The top athlete and pro surfer, Kelly Slater Instagram and a photo of both of his feet showing x-rays of the left and right foot. He explained he has had 5 foot injuries since 2003 with the most recent on the right foot ligamentous strain which can be called turf-toe. He explains he had the same injury one year ago.
Interestingly the x-rays show many serious foot injuries to the bones and joints. On the right foot previous broken metatarsal is to the third and fourth shafts can be seen to have repaired with larger bony areas. The right second metatarsal also shows the cleaning in the shaft which shows previous to crash or break injury. The right first metatarsal has two small sesamoid bones underneath it to help it glide the metatarsal when walking and running and these are slightly misplaced due to slight forefoot splaying. The right 50 toll distil joint appears to be fused which is common after repeated toe breaks. The left foot so was similar forfeit splaying with sesamoid displacement and also some shoes in of the left 52 and also the fourth and fifth toes in the intermediate phalangeal joints.
This is most likely due toe breaks over the years with barefoot sports such as surfing. With x-rays showing trauma to the feet such as these injuries it would be interesting to hear the stories behind the injuries.
I didn’t realise sitting cohkd be so dangerous. If this is Kelly skaters feet X-ray imagine what the rest of his body on X-ray looks like!
Dear Blu, surfing, as with most sports, have their risks. We wish a safe and enjoyable time to all sports-persons. Best wishes, Footerella
The left 2 and 4 toes look different to the ones on the right foot. And the right foot has 2 swollen skinny bones in the middle of the foot. Does he need surgery?
Dear Abdulla, yes you are correct. The more activity you put a joint through the more ‘wear and tear’ it will receive. This is called osteoarthritis and can be seen in the joints of the left foot toes. This might not be a bad thing. It might actually make the toes stronger but it impairs the flexibility. the swollen bones you mention are called metatarsals and they have been fractured and healed with thicker bone interaction to the trauma. Best wishes, Dubai Podiatry Centre
I had a metatarsal fracture but it healed like normal. There was no sign of a break after they made an X-ray 2 months later. Why is this foot bones damaged? Shouldn’t they heal like normal bones? Jad
Dear Jad, it depends on the extent of the break. A hairline fracture to the metatarsal may just have a subtle boney repair but if the metatarsal has been fractured completely it will heal thicker and in most cases stronger. In your case we are happy to hear your foot healed very well. Best wishes, Dubai Podiatry Centre
At first I thought the feet looked the same but then I started to see the extra thicker bones and no spaces between the toe joints!!this is so cool. The right foot has taken a big impact at some point! Just goes to show what it takes to be a top athlete. No pain no gain! Donna
Dear Donna, That is good to hear that you can see the boney differences between the feet and indeed being a top athlete increases the risk of physical personal injury. Best wishes, Dubai Podiatry Centre