can wear two pairs of thin socks to avoid blisters and chafing.
Basketball has long used compression stockings, shirts and sleeves that improve blood flow, wick away sweat and create a second skin effect. The underwear is made without seams and will not rub the skin during the game.
During the game, basketball players can contact not only other players, but also the surface of the court. To soften the force of blows and give additional protection, protection for the knees, wrists and elbows, as the most common places of injury, allows. To fix the ligaments and support the joints, special bandages are used, which allow you to distribute the load due to compression and avoid injuries during the game.
There are also more substantial options - foam knee pads.
If you have a large blister that's affecting your walking, it might be better to pop it. Follow these steps to safely pop a blister:
Improper shoes or ill-fitting socks exacerbate excessive rubbing resulting in basketball blisters.
These peaks in different combinations lead to the appearance of corns. Remove any top to avoid calluses. 
