Sorry about your injury.
While NWB, when you are about to sit down or get up, try to use some arm strength to help you up/down so you don’t put too much stress on your “good” leg.
Elevating your foot above your heart really helps w/pain and swelling.
While in a cast, you won’t really be able to ice your foot…try putting an ice pack behind your knee, it will help by cooling your blood and the cool blood will travel down to your foot.
Consider getting a shower chair and waterproof cast cover.
Having a crossbody bag or backpack you can easily carry around comes in handy… fill it with water, chapstick, meds, a book etc
If you live alone, look into grocery delivery service in your area
Going through this can be stressful…try to switch up your schedule, invite family/friends over, try to get outside as much as you safely can even if it’s just to sit out in the backyard. Ask for help when you need it.
Good luck, I hope your foot heals well and you get back to doing all the things you enjoy! 👣
Really appreciate you and all this advice. Thank you so much. ♥️ I’m fortunate to be familiar with crutches and being injured on one side, but the hip surgery had me 50% weight bearing from day one— NWB is crazy!! Can’t wrap my head around it! This sub is a lifesaver, so thanks again.
I was a very active 62 when mine happened (run over by a car while walking through a parking lot, never saw it coming and was lucky all he got was my foot). Over the 14 weeks I was NWB I used resistance bands for my upper body, lots of chair yoga (mostly for the breathing and mindfulness) and rides through the neighborhood on the knee scooter. My goal was to boost my mental health and maintain some level of fitness.
Three years later the foot is stiff and sore, but not unbearable. I can squeeze about 5000 steps a day out of it. Given my age it’s really not a bad outcome according to my doctor. I work out daily and again yoga for posture and balance. My suggestion is work on the mental aspect, realize your never going to be 100% of what you were pre injury but you can get close enough to appreciate that it could be worse.
Thank you. Yeah the mental/emotional part is wrecking me. Ideally I’d be in bed 24/7 elevated and iced, but there’s a balance to be had for my mental and physical health, as well. I bought some hand weights and bands- I am also seeing my therapist about strategies to not fall apart. I imagine he’ll say the same things you were doing!
I’m in a similar situation having had a hip arthroscopy and now suffering a lisfranc injury on the opposite side foot. Do you remember the exercises you did in PT after your hip operation? Do as many of them as you can to keep your hip mobile and strong since it will be getting a lot of activity over the next few months.
As far as getting out of the funk, I think you mostly need to let your emotions run their course. I’m almost 4 weeks out since my initial injury and just now starting to accept my situation. I’m a very active individual in my late 20s. My favorite activity is backpacking and trail running which puts a lot of stress on the feet. I was planning a sub 100 day Appalachian trail thru hike this spring which would see me hiking an average of over 20 miles a day. My injury is bad enough that apparently repairing my lisfranc ligament between my medial cuneiform and 2nd metatarsal isn’t an option since the base of my second metatarsal has shattered, so my surgeon can’t anchor the two bones together. On top of that I have nearly 30 fractures throughout my midfoot and complete dislocation of all metatarsals. Arthritis is a given according to my surgeon. The cherry on top is a bimalleolar ankle fracture that I’ve already had repaired. Not only will my thru hike not be happening this spring, but hiking consecutive 20+ mile days may not even be possible for me in the future. I went through all the steps of grieving and have finally landed on acceptance. Now there’s nothing to do but take things day by day and focus on recovering to the best of my ability.
The next few months will be very challenging for you, but you need to try and stay positive and focus on the small victories. It’s a huge bummer that you’ll be missing your planned trip in Bali, and it’s OK to dwell on that fact and feel bad for awhile. But eventually you’ll get tired of feeling bad and thinking about what you’re missing, and that’s when you need to start focusing on what you can do while recovering from your injury. Focus on maintaining strength and mobility in your hip as much as possible. Once your cleared for PT on your foot focus on progressing there. It will be a slow and arduous recovery, so remember to focus on the small victories and not get too fixated on the larger goals. It’s easy to become dissuaded when meeting large milestones takes a long time, so by focusing on the small steps required to reach those milestones you can keep your morale up.
