2015- 5 years in August

Again, I’d like to thank everyone for their inspiring words if encouragement and sharing their stories. The road to recovery was hard and sometimes discouraging but things are looking up!

I recently went to the doctors and was diagnosed with post-traumatic arthritis from the injury. This explains the infrequent pain that I have been experiencing in my foot. Apparently, arthritis is common for injuries that require movement throughout the healing process (feet, hands, wrists and ankles to name a few).

Of course it’s not something that is going to affect my quality of life. Honestly, I’d say I’m about 90% back to my old self.

Again, thank you for your kind words. You have all been so supportive! And if you are current suffering for a Lizfanc or if you are working on your recovery…please continue to share. I have received countless comments thanking me for posting my experience and all of you are such a large part of that!

Let’s celebrate 2015 for all of the amazing things that this year may hold!

 

 

Thank you!

I wanted to thank all of the readers, followers, and those that have posted on this blog. It’s inspiring to hear your stories, and helps remind me that I’m not the only one going through this long and inconvenient recovery process. I appreciate the support, and the kind words that you’ve written here.

I also want to thank those that have posted about their own experiences. I love hearing your stories, and how your recovery is going. It’s been over 3 years now since the initial injury and while I still limp after a long walk, and experience stiffness and mild pain on occasion, I’ve learned that this is just a really, really, really slow progress towards getting back to normal.

Thank you again! Please don’t hesitate to comment on your progress!

Nearly the 3 Year Anniversary

As those of you who’ve suffered from a lisfranc injury know…celebrating the day you fractured your foot isn’t really an exciting celebration. However, it is rewarding.

Looking back on my journey, and posts, I’m glad to say that I am nearly back to normal. I haven’t experienced severe pain or swelling in some time! I have complete feeling in my foot (toes included)…the only place where I’ve lost feeling is along the incision. The scar is starting the fade and I’m no longer walking with a limp all of the time!

However, I’ve also realized that my foot will never be 100% normal. I still experience soreness after a long day. If I’ve been on my feet all day then I do limp a little in the evening. My foot is stiff in the winter due to arthritis.

I’ve found that a cloth/elastic foot brace helps when I’m experiencing soreness or stiffness. I bought mine at Target for about $15 and it’s a great investment!

I still can’t wear high heels, and my balance isn’t what it used to be. I’m hoping to start getting back into Yoga soon. Honestly, Yoga is amazing for balance and stretching…the different poses really pushed me to stretch out my entire injured foot without worrying about overworking it.

As always, please feel free to post questions or comments! I try my best to respond to everyone.

I wish you all the best in your recovery!

Recovery: Slow and Steady

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how long the recovery process lasts. My answer? I don’t know.

My hardware was removed mid-December 2010. Now, more than a year later, I still experience some pain and a slight limp. In fact, sometimes my foot is so stiff and sore in the mornings it sounds like I’m stomping around the house. Additionally, the slight limp I have is still noticeable enough for my friends and family to comment on every once in a while.

I recently went to see my doctor about it…I had convinced myself that the pain I was still feelings was a sign that something had gone wrong. Maybe the surgery had gone wrong, maybe I wasn’t healing right. The doctor’s answer? “Everyone heals differently.” He went on to explain the a lis franc injury is very traumatic to the foot, and it can take years (or never) to fully recover. However, here are some things that I believe have helped me that hopefully will benefit you:

• Stretching- Not just your foot and ankle! I stretch both legs and my back every morning. I’ve also starting attending a local yoga class once a week. I honestly believe that stretching out my muscles has helped ease some of the tightness I feel in the mornings or after being on my feet all day.
• Sensible shoes: Even the doctor commented on how the right shoes with the right support can not only help ease the pain and discomfort, but actually aid the recovery and healing process. I’ve found that the best shoes for me are well supported, padded, one-inch wedges. Obviously I’m in no shape to start wearing heels (a fact I’m still sad about) so the wedge gives me the support and balance I need. The one-inch incline helps distribute my weight evenly and prevents my from favoring my “good” foot. Additionally, the slight heel also helps hide the limp!!
• Walking/Hiking: I’ve started walking about 2-5 times each week. Typically on the week days I’ll do a 1-mile walk in the evenings and on the weekends I’ll walk 4-5 miles at once. In the beginning, even walking with comfortable walking shoes on a flat, even surface was hard. My body could sense what was going on and my limp would get worse (I swear!). But after the first 1/4 mile, the pain would ease and the rest was relatively easy. Now that I’ve been going at it for a while, I don’t feel the pain while walking although my foot can get a little stiff the next day. **Start slow!! Don’t push yourself with a steep trail or uneven path right away…trust me!!
• Wearing socks to bed and slippers around the house: I never really knew how much weather could affect injuries. Wearing padding even around my carpetted house and socks to bed to help with the cold has really helped ease the stiffness, limp and pain I feel in the mornings. The warm weather is also a blessing!

