Lisfranc Foot Fracture Stories-part 2

ggb

Hey thats awesome. I could not even fathom doing a full day of amusement park walking right now.
So about 5 months post injury your doing ok- I'm trying to give myself some kind of time frame of returning to work. I wish I had a desk job, but that is most certainly not the case.
I go weekly for xrays now and all seems well. Tomorrow is the next appt.

I still have pain on the top of my foot( actually near the last 3 toes ). This surprises me since the only ligament tear was the 1st and 2nd met. AKA LISFRANC.

I hope this is due to inactivity.

I will be cleared to partially wt. bear on June 23rd. and i'm really looking fwd. to that. Right now I can actually stand barefoot with full wt. on my foot with no pain. Pushing off with the ball of my foot is a totally diff. story.

I hope this is normal. How long was it for you to push off without pain?

Hope everyone is healing ok.

D

Here's a brief recap of my history:

First week of Feb: while avoiding a fall in my own home I came down hard on the toes of my right foot, felt my entire foot fold over the top edge of my shoe, and heard a snapping noise. Had severe pain, couldn't bare any weight at all on my foot, and foot immediately became extremely swollen and terribly bruised along both the top and bottom of my foot from just behind my arch up to the base of my toes.

Valentine's Day, 2008: underwent surgery to insert 5 screws and 2 pins to stabilize everthing from 1st through 5th metatarsals. Told absolutely NWB for next 8 weeks. After 3 weeks, once the soft cast and stitches were removed and I had a boot to wear 24/7, was given the ok to rest the heel of my right foot on the floor for balance, but absolutely no weight on the ball of my foot. I was also allowed to remove the boot to move my toes and ankle and I did it a lot. I kept a good range of motion in my ankle by doing that. During this time still had lots of swelling and pain, especially from the pins which were embedded in my skin, but were poking me from the inside.

March 10, 2008: 2nd surgery to remove pins. Ok to start weight bearing in my boot. Also began PT. Had to do a lot of regaining strength and balance from being NWB for so long. Took a little longer than I expected to get to full weight bearing--about 6 weeks. Had to cut back each time my foot became painful again.

May 28,2008: After being completely weight bearing in a boot with little or no pain for about 3 weeks, given the ok to get rid of the boot. My x-rays are looking great---Dr. let me know how surprised he is by how well my recovery has gone. He and every PT I have worked with have been shocked by how severe my injury was. In fact, I've had three different PTs tell me they've never seen an injury like mine, involving the entire width of my foot.

My question is this: I still have painful red lumps that range from the size of a peanut to a walnut shell along my two large incisions. Do these ever go away? I also have pain when I walk down stairs and just walking in general without my boot on. The doctor says it is because I still have 5 screws in my foot which are not letting my foot move normally yet.

Can anyone tell me if the pain goes away when the screws are removed? Right now I'm lucky to be on my feet for an hour and then I've got to sit down and rest my foot. Anyone who has really returned to being able to run, jump, and push off with the injured foot? Or should I just consider myself lucky to be walking at all, even if it's not all day and I have a slight limp.

I'd appreciate any feedback from those of you further along than I am.

Hello ashleymom,

Thats great news that you are doing so well. I wish anyone who has this injury the best. This is by for the hardest thing I have ever had to go thru, and I only have 2 screws. I did have a large gap 4.5mm in my Lisfranc joint (1st and 2nd met.) that needed ORIF.

I and 10 weeks post op and also have pain on the stairs. Since I am behind you in the recovery stage check out this thread between myself(DEANO73) and a Pro. raquetball player who had a full recovery. It helps me to think that there is hope to return to normal athletic competition.


**edited by moderator**

Yes, I had a lump under the incision. Dr. said it was scar tissue which went away after about 2 months following 1st surgery. It's been a month since 2nd surgery and it seems to be going away again. No discomfort on stairs but I still use the hand rail for security. Yes, it felt alot better within a few days of having my screw removed.

I invested in comfortable socks (thorlos) that seem to help during the recovery. I also wear running shoes with arch support around the house versus going bare foot (drives my wife crazy!).

I just wanted to pop in and give an update. I'm five weeks from injury, w/ hard cast and 2 screws from 1st to 2nd meta. No pain or swelling at this time.


I am a high school special ed teacher. Physical, emotionally demanding job. Doctor gave green light to return to work last week for finals and graduation. Insurance paid for me to rent a rolling scooter (RAMM Turning Leg Caddy) or else I would have been apprehensive.

After 1 month holed up in my house, returning to work was the absolute best medicine. Clearly I could not do much without help, but it was doing things independently and being with people who cared about me that really made a difference. Also, I found my foot could be left down for longer and longer periods without throbbing. Now I only need to put it up at the end of the day. No meds needed.

