Foot drop is a symptom of an underlying neurological, muscular, or anatomical problem involving an inability to lift the front of your foot due to an impairment in the muscle in the front of your shin, the anterior tibialis. Foot drop presents as an individual dragging the foot and toes on the ground when walking or bending the knees to lift the foot higher above ground to avoid dragging. Physical therapy can help address foot drop and improve functional mobility and gait pattern through a targeted therapeutic and strengthening exercise program.

A calf strain involves injury to or tearing of the muscles in the back of your leg below the knee, primarily the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Calf strains are common among athletes who perform stop-and-go movements with quick bursts of speed, such as sprinters, football players, and soccer and tennis players. Physical therapy can help reduce pain, restore muscle strength and flexibility, and increase the speed of recovery through a progressive rehabilitation program to prepare the athlete for a safe return to sport.

Quadriceps strains are common in sports like soccer, football, and rugby that require sudden, forceful eccentric contractions of the quadriceps when performing a rapid or powerful knee extension, such as when kicking, jumping, or sprinting. The quadriceps are a group of four powerful muscles that are located at the front of the upper thigh that are responsible for knee extension. Through a structured rehabilitation program, physical therapy can help athletes recover from a quadriceps strain safely, helping them regain normal muscle length, strength, and control, reduce pain, and improve running and kicking technique to reduce the risk of future injury.

Shin splints are a common soccer injury that involves inflammation of the tibia and surrounding muscles, which strain where they connect to the tibia and develop micro-tears, causing pain through the lower leg. Shin splints often occur early in the season during intense conditioning due to a rapid increase in the frequency and duration of exercise that places too much stress on the shin bone and muscles. Physical therapy can help soccer players manage shin splint-related pain, restore function and strength in the lower leg, and help athletes return to sport safely.

Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a common overuse injury among runners and cyclists in which the IT band becomes inflamed and painful due to repetitive stress on the IT band. The IT band is a thick band of connective tissue that extends from the pelvis to the tibia, connecting to the outside of the tibia just below the knee. Physical therapists can treat IT band syndrome to lessen pain, restore movement, and return to activity and sport safely through targeted strengthening, gait training, manual therapy, and functional training.