Lisfranc acting up again
by C. Swanson
I fell and sustained a lisfranc sprain 6 months ago. I was in a hard cast for a month and then a walking boot for another. After the initial incident there hasn't been much pain - I would say more stiffness than soreness. I was doing ok as long as I didn't try to walk for 12 hours straight, but in the past month or so it seems to be getting worse. Today I'm back to limping again as I have pain at the base of my big toe when I flex my foot to walk. Any ideas - is this the lisfranc again or something else? ANSWER Hi, If the pain is coming from the big toe joint one must assume there is an issue going on specifically in that joint. This may have come about as a result of your Lisfranc sprain that you previously sustained. Any time there is an injury to the foot if it leaves you with even residiual stiffness or tenderness that will tend to throw off your normal gait. The slight difference in gait that occurs may then adversely affect other joints in the foot, even the ankle, knee, hip or back depending on how sustained and how bad the alteration is to your normal gait. Having said that, there is also the possibility that your big toe joint has begun to hurt on its own. I know nothing about you in terms of age, weight, occupation, etc. so it is hard for me to know whether or not you are having issues with the joint per se. You mention the big toe joint as the source of your pain; not only might the joint be affected, but there is the possibility that you have a different issue going on such as sesamoiditis or metatarsalgia. So, I would recommend that you have the big toe joint and the immediate surrounding area examined by a foot specialist to see if there an issue with that area specifically. If not then the old Lisfranc injury needs to be revisited to see if there is a residual issue. Perhaps an MRI would be indicated to get a better idea of what is going on with the tarsal area of the foot. If there is found to be an issue with the old Lisfranc injury then that should be addressed otherwise you are looking at having ongoing issues with your foot. Marc Mitnick DPM DISCLAIMER
Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? |
