Thursday, November 21, 2013

Possible Lisfranc injury could end season for NFL quarterback.

Various sources on the internet are reporting that the Tennessee Titans quarterback, Jake Locker suffered a foot injury in the team’s game on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was announce that locker hurt his foot in the second quarter and is highly doubtful to play against the Colts on Sunday.
It is reported that Locker said “I don’t know exactly how it happened, but when I got up from that run I could feel it.
A Lisfranc injury, name after the French surgeon Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin is damage to the foot that causes metatarsals to be dislocated from the tarsal bones. This usually involves the ligament that holds the medial cuneiform to the second metatarsal base. These injuries can range from a ligament rupture to multiple bone dislocations at the tarso-metatarsal joints.  The patient usually have an injury of twisting or crushing of the foot such as motor vehicle accidents.

Usually the patient remembers the injury but is possible that the patient may not be aware at the time of the injury that he has been hurt.

Figure 3


Figure 1
Figure 2


The patient from figure 1 had no idea how he injured his foot but he has significant and multiple injuries.
The patient from figure 2 definitely knew he had an injury.
The patient in figure 3 knew he had injured himself and sometimes injuries such as these are not recognized in the emergency room.
For significant injuries such as figure 1 and 2 an open reduction with fixation is required to put the bone back where they are supposed to be and to allow healing. The following two pictures are examples of severe injuries requiring surgery to fix the fractures.

Figure 4
Figure 5













A less complex repair is seen below and is used for primarily ligament rupture and less extensive fractures.

Figure 6













In all of the cases shown bone healing is the limiting factor for returning to activities.
When it is reported that this injury can be season ending for Locker, it comes as no surprise. It is usually 6 to 8 weeks of non weight bearing required for healing to complete for these injuries.
The podiatric surgeons at Gulfcoast foot and ankle care are well versed at the diagnosis and treatment of midfoot fractures.
 If you have an injury and would like to be treated at Gulfcoastfoot and ankle call 239 566 8800 for an appointment.