turf toe

Turf Toe: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Turf toe is not a term you want to use when talking to a head football coach about his star running back. Although there are worse injuries, turf toe -- an injury to the soft tissue around the big toe joint -- can keep a key player out of a game or a lead dancer off the stage for several weeks. 

Though it's most commonly associated with football players who play on artificial turf -- hence the name "turf" toe -- and dancers, you don't need to be a star athlete or a professional ballerina to get it. It can happen to anyone who is doing something that causes the big toe to be extended beyond its normal range of motion. Here is information about turf toe -- what causes it, how to prevent it, and how it's treated -- to help you stay in the game.