I sustained a lisfranc injury after a bike accident over two years ago. I was 59 years old at the time of the accident. I had avulsion fractures and a ~ 2mm displacement of the bones. I turned to these forums out of desperation and fear which actually increased my anxiety about the injuries. The injury was diagnosed by a podiatrist after an initial ER visit within 72 hours. I was given the option of surgery, or not. I opted for a non-surgical approach. This is a very individual decision and one that varies from injury to injury and treating physician to treating physician. My reasoning was that if the outcome was not acceptable, I could get the surgery later on. This was a risky decision because I was advised that the healing process could take at least a year. If the non surgical approach was unsuccessful, I was facing a second period of disability. I spoke with a nurse who tried what I did, but then opted for the surgery after having continuous pain after a two year period of non-surgical healing.
I was non weight bearing and used a knee scooter for about 9 weeks. I worked throughout this period after the first week at a desk job. I did not trust myself driving and could not because I had a standard transmission car. Throughout that 9 week period I did whatever exercises I could that were non-weightbearing. Following the removal of the cast, I had about 9 weeks of out-patient physical therapy and continued my home exercises. I resumed going to the gym as soon as I was able. I purchased an entire new shoe wardrobe! I used RX crocs in the house all the time for the first year or so. I was never barefoot. I used shower slippers. I purchased new balance shoes, one black pair for work, one white pair for the gym. They were not attractive. I had a difficult time walking for quite some time. I was not able to cross country ski 6 months after the injury.
I am now over two years out from this injury. I am walking and cross country skiing. I was never a runner and would be anxious about running again. The affected foot can feel sore, especially in colder weather or when I have not been weight bearing for a period of time. My podiatrist has said that the outcome could have easily been the same if I had taken the surgical approach. I feel relieved that I can walk without pain. I never really wore dress shoes, and have kept to "sensible shoes". I suspect that I may have problems in the future, but again, I may have had these same problems with surgery.
I hope this post offers some cautious optimism. I want to stress that one should get as much information as one can from one's treating physician before making decisions about treatment. This is a tough injury and one can't generalize from person to person. One thing I read was a study from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation on lisfranc injries: Trauma to lisfranc's joint: An Algorithmic approach Amol Saena. One of his conclusions: "Often a minor sprain may entail a protracted coarse of healing, straining the doctor-patient relationship. Doctors and patients, both, often under-estimate the severity and length of disability from these injries."