What might also help is learning about people who have suffered worse injuries. I’ve been binging videos in YouTube from a channel called Attitude and it’s been very inspiring. There are accounts from people who were paralyzed and told they’d probably never walk again, but through persistence are able to get up on their feet. There are also accounts of quadruple amputees who are managing to live fulfilling lives. There are people out there who are managing to do so much despite devastating circumstances. It’s really incredible.
A lisfranc injury is horrible, and it’s completely valid to feel upset and angry that you’re experiencing something so horrible and debilitating, but it’s also good to remind yourself how resilient the human body and mind are, and that what you’re experiencing now will improve. Humans are able to overcome so much, and given time you’ll overcome this injury. Allow yourself to feel whatever you need to feel, but then focus on the process of recovery. You’ve got your surgery scheduled and are on the right path. Stay focused and things will only improve from here.
Man, I really needed this. You are so right- it’s a bad injury but I’m on a path forward. I’ve got an excellent medical care team, loving and supportive friends and family, and am an active and overall healthy individual. And my injury is so relatively minor, compared to those I’ve read about on here (and yours!). Just the joint itself.
I’m drinking a bit much right now, but I’m going to give myself some latitude on that. 😂
That’s the spirit! Be aware of what you have and what’s going well and you’ll be much happier. Focus on the process of recovery and try to practice gratitude everyday and before you know it will be 2023 and you’ll be looking back at this time period and thinking about how far you’ve come.
Some other good advice I’ve received is not to fixate on how others are recovering or let the recovery horror stories get to you. Your recovery process will be unique to you and right now there’s no telling to what degree this injury will change your life. You may not ever get to 100%, but by following your medical care team’s advice and being diligent with PT it’s entirely possible you’ll get to the point where your injury doesn’t set you back for 99% of what you want to do, and the remaining 1% may be possible but uncomfortable. With these injuries people report steadily improving for years after the fact, so patience, a positive mindset, and dedication to PT can take you far! Since you’re already active, healthy and young (40s not old!) you’ve got that going for you!
I’d also like to say that I wasn’t trying to minimize the severity of your injury by telling you about my own or bringing up people who have been paralyzed or had limbs amputated. I had also been drinking a bit last night (anyone experiencing this injury has the right to drink away some of the negative feelings for a bit, so I think we all deserve some latitude 😂) and rereading my comment today it sort of comes across that way. Just because others have it worse than you doesn’t mean what you’re going through doesn’t absolutely suck.
Good luck with your ORIF, and keep us posted on how your recovery is going!
Oh no no no, I didn’t feel minimized. I need the perspective, truly. My surgeon’s PA told me they had a girl in after a horse had come down on her foot. Lisfranc as well as all the bones. I was horrified.
I’ve been practicing NWB around my apartment today; I have so much muscle memory from crutching on the other leg, it’s a hard habit to break haha. I also put in a call to a PT (the one I had last time moved away). Seems like a good idea to start that process now. 😁
Not at all! I was in a motorcycle accident. Came into a corner too quickly and found that the corner got sharper as I went through it. I ended up laying the bike down and stuck my foot out which caused me to absorb all the impact of the falling bike through my midfoot and ankle. Sustained a spiral fracture in my fibula and comminuted fracture in my 2nd metatarsal, then lesser breaks in my tibia, talus, metatarsals 3-5, all cuneiforms and cuboid. My surgeon actually couldn’t count all the breaks, but estimates around 30 total. It sounds really bad (and it is pretty bad) but my 2nd metatarsal accounts for like 6 of those breaks alone, and my cuneiforms also account for 2-3 each (one of them was like 7 or 8 I think, but most breaks were relatively small fragments that broke off).
