Mystery Injury becoming more clear.

Ouch. That does not seem like

Ouch. That does not seem like fun.
 
Wow, Wendy.  Not good.  Since

Wow, Wendy. Not good. Since this is a possible joint issue, could having RA have anything to do with it?

The Lisfranc injury

The Lisfranc injury is named for the French surgeon Jacques Lisfranc in Napoleon’s army. The Lisfranc injury is an injury to one of the small joints of the midfoot. The injury occurs when there is a dislocation or fracture and dislocation between the forefoot and midfoot joints.

Why is it called a Lisfranc injury?
The original injury described by Lisfranc usually occurred when a soldier fell from his horse, but his foot did not release from the stirrup--or so the story goes... The present day most common mechanism of this injury is when someone steps into a small hole, and the foot is unusually twisted with a great amount of force pushing down as well. However, there are many other means to sustain this type of injury including sports, falls, and automobile accidents.

What is the Lisfranc joint?
The foot can be thought to consist of three primary parts. The forefoot area consisting of the toes; the midfoot made up of the small bones called the navicular, cuneiform, and cuboid; and the hindfoot consisting of the talus (lower ankle) and calcaneus (heel). The Lisfranc joint is the space between the bones of the forefoot and midfoot.

The Lisfranc injury is an injury to the ligaments that connects these joints. Sometimes the injury is a simple dislocation (ligament injury) or a fracture and dislocation. The dislocation is a separation of the normal joints between the forefoot and midfoot. The fracture usually occurs in the midfoot bones.

How is a Lisfranc injury diagnosed?
Often this injury can be quite subtle on x-ray appearance. In order to better clarify the injury, sometimes it is necessary to apply a force to the foot in order to emphasize the dislocation. Also common is to perform an x-ray view of the normal foot as well as the abnormal foot in order to better define the injury.

What is the treatment of a Lisfranc injury?
Most often the treatment of a Lisfranc injury is surgical, although some minor injuries can be treated conservatively. If there is minimal displacement of the bones, a stiff walking cast applied for approximately eight weeks is an appropriate alternative. However, the more common treatment is to secure the fractured and dislocated bones with either internal (screws) or external (pins) fixation.

Healing is complicated in patients who sustain a Lisfranc injury. The most common complication of the Lisfranc injury is post-traumatic arthritis of the joint. Post-traumatic arthritis mimics degenerative arthritis, but its course is accelerated because of severe injury to a joint. This can lead to chronic pain in the injured joint, and may necessitate fusion of the joint in order to prevent chronic debilitating pain.

Another complication is called a compartment syndrome. The compartment syndrome occurs when traumatic injury causes swelling and bleeding to raise the pressure within the tissues of your body. If the pressure is raised sufficiently within a restricted area, the vascular supply to that area may become compromised, and this can lead to serious complications.
 
Here is a picture of my new

Here is a picture of my new friend (NOT) Lis





After looking at a bunch of pictures of x-rays etc. I thought, "But that isn't where it hurts!" Then I pushed on the spot the pictures indicated and it felt like someone threw a javaline through my foot and it came out the other side, right where the pain started. Ummm, okay, guess I found the tender point!
 
Oh no, this doesn't sound

Oh no, this doesn't sound good--I am so sorry, Wendy!! Hoping and praying yours ends up healing remarkably quickly & completely.
 
Spin class is helping :)  I

Spin class is helping :) I got some decent cycling shoes and having the stiff flat surface to push against was way better than VFFs (there are some things they just aren't good for, LOL.) I was able to put more weight on it and kept up much better this time. My foot still hurts, but I have been really really good about staying off of it and not pushing to walk straight. I hope tomorrow's x-rays go well. I'm hoping if I stay off it, the injury will be stable enough to heal on its own.