Podiatrists Are Seeing a Wave of the Same Exact Injury This Summer — And Your Cleat Drawer Is to Blame
The World Cup boom has a blister-shaped shadow.
Foot doctors have a name for what's walking into their offices this summer: the comeback foot. Adults who last played in high school, lacing up decade-old cleats for World Cup-inspired pickup games.
The pattern is always the same. Old cleats with compressed padding, worn on modern artificial turf they were never designed for, by feet that have spent fifteen years in cushioned sneakers.
The fix costs less than one urgent care copay. Turf shoes or flats for artificial surfaces, actual soccer socks instead of ankle socks, and — this is the one everyone skips — wearing the new pair around the house for two days before playing.
Your high school cleats are a museum piece. Frame them, donate them, or throw them out. Just don't play in them, or you'll learn what 'comeback foot' feels like from the inside.