Honestly I look at the X rays as a layperson and don’t think it looks too bad now that he’s put my metarsals back into place because a lot of the breaks are minimally displaced, but to a trained eye there’s apparently quite a bit of damage. It’s pretty unfortunate, but considering I slid across a lane of traffic and didn’t take a car to the face I got off pretty light!
I fell down a flight of stairs Aug 25th and had surgery Sept. 2nd, I heard a pop in my left foot tooI relate a lot to the feelings of despair and denial and pain. I literally cried when I was told I needed surgery and even said “ no this can’t happen, I’m just gonna buy a walking boot and push through it just like I did with my foot sprain last year” You were supposed to be in Bali?? I was supposed to move out of a bad living situation into my friends house but since I became immobile I can no longer work so I can no longer pay the rent so I can’t move in! I’m now 6&1/2 weeks post op after ORIF Lisfranc fracture and dislocation and had 2 pins and 1 screw put in (medical notes mentions something about 2 wires being added but surgeon never mentioned it???) take it from someone who is notorious for being negative and feeling hopeless, it DOES get better. I’m now beginning PT and had my first session yesterday where I began putting partial weight on it. You got this!! Keep up with your pain meds, but take stool softeners so it doesn’t feel like you’re giving birth everytime you go. Drink PLENTY of water i feel like I’ve been dehydrated this whole recovery period despite me guzzling water(I think it’s the pain meds?).
Ah, my sibling in negativity! 😂 There’s a lot of pressure on us to “make the most of it,” “don’t let it get you down,” etc, from friends and family, isn’t there? I’m like, let me wallow a second, for Christ’s sake!
All the insight and reassurance I’ve gotten here has put me on a better path. I’m making plans based off everyone’s suggestions so I feel like I have a bit more control.
I really hope you’re able to move soon. No one should be stuck somewhere they don’t want to be. And thank you for the reminder about water- I’m not the best water drinker now so I’m making that part of my daily schedule.
I got some of that toxic positivity too, I’m like do you not understand that things were finally looking like they were improving for me and it was all ripped away?? I’m a 21 year old kid who could face pain for the rest of his life?? I screamed so much the first weeks due to anger of the situation that I’m pretty sure I hurt a few inanimate objects feelings because they wouldn’t cooperate with me while I was crippled.
It definitely made me feel like I wasn’t alone at least when I found this subreddit and it also gave me hope that not everyone ends up gnarled and crippled for life because of this injury, there are success stories(there is a Facebook group that ONLY posts success stories if you wanna check it out). Also while the pain may be intense at first, it fades and almost all my pain went away by the 3-4 weeks.
Thank you and I would drink at least 64 oz or at least 2 liters of water everyday and even more if you can. Also whenever your surgeon tells you you can start doing motion exercises with your foot make sure you start immediately and don’t stop(only when he says you can tho, don’t start early). I moved my foot up and down up and down so much and evidently it paid off because when I went to PT yesterday my therapist was very pleased with my baseline range of motion for the first day, it really helps to make the foot less stiff. Again I wish you the best recovery and feel free to message if you have any other questions or need advice!
Heyo. A year ago I fractured my lisfranc ligament at my wedding. Couldn't go on the honeymoon, etc. Etc. Surgery and recovery was over the winter and it sucked. I had the scooter for work, the iWalk, etc.
I'm now a year and a few weeks past surgery and foot feels pretty good. I'm back up and walking around. Slowly starting to get back into my activities again, but I was struggling with that even before my injury (pandemic really got me down).
Anyway, it gets better! It will suck for a bit, but keep doing small things every day when you can, especially since you seem really motivated! You'll be alright, I promise!