Hubby won't let me drive with my left foot :-( So still not able to have that level of independence or to drive mself to 50 miles to work, but I wanted to let everyone know that the depression was eased for me when I got back to routine outside of the home somewhat. I can't do everything I used to (yet) but I can do a hell of a lot more than I thought I could.

Also when I got back I was awarded district teacher of the year (!) so that helped, too :-). You don't need two good feet to care about and love people or make a difference in this world.[/img]

Hello all,
I just found this site and I am so glad I am not alone. My foot was injured on Jan 14, 2005. I went misdiagnosed for nearly 8 months, "just a sprain" The pain was so servere, the same shooting pains as some of you describe, could not bear any weight. but my DR sent me back to work anyway after 2 1/2 weeks. Needless to say, It got worse and worse. When I was properly diagnosed because of MRI and CT, I discovered I had severely torn all ligaments on underside of foot, fractured 2 toes, and dislocated every joint in the lisfrank's region. I had surgery and now have 8 screws, basically a complete fusion. I still have chronic pain, I cannot work on my feet anymore, the farthest I can walk is across the street to my friends house, or to get milk at the store. Agter 18 years as a hairstylist, and at 51 years of age, I am having a difficult time finding work where I don't have to be on my feet.

If you're DR says NO weightbearing, that means NO weight bearing! stay off your foot at al costs. I know how hard it is, I was on the couch for 11 weeks following my surgery and I about went crazy with boredom. I mowed my back lawn today, and had to quit the pain was so bad. I wonder how it would be if I had been properly diagnosed. Hand in there, my heart goes out to you all.

I suffered my lis franc in October, 2005 with surgery two weeks after the accident due to swelling. Although all of us are different and will heal differently, I have had several doctors and podiatrists tell me that my surgeon did an excellent job and that I healed perfectly from what they called a "severe injury."

Needless to say, my foot still swells on a daily basis, particularly when I have been aggressively walking, and I have to go down stairs like a two year old, one step at a time.

As someone stated earlier, we need to be grateful that we can walk, even with our limps and up and down pain levels. I was told from the beginning that no one ever totally recovers from this injury.

I've only posted a few times(PSUstudent - I forgot my password) but just wanted shed some positive light.

Really quickly...I was jumping on a trampoline landed with my foot vertical, basically bending it in half. They missed it in the ER so i went to an ortho after i couldn't run or jump 3 months later. I had a dislocation between the 1st and 2nd that was > 2mm and they put 3 screws in.
-7-3-07: injury
-11-17: surgery
-1-16: started walking with the boot
-2-27: 2nd surgery to take out the screws
-4-7: BOOT FREE!

Since it was an "old" injury and she didn't want to fuse it (because i'm active and 23), she gave me the option to stay on crutches and in the boot for a longer period of time....and it definitely worked!

I never had formal physical therapy but I started playing basketball in the morning and riding a stationary bike at night for 15 minutes in the middle of may. Since then, swelling is almost non-existent. I can sprint and jump without any problems and there isn't a time throughout the day where i notice it anymore.

I remember that when i first found this forum, there weren't many successful stories. I just wanted to drop back in and let you know that this injury can and does end well!

I've been reading this forum for the past few weeks and am so glad to have found a group of people going through the same thing I am. I broke my foot while skimming the pool nearly 4 weeks ago. I stepped half on/half off the edge of the pool, twisted and broke the foot and fell in the pool.

The ER doctor identified a fracture below the 4th met, but sent me to an OS for follow up. He identified the Lisfranc fracture between 1st & 2nd. I had surgery less than 1 week post injury and am now 3 weeks post surgery.

I had two screws put in and am in a boot. I am non-weight bearing until at least July 29, when the OS will take a weight bearing x-ray to determine if I'm healed enough. I am basically pain free, but get swollen and "uncomfortable" at various times throughout the day. I am allowed to take the foot out of the boot for showers and to "air" it, as long as I'm sitting, the foot is elevated, and my kids are nowhere around!

I have two questions:
1) Does anyone have any suggestions for sleeping? My doctor recommends that I sleep with the boot on, but it's terribly uncomfortable (as I'm sure many of you know). I tried sleeping with just an ace bandage wrapped around the foot, holding it in a fixed position, but I awoke 2 hours later in intense pain. Are there any good "night splints" or anything else that any of you recommend? How do you guys handle sleeping?
2) My doctor wants me to decide whether or not I want the screws removed. He's generally of the opinion that they are fine to stay in, except that they often break once patients begin walking. He says that if I'm uncomfortable with the idea of broken screws in my foot, I should have them removed BEFORE I start bearing much weight. I'm torn. I feel that if I leave them in, it may help the foot remain "healed" and less likely to reinjure. On the other hand, I've read so many reports on this forum about the pain and discomfort caused by the screws. Plus, I AM a little leary of the idea of having screws (especially broken ones) in my foot for the rest of my life.