I’ve started to notice that after a few months of doing these things regularly, the overall pain has started to subside, the limp is getting less noticeable, and I’m starting to pick up my injured foot a little more when walking. I know that a long recovery is not what a lot of you want to hear, but it’s true. Find something that works for you to help strengthen your foot (more than a year after my last surgery I can still tell that my injured foot and ankle are weaker), and stick with it! There is no quick fix and walking once or stretching every once in a while is not going to magically make it better.

Honestly, I’m starting to see this injury as a blessing in disguise. I used to be pretty over-weight (which I know was a factor in the injury), but focusing on helping my foot recover has led me to start living a healthier lifestyle. I’ve started working out more, stretching more and taking vitamin D to help strengthen my bones (I would highly recommend having your doctor run a blood test for vitamin D if he/she hasn’t already…my doctor said that was a factor in my injury in the first place).

Good luck with all of your recoveries, and feel free to comment me with questions!!

Trying to get a follow up

Alright, before all of you make the same mistake I did….here is some advice:

When your podiatrist sends you home with some helpful stretches and work-outs and says his/her final goodbye, STAY IN TOUCH! I took this advice to mean that I was healed, that I didn’t need to schedule a follow-up because, well, the doctor said I didn’t need one. Now, about a year later…trying to get a follow-up appointment is hard. My original podiatrist doesn’t want to see me without a referral from my general doctor. My general doctor doesn’t feel comfortable reviewing my case because he wasn’t consulted during the injury and frankly, doesn’t know anything about it. So now I’m trying to get on the nurses good side so they’ll schedule my follow-up appointment. It’s been a work in progress and so far I’m getting no where.

Unfortunately, that’s all I have to say right now. My foot is doing well, still a little sore in the mornings, especially now that the weather is getting cooler. I’ve started hiking, and I’ve discovered that as long as you have good hiking shoes with a lot of support there is very little pain or soreness. My biggest complaint right now is how little balance I have on that foot, but I’ve researched different yoga and pilates stretches that will help build up my balance. I would strongly suggest asking your doctor about balance and strength workouts/poses as soon as he gives you permission to start walking on the foot again. I’m sure it will help expedite the recovery.

As soon as I actually get an appointment, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

Thank you so much for your support!

Quick Update

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted and just wanted to give everyone a quick update. I still have minor swelling in my foot when I’m walking in flip flops all day…but the shoe inserts I bought for work are amazing. I just bought the cheaper Dr. Scholls inserts for women, they are mostly cushioned on the heel, so I’m sure that if you searched you’d be able to find something a little more effective. Ideally, having some support and then cushion on the top of the foot would work wonders.

My foot still hurts, mostly the ankle and occasionally I feel pressure when I try to distribute my weight evenly throughout the foot. I haven’t seen the doctor since right after I had my second surgery (so in December), but because I still limp my family has strongly advised me to make another appointment just to follow up. I will be doing that in the end of May…because I’m graduating this semester things at school/work have been getting a little hectic.

Other than that, no complaints. I’m definitely seeing improvements…and from the people that I’ve spoken with the recovery is the hardest part simply because it takes so long.

Back to the Real World

Last week was my first week back to school and work. I work as a barista so I’m on my feet all day and the lisfranc injury has definitely had an impact. I think I’m going to have  to buy inserts to put in my shoes for added support, because by the end of the day my foot is throbbing and my ankle swollen. I’ve also started doing regular stretches in the morning…foot rotations and lunge-like stretches because the muscles get pretty tight after a good 8 hour sleep.

It’s mind-blowing that more than 6 months after the original injury I’m still feeling the effects. I’m very curious of those of you who’ve already gone through the recovery process, how long did it take before you felt your injured foot was able to compete with your uninjured foot? That is, how long until you stop feeling pain and were able to walk/run normally?