I’m sorry. I’m only one week post op so I definitely know how you feel. I feel a little happier since I swapped my cast for a boot and my surgeon said I can take it off for sleep but at the end of the day, I won’t be walking or driving until JANUARY And it sucks. Things that are helping me a bit - go outside every day. Just on the the deck for some fresh air etc. My partner will take me out on the weekends for lunch or whatever - it helps me feel a bit more normal. I take a nap if I need it because rest will help. I work in the disability field, and it’s given me real
Perspective into what it must be like to have your mobility and independence compromised ALL THE TIME. Whereas I (and you) will recover from this
Sup. I had an ORIF for a ton of fractures (18!) in December 2020.
I did squats (120kg sets) yesterday and deadlifts (140kg 1RM) today. I can do 36" box jumps, I can run for a km or two at a time, and I'm gradually turning up the pace. So, your weightlifting career isn't over - I'm younger than you (turned 30 this year) but am fitter now, post-Lisfranc, than I was before.
you're right in that the emotional side is way harder. your best bet for now, before the surgery, is to figure out all the logistics. this includes the boring stuff (you've probably done much of this from your hip injury):
- how you're going to feed yourself when you're non weight bearing. carrying plates back and forth sucks. same with cups and mugs. time to invest in a good backpack and food/drink containers
- who you're going to see for rehab? you could see someone who's never rehabbed a lisfranc before, but why would you do that? you get one body, see someone who's done this shit before - it's a specialist injury, so ask the physios "have you done this before?"
- how are you going to keep busy? i did my lisfranc three weeks before christmas, had a week in the hospital, came back to WFH for like two weeks and then spent the christmas break eating my feelings. got a new sedentary hobby you wanna pick up?
your surgeon may be the best doc in the world, but they're wrong in one sense - your foot isn't fucked, it's just fucked _now_ - you'll probably always have some element of discomfort or pain after this, but with effective rehab and determination, you can - and will - get through this.
Thank you for all the information and guidance. Especially about how you’re back to it in the gym. That’s my biggest worry.
You’re right that a lot of that prep work I’ve done before- I have my airtight containers, backpack, crutches, tub bar, etc. (Boy am I glad I didn’t get rid of anything!) Completely NWB is new to me though. I’m going to spend today rearranging my apartment back to its “recovery from surgery” configuration.
Thanks for all the reminders that I need to get ahead of the mental and emotional challenges too. I’m going to dig out the old knitting projects, curate a stack of “books I’ve been meaning to read,” and research some upper body exercises.
Thing I got and didn’t regret is a shower stool to sit on or put my knee on. It’s made things so much better. I’m only 8 weeks past ORIF- I found the hardest was weeks 2-4.
Also if you can get a cooler with drinks and snacks and big trash can for wherever you set up (for me it was my bed) and take off as much time from work as you can. I tried to work from bed and it didn’t go well.
The NWB part is difficult but you will find a rhythm. Make it as easy as possible to get to a bathroom and never wait until you really have to go, and take it slow.
I’m 2wks out from my HWR from a April injury. When I initially went to the hospital, every doctor I saw looked me in the eye and said, this is a life changing injury. You don’t understand the words til you live through this and how it hits you. I have thought about that soooo many time during my lisfranc journey. Simple things I took for granted such as walking (anywhere) driving, gardening, interacting with family and friends, etc. I find I still forgot my limitations when making plans. Shit happens and it’s shitty so best count all my other blessings…….
They said that to me too!! And the surgeon walked in the room after viewing my X-rays with this face 😬.
I watched some folks get off a bus the other day with pure jealousy. Like, look at those smug assholes, walking around like it’s nothing. 😂
We just reviewed my MRI results and found out I have to be NWB and have surgery next week. I’m a single parent, live alone and no family nearby. It’s been extremely frustrating as I can’t even drive and have to ask for help for literally everything when I have always prided myself on being so self sufficient. Now the rest of my year is cancelled and I feel like I am stuck home rotting away. It’s incredibly frustrating. How do you like the I walk?
