lisfranc injury, need to hear some happy endings :)

The screws aren't the excruciating pain. It is scar tissue in the sprained/torn/avulsion fractured ligaments, some of which must be broken up a little when you first start weight bearing movement. My injury was misdiagnosed by my college football teams orthopeadic surgeon. I was diagnosed with a midfoot sprain and attempted to practice/play unsuccessfully for two weeks after having it casted for only three weeks. You did the right thing by getting that surgery. It took me a year to put my full weight onto the ball of my foot without pain. After the season, an orthopaedic surgeon at VCU used a flouroscope and found bone fragments and an egregious amount of space between the midfoot joint. My story is just sad... As far as the screws, I have had those too and my experience is: the excruciating pain is not the screws, it's the injured ligaments. Get the screws out if the pain is still ridiculous 3 months post weight bearing movement. Also, it will get better. My injury was ridiculously painful relative to all other knee/ankle/shoulder injuries I have ever had (there have been many) but I can honestly say after about a year I can't even tell that I had the injury except for the bump on my midfoot and the scar. Oh by the way, I got the screws taken out of my knee... not my midfoot. I am generalizing my post op experience with my midfoot with my knee op. Taking the screws from my knee out ended up being an unnecessary procedure. Opening up that foot again and pulling those damn screws out could cause more unnecessary trauma, unless of course the ligaments have healed and you still have pain. Ask your doctor how long it takes for those ligaments to heal. It took mine about 3-4 months after weight bearing before the pain was marginal. Hope this helps. Good luck with your foot.

Hi Stephani,



I'm the person who started the first thread Kelly referred to. I'm now 4 years post-injury and doing very well. I do have pain in the joints once in a while, but most of the time I'm fine. I have very little nerve damage - maybe 2-3 times a year I'll move my foot in a way which irritates the nerves. I never fully regained motion in my big toe (it was my first metatarsal which had the most damage), but I can flex it some.



The only real problem I have is I can no longer dance. Prior to my accident, I went dancing every Friday night (line dancing, not clubbing), but the combination of bearing my weight on the ball of my foot and the force exerted on the lis franc area when turning just causes too much pain. I end up doing one (maybe 1.5) dances and that's it. I have to sit and ice my foot.



The really good news is that I just gave birth in December to my first child and ended up gaining 60 pounds during my pregnancy. The whole time my foot was absolutely fine. Even when they started swelling, I had no residual pain from the fracture and surgeries.



Good luck and blessings,

Anne :)

Wow!  Big hugs to all!  I was feeling sorry for myself and Googled Lisfranc Fractures to see if I can treadwater 4 weeks out, now that physical therapy has started and was shocked to find there was actually Lisfranc Fracture Club.  How cool!

My accident wasn't as action-packed as everyone else's on this thread...I should have just looked at the curtain rod that has fallen for the 20th time and just kept walking, instead of climbing onto a sturdy Cost Plus World Market bench and table to fix it. 

When I stepped down from the table, onto the sturdy bench after fixing the rod, the bench (with a footer ever so slightly smaller than the surface plane of the bench), tipped and my feet slid to the floor, causing me to land strangely with my full weight, on both feet, in a tip toe position.  My right ankle broke and I ended up with the dreaded Lisfranc Fracture with my left foot.

 

ER booted the right foot and put a soft cast on the foot with the Lisfranc Fracture.  Four days later I met with a trauma professor who suggested we try to correct the break without surgery first.  I will know in two more weeks if he thinks we can handle this without the pins and screws the majority of you've had. :(  sorry.

 

Crossing my fingers everyone coming to this site has a quick, and complete uncomplicated healing.

 

Peace out!

 

 

I recently had bicycle accident and wound up with a Lizfranc injury. I simply know I have never had such bad pain that was felt immediately. Confirmed by X-ray I was told in broke four bones dislocated, and crushed others. A reduction was done and told I would need surgery in several days. They stated pins would be used instead of screws due to crushed boned. I am pod 6. From what I have been reading, I'm not seeing surgeries just using pins. Is this more cause for alarm?

Good for you, your positive attitude will serve you well. My 17 yr old hurt his foot in a soccer game last year. He was misdiagnosed for 3 months but he had a 1mm separation dislocation between his 1st and 2nd met. Had one screw inserted in Feb inserted then removed May 10th. He is healing well, he has not had a lot of trouble with swelling and can jog and juggle the soccer ball for now. Cutting side to side will come next. HE has really done well, just about finished with PT. Hang in there, stay positive!

Yes - there are more happy endings than one would believe by just trawling the net...
I have pulled together a network of Lisfrancers in the last few months and
one of the most repeated responses when I find a new member is - glad to hear there is HOPE...

yep - I'm talking about the super cool LISFRANC FRACTURE CLUB on Facebook (thanks SG - 3 posts up!! xx)

we share Info, discuss Lisfranc related topics, provide Mutual Help and Support
but above all we share the experiences and stories of people who have actually experienced a LISFRANC
and that REALLY HELPS....

all Lisfrancers and there close friends and family are very welcome at the CLUB
https://www.facebook.com/LisfrancFractureClub OR just search Facebook for Lisfranc Fracture Club

My friend hurt his foot in a car accident. He couldn't use  his leg for six months, but with a lot of exercise with his therapist, he started walking very fast. Given how much he was hurt, he recuperated ver well.

You're awesome. Like seriously awesome. I'm a 25 year old female too who just got a lifranc injury2 weeks ago. no dislocation just a bad sprain and very slight separation so no surgery. im non-weight bearing but im leaving for iceland in 3 days anyway ; ) wish me luck