Gosh, 2014 already & in April it will be the third anniversary of my injury. I have been seeing posts from other Lisfranc victims via the Facebook page; www.facebook.com/LisfrancFractureClub & I often see questions & enquiries from newly injured people on long term pain, shoes etc. This got me thinking about how my situation has progressed & I remember only too well the uncertainty I felt & misery of the constant pain during the recovery process. I also remember the despondency that I felt when even 18 months later I still experienced severe pain after walking or being on my feet for a period of time. The doctors were reluctant to speculate on my prognosis, I think that this is probably something that most Lisfranc sufferers experience at some point from their medical team. I have had to work quite hard in the gym, with physiotherapists & personal trainers to rebuild the muscle & tendon strength etc lost during the none & partial weight bearing period of recovery. At times this has been embarrassing, frustrating & quite frankly slightly depressing, but interestingly the by product of this work has definitely been a significant reduction in the pain.
I still have the pins & a plate in my mid foot & I had a cuneiform fusion, whilst I do sometimes experience tenderness in my 3rd & 4th metatarsal joints I can confidently state that I am pain free most days. If I know that I will be on my feet for a long time then I prepare with perhaps taking with me a second pair of shoes & some Ibuprofen as I know I'll need to manage my foot. However the period of time involved has lengthened considerably from around an hour or so 18 months ago to 3-4 hours now. To be clear this is normally standing or walking in a court shoe on a hard floor surface, or walking quite vigorously. In thicker soled footwear or on softer surfaces I can be pain free for longer. I walk at a normal pace again these days & can even run if I want to. I won't be entering any marathons anytime soon though :-) Not that I wanted to run a marathon even before the foot !
I would advise anyone with this injury to seek expert help & advice on the physical rehabilitation as it will help you to get the best results possible. I am planning to go skiing again in a couple of weeks, this time for a whole week. I recently purchased my own ski boots with a custom fit boot liner so that should help too. I have had 19 sessions with a personal trainer to help me prepare for skiing. We have focused on weight bearing strength, lower back strength, hip, knee & ankle flexibility as well as upper body. At one stage I was leg pressing 120 kilos ! It has been hard, I have had to step outside my comfort zone & push myself to beyond it.
I can also wear high heels again, a two inch heel to work for most of the day is quite comfortable now anything higher is for special occasions only ! Stilettos are tricky, wedges or thicker heels work better I find as there is more support incorporated within the shoe design. The happy feet insoles I previously mentioned are also worth a try, the good thing about those is that you can insert them into any shoe & improve your comfort pretty much instantly.
Anyway this update may help I hope, don't give up it does get better !
I still have the pins & a plate in my mid foot & I had a cuneiform fusion, whilst I do sometimes experience tenderness in my 3rd & 4th metatarsal joints I can confidently state that I am pain free most days. If I know that I will be on my feet for a long time then I prepare with perhaps taking with me a second pair of shoes & some Ibuprofen as I know I'll need to manage my foot. However the period of time involved has lengthened considerably from around an hour or so 18 months ago to 3-4 hours now. To be clear this is normally standing or walking in a court shoe on a hard floor surface, or walking quite vigorously. In thicker soled footwear or on softer surfaces I can be pain free for longer. I walk at a normal pace again these days & can even run if I want to. I won't be entering any marathons anytime soon though :-) Not that I wanted to run a marathon even before the foot !
I would advise anyone with this injury to seek expert help & advice on the physical rehabilitation as it will help you to get the best results possible. I am planning to go skiing again in a couple of weeks, this time for a whole week. I recently purchased my own ski boots with a custom fit boot liner so that should help too. I have had 19 sessions with a personal trainer to help me prepare for skiing. We have focused on weight bearing strength, lower back strength, hip, knee & ankle flexibility as well as upper body. At one stage I was leg pressing 120 kilos ! It has been hard, I have had to step outside my comfort zone & push myself to beyond it.
I can also wear high heels again, a two inch heel to work for most of the day is quite comfortable now anything higher is for special occasions only ! Stilettos are tricky, wedges or thicker heels work better I find as there is more support incorporated within the shoe design. The happy feet insoles I previously mentioned are also worth a try, the good thing about those is that you can insert them into any shoe & improve your comfort pretty much instantly.
Anyway this update may help I hope, don't give up it does get better !
Special shoes ! Not bad for a girl with a broken foot :-)