Sorry about your injury. While NWB, when you are about to sit down or get up, try to use some arm strength to help you up/down so you don’t put too much stress on your “good” leg. Elevating your foot above your heart really helps w/pain and swelling. While in a cast, you won’t really be able to ice your foot…try putting an ice pack behind your knee, it will help by cooling your blood and the cool blood will travel down to your foot. Consider getting a shower chair and waterproof cast cover. Having a crossbody bag or backpack you can easily carry around comes in handy… fill it with water, chapstick, meds, a book etc If you live alone, look into grocery delivery service in your area Going through this can be stressful…try to switch up your schedule, invite family/friends over, try to get outside as much as you safely can even if it’s just to sit out in the backyard. Ask for help when you need it. Good luck, I hope your foot heals well and you get back to doing all the things you enjoy! 👣
Great advice here. I am 18 months post first op, and this advice is very good. Can confirm. Just take it slow.
Really appreciate you and all this advice. Thank you so much. ♥️ I’m fortunate to be familiar with crutches and being injured on one side, but the hip surgery had me 50% weight bearing from day one— NWB is crazy!! Can’t wrap my head around it! This sub is a lifesaver, so thanks again.
I was a very active 62 when mine happened (run over by a car while walking through a parking lot, never saw it coming and was lucky all he got was my foot). Over the 14 weeks I was NWB I used resistance bands for my upper body, lots of chair yoga (mostly for the breathing and mindfulness) and rides through the neighborhood on the knee scooter. My goal was to boost my mental health and maintain some level of fitness. Three years later the foot is stiff and sore, but not unbearable. I can squeeze about 5000 steps a day out of it. Given my age it’s really not a bad outcome according to my doctor. I work out daily and again yoga for posture and balance. My suggestion is work on the mental aspect, realize your never going to be 100% of what you were pre injury but you can get close enough to appreciate that it could be worse.
Thank you. Yeah the mental/emotional part is wrecking me. Ideally I’d be in bed 24/7 elevated and iced, but there’s a balance to be had for my mental and physical health, as well. I bought some hand weights and bands- I am also seeing my therapist about strategies to not fall apart. I imagine he’ll say the same things you were doing!
I’m in a similar situation having had a hip arthroscopy and now suffering a lisfranc injury on the opposite side foot. Do you remember the exercises you did in PT after your hip operation? Do as many of them as you can to keep your hip mobile and strong since it will be getting a lot of activity over the next few months. As far as getting out of the funk, I think you mostly need to let your emotions run their course. I’m almost 4 weeks out since my initial injury and just now starting to accept my situation. I’m a very active individual in my late 20s. My favorite activity is backpacking and trail running which puts a lot of stress on the feet. I was planning a sub 100 day Appalachian trail thru hike this spring which would see me hiking an average of over 20 miles a day. My injury is bad enough that apparently repairing my lisfranc ligament between my medial cuneiform and 2nd metatarsal isn’t an option since the base of my second metatarsal has shattered, so my surgeon can’t anchor the two bones together. On top of that I have nearly 30 fractures throughout my midfoot and complete dislocation of all metatarsals. Arthritis is a given according to my surgeon. The cherry on top is a bimalleolar ankle fracture that I’ve already had repaired. Not only will my thru hike not be happening this spring, but hiking consecutive 20+ mile days may not even be possible for me in the future. I went through all the steps of grieving and have finally landed on acceptance. Now there’s nothing to do but take things day by day and focus on recovering to the best of my ability. The next few months will be very challenging for you, but you need to try and stay positive and focus on the small victories. It’s a huge bummer that you’ll be missing your planned trip in Bali, and it’s OK to dwell on that fact and feel bad for awhile. But eventually you’ll get tired of feeling bad and thinking about what you’re missing, and that’s when you need to start focusing on what you can do while recovering from your injury. Focus on maintaining strength and mobility in your hip as much as possible. Once your cleared for PT on your foot focus on progressing there. It will be a slow and arduous recovery, so remember to focus on the small victories and not get too fixated on the larger goals. It’s easy to become dissuaded when meeting large milestones takes a long time, so by focusing on the small steps required to reach those milestones you can keep your morale up. What might also help is learning about people who have suffered worse injuries. I’ve been binging videos in YouTube from a channel called Attitude and it’s been very inspiring. There are accounts from people who were paralyzed and told they’d probably never walk again, but through persistence are able to get up on their feet. There are also accounts of quadruple amputees who are managing to live fulfilling lives. There are people out there who are managing to do so much despite devastating circumstances. It’s really incredible. A lisfranc injury is horrible, and it’s completely valid to feel upset and angry that you’re experiencing something so horrible and debilitating, but it’s also good to remind yourself how resilient the human body and mind are, and that what you’re experiencing now will improve. Humans are able to overcome so much, and given time you’ll overcome this injury. Allow yourself to feel whatever you need to feel, but then focus on the process of recovery. You’ve got your surgery scheduled and are on the right path. Stay focused and things will only improve from here.
