Busted up my foot, dammit. Docs? Got pics....

[Jim Bremner]

Second on listening to the Dr about not using your foot fopr 6 weeks.


I've broken 12 bones. 3 in my right foot. I wasn't allowed to use my right foot fro early April till late September!

Of all 12 breaks the foot ones still bother me 5 years later.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

So far I've been keeping the foot elevated except when taking a dump. Haven't figured that one out yet.

Had the MRI today, which hurt because my foot was jammed in a cage for 45 minutes. Guess I get to wait until Mon. to talk to the doc and find out the verdict

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

Second on listening to the Dr about not using your foot fopr 6 weeks.


I've broken 12 bones. 3 in my right foot. I wasn't allowed to use my right foot fro early April till late September!

Of all 12 breaks the foot ones still bother me 5 years later.

I broke both lower leg bones in my right leg skiing - spiral fracture. I swear that my "Jones Fracture" in my foot hurt much worse. I virtually went into convulsions.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

One month into it...

So, MRI showed a fractured medial cuneiform and definite Lisfranc tear. Doc's decision was to just leave it in the boot, 6-8 weeks non-weight-bearing due to no evidence of "malpositioning". Since then my foot has gone through every shade of the rainbow and still shows evidence of abuse.

Swelling has gone down some but is still there.

Saw the doc today and X-rays showed good progress but he wants me in the boot and NWB for another 4-6 weeks. He said I'll probably be able to start putting weight on it in 4 weeks or so.

Then he came up with the weirdest thing I've ever heard. He said that the way the ligament will heal is that it will build up scar tissue which my body will convert into ligament tissue. That sounds a bit too Dr. Curt Conners to me, but then again I'm just a lowly engineer.

Pain has been variable. Sometimes it's nothing and sometimes it's pretty damned annoying. Definitely worst when I'm trying to sleep...I don't think I've gotten a full night all month. The best part is with all of this hopping around and such, I finally wrenched my back pretty good so now I couldn't stand up if I tried. Thank goodness I didn't use up all of my oxycodone earlier...

[Drdogface]

Jeeze, Bro... You have been thru it and I feel for you. First the busted foot and now the back... Guess you just have to wait it out. Your question re: the ligament.. what the Doc said is what will happen but it will take a lot of time. Ligaments heal more slowly than bone and I know that's not what you want to hear. If you use it too soon or bear too much weight you can easily re-injure it and basically start all over. I wish I had better news... The bone will do just fine but ligaments can often be a SOB to deal with...so follow orders... Maybe I should FedEx you a case of beer to keep you busy

[BlueSkyJaunte]

LOL, if it was good gluten free beer I'd take you up on that offer, but I'm pretty sure no such thing exists.

Frankly I'm just tempted to inject some superglue into the site and see what happens.

[Tobra]

You tear the ligament and it bleeds a bit, fills in with scar tissue and gives you some stability. I would suggest some compression in the boot, wrap it up really well with an ace bandage every morning.

Stay off it, even though it probably does not hurt nearly as much at this point

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Thanks Tobra. It's an inflatable boot, and I have to crank it up to keep the thing from moving around anyway. But I will start wrapping too it now that the pain level is down somewhat. As for keeping the weight off of it, that's not a problem--I'm flat on my back anyway until it improves. I lead such a glamorous life.

What do you think of my superglue idea?

[Tobra]

Flat on your back is okay if you have a barrel racer gal or gymnast on top of you, but you don't want to get any blood clots in your legs, move around a bit.

Superglue is already used for skin. Difference between the stuff used in the OR that is $50 a tube, and the stuff at your house that is $0.50 a tube?

Purple dye.


For your purposes, the superglue would be PRP(plaetlet rich plasma)
Platelet-rich plasma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Best possible news at the podiatrist today. X-rays clearly show ligament repair and ideal alignment of all bones (i.e., zero changes from all other images to date). The doc's exact word was that things were looking "great". Doc says that I can begin putting *limited* weight on the foot (still in the boot) starting Monday. This means
hobbling with crutches around the house, but with both feet actually touching the floor. I'm to ramp this up on a weekly basis based on my pain level, and after 3 weeks we'll do another X-ray to re-eval alignment (again!). The boot *may* come off at that point. I have a strong suspicion that my old cane will continue to be put to use for a while.

My wife was thrilled to learn that starting next week I am permitted to remove the boot so I can drive. Of course I have to wear a shoe while driving and will need to put the boot back on to exit the car...but it's a step (ahem) in the right direction. The doc set me up with a handicapped tag to avoid overly-long walks when I commute.

I credit my (so far) on-schedule recovery to Tobra, who was kind enough to hammer home the importance of keeping the weight off my foot. My doc here understated it somewhat. Thanks!

[Tobra]

If it is the R foot, be very careful driving, brake with the L foot even if it feels wierd and stay the heck away from people so you are not slamming on your brakes.

If L foot and you have 3 pedals, trade cars with someone for a bit that has a two pedal one.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Boot came off today, contingent on tolerable pain levels. All kinds of weird sensations in my foot--it seems to hurt/tingle/twinge everywhere EXCEPT where the frac/tear happened. My ankle is rather painful and my right calf is about 1/2 the width of my left.

Now begins the long road to a return to normality. Have another visit in a month at which point he'll let me know if I can start slowly returning to martial arts (iaido) class.

[Tobra]

Do range of motion exercises, circles in the air, spell the alphabet with your big toe.

Contrast baths will help with the tingling thing. Two pans of water, one ice water, the other warm but not hot. Few minutes in the ice water, minute in the warm. Start and finish with cold, total of 15-20 mintues

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Thanks Doc.

I have to say, anyone who ever says anything negative about podiatry (I can name a few such dumbasses here) does so purely out of abject, unmitigated ignorance. Messing up your foot messes up EVERYTHING else.

I doff my hat to you, Sir.

[Drdogface]

Now...if you had a thorn in your paw I could help

Glad you're doing better

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Haha, thanks Dr.DF.

Think I'll go buy a Ducati to celebrate...I wish!

[Tobra]

I may have said so before, but it will feel more "secure" if you use compression, like an elastic sleeve that you put on it. A bit of support under i will help too. I like the Superfeet ones myself.

Increase your activities gradually, especially if you are over 40. Avoid walking barefoot for a while. I have no idea what period of time "a while" is, but you will figure it out PDQ if "a while" has not quite passed.

I talk bad about podiatrists all the time; couple of MFers around here I could kick square in the nuts and feel pretty good about it.

[mikeesik]

Check out the Thread on GOUT.

[Don Ro]

Unbelievable!
A guy screws-up his foot, posts-up a pic, & a foot guy renders thousands of dollars worth of guidance.
Unreal.
Best forum around, I say.

[Tobra]

Thousands of dollars? Don, you are high. I just told him what the other guy probably told him in person.

Oh, and if my last post was unclear, I meant to say a couple podiatrists around here piss me off to no end