Any suggestions or opinions? I'd truly appreciate hearing from those who have been there, done that.

Thanks! I look forward to getting to know all of you! BTW - I'm a 46 yo, not terribly athletic, SAHM.

As far as sleeping goes, I spent 4 months post surgery on the couch. I tried to remove my boot for comfort but the pain was to severe as well. And my DR. said DO NOT remove it because if the foot moves around it will impead the healing process. What I did was prop my booted foot on a pillow and slept on my back. I didn't have any problems with that. I feel for you, believe me I know the pain. And it is no fun going through this in the summer months.

I am fortunate I have my dearest friend living right across the street, so she would come over in the morning to check on me, refresh the ice in my cooler (I had it setting next to me with pop and ice water and snacks). I'm single, so she would mow and water my lawn, take me for "walks" in my wheel chair, load me up to get out of the house. If you think you ned a wheel chair just ask your doctor, crutches are fine, but you aren't as mobile and crutches can be dangerous, especially when on pain meds. Hope this helps.

I wonder if any of you who have had screws removed can tell me if it alleviated any pain? My screws were'nt removed (8) and I am in pain 24/7 a year after surgery. I still limp, can't do stairs, and am unable to complete simple things like mow the lawn. Also, if your screws are still in place, how are you faring?

Appreciate you response!

This is my first post. On February 28, I was playing basketball and this 260 lb behemoth landed on my foot. I new I was in trouble right away. I immediately went to the orthopedic who told me I was lucky, and nothing was broken. He gave me a cam walker to use, however I could not put any weight on my foot for weeks. I went back to the Doc around 2 weeks later to rule out a lis franc fracture, he sent me for an mri and the results were negative. On memorial day weekend 12 weeks after my injury I went to see a foot specialist who said I had a lis franc injury and recommended bone fusion. I went to see another orthopedic the next day, who recommended I do physical therapy for 4 to 6 weeks and then decide. Well I am now over 15 weeks into my injury, 3 weeks from when I started the physical therapy. I am still not walking normally, however there is improvement. I have my x-rays and when I measured, it looks to me like my dislocation is around 5 mm. I am trying desperately to avoid surgery. If I can walk normally in three weeks I will opt for NOT having the bone fusion. However I feel like I have been saying, that I should be walking normally in the next few weeks for a long time now. I am getting better, but I am still no where close to 100 percent. I feel for everyone out there. This has been the most debilitating, frustrating injury I have ever had. I would also say, unlike most people, I feel since there was a misdiagnosis, I have done everything that I probably shouldn't have done. i.e. weight bearing 2 weeks after the injury. Any way I'll keep those of you interested, updated on my non surgical progress. All I can do is pray that I heel so I can surf and walk normally. I guess this is an injury we will all live with forever.

wanted to give a tip on sleeping and a quick update. I put two pillows under the fitted sheet at the foot of the bed and that kept my foot elevated. I had a cast from after surgery until today (5 weeks) so removal was not an option. I only had pain for I think about 2 weeks.

Today cast was cut off and I now have the big black boot. Yay! I can do 50lbs. weight bearing for a few days, progress to 100 lbs. for a few more, and then try crutch free in the house after about 2 weeks! I'll be able to drive then, also. Very excited.

Had my 1 month check-up following screw removal. (Original injury was Jan 2008). X-rays showed good alignment of joint. I have been full weigh-bearing for last 6 weeks. While Dr. was twisting my foot, I still had some minor discomfort in one position. He still anticipates that I will have significant arthritis later in life. He also wants me to limit impact activities...running and continue to use an arch support in shoes. I am disapointed but just glad to be walking pain-free at this point. Dr. recommended Vitamin E oil massages to reduce the scar tissue lump under incision. I am also starting physical therapy.

updating my status. Surgury on 4/1/08. 2 screws.

12 weeks NWB. I am now partial wt. bearing in my boot. Feels ok but there is some pain in odd places. I hope this is due to 12 weeks on inactivity.

I go back to the Dr. July 3rd. At that point I should be full wt. bearing in the boot and will hopefully get into a sneaker. Screw removal set for July 22.

Hope all is well with everyone and keep the chin up. I went thru a period not to long ago about this thing. Its a long recovery, but it can be done.