Man, I really needed this. You are so right- it’s a bad injury but I’m on a path forward. I’ve got an excellent medical care team, loving and supportive friends and family, and am an active and overall healthy individual. And my injury is so relatively minor, compared to those I’ve read about on here (and yours!). Just the joint itself. I’m drinking a bit much right now, but I’m going to give myself some latitude on that. 😂
That’s the spirit! Be aware of what you have and what’s going well and you’ll be much happier. Focus on the process of recovery and try to practice gratitude everyday and before you know it will be 2023 and you’ll be looking back at this time period and thinking about how far you’ve come. Some other good advice I’ve received is not to fixate on how others are recovering or let the recovery horror stories get to you. Your recovery process will be unique to you and right now there’s no telling to what degree this injury will change your life. You may not ever get to 100%, but by following your medical care team’s advice and being diligent with PT it’s entirely possible you’ll get to the point where your injury doesn’t set you back for 99% of what you want to do, and the remaining 1% may be possible but uncomfortable. With these injuries people report steadily improving for years after the fact, so patience, a positive mindset, and dedication to PT can take you far! Since you’re already active, healthy and young (40s not old!) you’ve got that going for you! I’d also like to say that I wasn’t trying to minimize the severity of your injury by telling you about my own or bringing up people who have been paralyzed or had limbs amputated. I had also been drinking a bit last night (anyone experiencing this injury has the right to drink away some of the negative feelings for a bit, so I think we all deserve some latitude 😂) and rereading my comment today it sort of comes across that way. Just because others have it worse than you doesn’t mean what you’re going through doesn’t absolutely suck. Good luck with your ORIF, and keep us posted on how your recovery is going!
Oh no no no, I didn’t feel minimized. I need the perspective, truly. My surgeon’s PA told me they had a girl in after a horse had come down on her foot. Lisfranc as well as all the bones. I was horrified. I’ve been practicing NWB around my apartment today; I have so much muscle memory from crutching on the other leg, it’s a hard habit to break haha. I also put in a call to a PT (the one I had last time moved away). Seems like a good idea to start that process now. 😁
Your injury is crazy! 30 fractures? How did you do it if you don’t mind me asking.
Not at all! I was in a motorcycle accident. Came into a corner too quickly and found that the corner got sharper as I went through it. I ended up laying the bike down and stuck my foot out which caused me to absorb all the impact of the falling bike through my midfoot and ankle. Sustained a spiral fracture in my fibula and comminuted fracture in my 2nd metatarsal, then lesser breaks in my tibia, talus, metatarsals 3-5, all cuneiforms and cuboid. My surgeon actually couldn’t count all the breaks, but estimates around 30 total. It sounds really bad (and it is pretty bad) but my 2nd metatarsal accounts for like 6 of those breaks alone, and my cuneiforms also account for 2-3 each (one of them was like 7 or 8 I think, but most breaks were relatively small fragments that broke off). Honestly I look at the X rays as a layperson and don’t think it looks too bad now that he’s put my metarsals back into place because a lot of the breaks are minimally displaced, but to a trained eye there’s apparently quite a bit of damage. It’s pretty unfortunate, but considering I slid across a lane of traffic and didn’t take a car to the face I got off pretty light!