A New Year Begins

Status Update: It’s been nearly 5 months since my first surgery and a little over a month after my second, but I’m going strong. I’ve gotten full range of motion back in my big toe, although the feeling isn’t really up to par. It’s a little hard to explain, but the sense of touch is there…just a little dull. The doctor said that this might go away in time, or it might be permanent nerve damage; there’s no way to know for sure and it’s just one of those things I’ve got to wait out. It’s really not that big of a deal, the only downside is that the lack of complete feeling makes me baby the toe, so when I walk I find that I’m placing most of my weight on my heel…and this is defiantly NOT RIGHT. The doc made it perfectly clear that I need to start distributing my weight evenly on my foot because otherwise the muscles won’t strengthen and I could end up doing damage to my ankle.

Speaking of ankle…that’s where most of the pain it now. I have no problem walking, but the further I walk or the longer I’m on my feet the more my ankle hurts. This is normal, because I’ve lost the muscle mass in that foot…the ankle is actually what you have to watch out for now, since it’s so easy to twist or break it.

** Building back lost muscle takes time. Apparently, according to my podiatrist, for every month you’re non-weight baring it will take roughly 2 months to build back the muscle that you’ve lost. To help speed up this process he recommended daily or bi-weekly exercise routines that consist mostly of light weight baring (cycle, water aerobics) that will help build back that muscle without increasing the chances of injuring another part of my weakened foot. **

Other than that I can’t complain. If you’re just starting the weight baring expect random cramps in your calf, and a stiff ankle in the morning. GOOD LUCK!

This might be my last post…unless something traumatic happens regarding my foot…then I’ll update this blog. Have a Great New Year!!

Status Update

I had a brief conversation with my doctor recently and he said the physical therapy isn’t necessary. I found this surprising because many of the lisfranc blogs that I’ve read have all stressed the importance of PT. The doctor wasn’t very specific regarding the reasons why I don’t need PT other than stating that my healing process is ahead of schedule, I’ve had no complications, and I’m young (22).

In order to get the mobility back in my big toe, he said that “this is one of the few times where I recommend simply working through the pain.” SO, every morning and evening I bend the toe back and forth to help loosen it up, using my good foot as a guide.

Now walking is a completely different story. I’ve started taking the dog out to a lagoon near my house which has a soft, dirt track around it. I’m trying to do the 2 1/2 mile lap every day to help build back the muscles I’ve lost and try to get back into shape. The lap takes my about an hour and a half because I walk at a rather slow pace still. My biggest issue now is teaching myself not to baby the foot anymore, which is proving to be surprisingly hard. It’s instinctive to place my weight on my heel and limp a little to prevent putting my full weight on the foot; however, if I go slow and force myself to walk normally there is actually very little pain. The only downside is that my calf occasionally cramps up, and at the end of the day my whole body is sore.

I’ve been assured by both my doctor and those of you that have posted that the recovery is a long process. I know that it’s going to take some time before I can bend my toes without stiffness and get the complete feeling back in my foot. I also don’t expect to be running or hiking anytime soon; however, the progress I’ve made so far gives me hope.

I’ll try to keep you guys posted every once in a while, but it seems that this blog might be coming to a close soon.

Happy Belated Turkey Day (for those in the US)

My foot is well on it’s way to becoming just your average, normal foot again. I’m slowly putting more weight on it, and starting tomorrow I’m going to lace up in tennis shoes and walk without the boot! I’m very excited! My big toe is still pretty stiff and only has about 50% of the feeling in it though, which is a little frustrating since I feel like I should be past all that nonsense.

The doc told me that this is one of those rare times where I simply need to work through the pain. He recommended that I stretch out my toes every morning and evening while I’m in bed. I’m supposed to force my toe up and down with my fingers dispite however painful it might feel in order to get rid of the scar tissue that’s built up over the past few months. I’ve been doing that for the past week now and I’m already starting to get a better range of motion…however the feeling is about the same.

Because my injured foot hasn’t really touched the ground it’s extremely soft and sensitive. Walking on the carpet is a completely different experience and the sensations on the heel and bottom of my foot make the whole process a little more exhilarating (trying not to say exciting too often). However because I can’t feel much in my big toe it makes it difficult to gauge how evenly I’m distributing my weight on that foot and prevents me from walking normally…so I still have quite a noticeable limp. I’m not too worried about that though considering I’ve only started practicing walking without the boot and having to baby my ingued foot for so long I expect a limp is nothing to complain about.

All in all I think that I’m out of the woods with this injury…and if it stays at the rate it’s going I very much doubt that I’ll need to see the doctor again.

 

BY THE WAY- HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL! I hope that you are able to spend time with your loved ones, even if you’re suffering from a Lisfranc Fracture or any other type of injury. The holidays are officially upon us and even with mobility issues I hope that everyone can find something that they are thankful for, as well as something to look forward to over the next few weeks.