“Ankle stability is very important in BMX,” Napolitan said. “We’re always standing on the pedals—the bike is spinning around and you’re catching pedals with your feet.”
“You have to have pretty sturdy ankles,” he said. “It’s literally just kind of made my riding stay at a standstill.”
His ankle discomfort stemmed from a bone spur that was caused by old bone fractures he sustained during his riding career. The bone spur created a lot of scar tissue, which needed to be cleaned out in order for Napolitan to get stability, strength and the full range of movement back in his right ankle.
Dr. James Wang, a DISC foot and ankle surgeon, performed the ankle arthroscopy and removed the bone spur.
“We did a significant and lengthy cleanup of his joints,” Dr. Wang said. “I was not surprised at how much scar tissue he had in his joint.”
“He’s in phenomenal shape and he’s got that Red Bull mentality to push through things and train very hard,” Dr. Wang added.