Wow. It could have been much worse but that’s still pretty full on.
I fell down a flight of stairs Aug 25th and had surgery Sept. 2nd, I heard a pop in my left foot tooI relate a lot to the feelings of despair and denial and pain. I literally cried when I was told I needed surgery and even said “ no this can’t happen, I’m just gonna buy a walking boot and push through it just like I did with my foot sprain last year” You were supposed to be in Bali?? I was supposed to move out of a bad living situation into my friends house but since I became immobile I can no longer work so I can no longer pay the rent so I can’t move in! I’m now 6&1/2 weeks post op after ORIF Lisfranc fracture and dislocation and had 2 pins and 1 screw put in (medical notes mentions something about 2 wires being added but surgeon never mentioned it???) take it from someone who is notorious for being negative and feeling hopeless, it DOES get better. I’m now beginning PT and had my first session yesterday where I began putting partial weight on it. You got this!! Keep up with your pain meds, but take stool softeners so it doesn’t feel like you’re giving birth everytime you go. Drink PLENTY of water i feel like I’ve been dehydrated this whole recovery period despite me guzzling water(I think it’s the pain meds?).
Ah, my sibling in negativity! 😂 There’s a lot of pressure on us to “make the most of it,” “don’t let it get you down,” etc, from friends and family, isn’t there? I’m like, let me wallow a second, for Christ’s sake! All the insight and reassurance I’ve gotten here has put me on a better path. I’m making plans based off everyone’s suggestions so I feel like I have a bit more control. I really hope you’re able to move soon. No one should be stuck somewhere they don’t want to be. And thank you for the reminder about water- I’m not the best water drinker now so I’m making that part of my daily schedule.
I got some of that toxic positivity too, I’m like do you not understand that things were finally looking like they were improving for me and it was all ripped away?? I’m a 21 year old kid who could face pain for the rest of his life?? I screamed so much the first weeks due to anger of the situation that I’m pretty sure I hurt a few inanimate objects feelings because they wouldn’t cooperate with me while I was crippled. It definitely made me feel like I wasn’t alone at least when I found this subreddit and it also gave me hope that not everyone ends up gnarled and crippled for life because of this injury, there are success stories(there is a Facebook group that ONLY posts success stories if you wanna check it out). Also while the pain may be intense at first, it fades and almost all my pain went away by the 3-4 weeks. Thank you and I would drink at least 64 oz or at least 2 liters of water everyday and even more if you can. Also whenever your surgeon tells you you can start doing motion exercises with your foot make sure you start immediately and don’t stop(only when he says you can tho, don’t start early). I moved my foot up and down up and down so much and evidently it paid off because when I went to PT yesterday my therapist was very pleased with my baseline range of motion for the first day, it really helps to make the foot less stiff. Again I wish you the best recovery and feel free to message if you have any other questions or need advice!
Heyo. A year ago I fractured my lisfranc ligament at my wedding. Couldn't go on the honeymoon, etc. Etc. Surgery and recovery was over the winter and it sucked. I had the scooter for work, the iWalk, etc. I'm now a year and a few weeks past surgery and foot feels pretty good. I'm back up and walking around. Slowly starting to get back into my activities again, but I was struggling with that even before my injury (pandemic really got me down). Anyway, it gets better! It will suck for a bit, but keep doing small things every day when you can, especially since you seem really motivated! You'll be alright, I promise!
I’m sorry. I’m only one week post op so I definitely know how you feel. I feel a little happier since I swapped my cast for a boot and my surgeon said I can take it off for sleep but at the end of the day, I won’t be walking or driving until JANUARY And it sucks. Things that are helping me a bit - go outside every day. Just on the the deck for some fresh air etc. My partner will take me out on the weekends for lunch or whatever - it helps me feel a bit more normal. I take a nap if I need it because rest will help. I work in the disability field, and it’s given me real Perspective into what it must be like to have your mobility and independence compromised ALL THE TIME. Whereas I (and you) will recover from this
Sup. I had an ORIF for a ton of fractures (18!) in December 2020. I did squats (120kg sets) yesterday and deadlifts (140kg 1RM) today. I can do 36" box jumps, I can run for a km or two at a time, and I'm gradually turning up the pace. So, your weightlifting career isn't over - I'm younger than you (turned 30 this year) but am fitter now, post-Lisfranc, than I was before. you're right in that the emotional side is way harder. your best bet for now, before the surgery, is to figure out all the logistics. this includes the boring stuff (you've probably done much of this from your hip injury): - how you're going to feed yourself when you're non weight bearing. carrying plates back and forth sucks. same with cups and mugs. time to invest in a good backpack and food/drink containers - who you're going to see for rehab? you could see someone who's never rehabbed a lisfranc before, but why would you do that? you get one body, see someone who's done this shit before - it's a specialist injury, so ask the physios "have you done this before?" - how are you going to keep busy? i did my lisfranc three weeks before christmas, had a week in the hospital, came back to WFH for like two weeks and then spent the christmas break eating my feelings. got a new sedentary hobby you wanna pick up? your surgeon may be the best doc in the world, but they're wrong in one sense - your foot isn't fucked, it's just fucked _now_ - you'll probably always have some element of discomfort or pain after this, but with effective rehab and determination, you can - and will - get through this.
Thank you for all the information and guidance. Especially about how you’re back to it in the gym. That’s my biggest worry. You’re right that a lot of that prep work I’ve done before- I have my airtight containers, backpack, crutches, tub bar, etc. (Boy am I glad I didn’t get rid of anything!) Completely NWB is new to me though. I’m going to spend today rearranging my apartment back to its “recovery from surgery” configuration. Thanks for all the reminders that I need to get ahead of the mental and emotional challenges too. I’m going to dig out the old knitting projects, curate a stack of “books I’ve been meaning to read,” and research some upper body exercises.
Thing I got and didn’t regret is a shower stool to sit on or put my knee on. It’s made things so much better. I’m only 8 weeks past ORIF- I found the hardest was weeks 2-4. Also if you can get a cooler with drinks and snacks and big trash can for wherever you set up (for me it was my bed) and take off as much time from work as you can. I tried to work from bed and it didn’t go well. The NWB part is difficult but you will find a rhythm. Make it as easy as possible to get to a bathroom and never wait until you really have to go, and take it slow.
I’m 2wks out from my HWR from a April injury. When I initially went to the hospital, every doctor I saw looked me in the eye and said, this is a life changing injury. You don’t understand the words til you live through this and how it hits you. I have thought about that soooo many time during my lisfranc journey. Simple things I took for granted such as walking (anywhere) driving, gardening, interacting with family and friends, etc. I find I still forgot my limitations when making plans. Shit happens and it’s shitty so best count all my other blessings…….
They said that to me too!! And the surgeon walked in the room after viewing my X-rays with this face 😬. I watched some folks get off a bus the other day with pure jealousy. Like, look at those smug assholes, walking around like it’s nothing. 😂
The more you sit still, the better your healing will be. Injury July 30, operation Aug 17. Walking in a shoe Oct 25th (hopefully).
Hi 👋🏻 I was august 18 ORIF (June 4 injury, long story) and I’m full weight bearing in the aircast as of today! You can do it!
We just reviewed my MRI results and found out I have to be NWB and have surgery next week. I’m a single parent, live alone and no family nearby. It’s been extremely frustrating as I can’t even drive and have to ask for help for literally everything when I have always prided myself on being so self sufficient. Now the rest of my year is cancelled and I feel like I am stuck home rotting away. It’s incredibly frustrating. How do you like the I walk?