 The Lis Franc's joint is considered the tarsometatarsal joint. This is essentially the joint between the small midfoot bones (cuneiforms) and the long forefoot bones (metatarsals) in everyones' feet. There is a Lis Franc's ligament that connects one of these small bones (the most "inside" of the highlighted portion, also known as the medial or first cuneiform.) with the second metatarsal, and typically this is what is injured in a Lis Franc's dislocation or injury. This ligament runs at an angle, when it is injured, the first metatarsal and some of the small midfoot bones can seperate from those metatarsals and tarsal bones normally next to them....This probably sounds like a bunch of medical jargon, and because of this, it is much easier to explain with x-rays and pictures...the one to the right is a normal foot with labels...It shows the "Lis Franc's joint", and how the alignment should normally be...
A common mechanism of injury in order for a Lis Franc's dislocation to occur is one in which the person is planted on the ball of their foot and a force is directed straight down the leg. An easy way to visualize this is when someone presses on the break pedal in a car, the pedal is only on the ball of the foot and if there is a further force straight down the leg centered towards the heel, then a Lis Franc's injury or dislocation can result.
I believe with Freeney, he had the ball of this foot on the ground and someone fell on the back of his leg. The drawing to the left is a representation of the mechanism of injury of a Lis Franc's injury and what happens with the joints. Notice the planting of the ball of the foot and the axial load straight down.
 The x-ray to the left is one that has had a Lis Franc's injury Notice the large gap between the first and second metatarsals (the long bones). These should fit snuggly right next to each other...this is only one of several types of injuries to the LIs Franc's joint, all varying in severity and levels of dislocation...There are a few ways to repair this, generally it involves several wires and/or screws. An example of this is to the right, representing the Lis Franc's injury(not the same patient as the one on the left). Surgical management's goal is to realign and fixate the joints...
Post-operatively, it really depends on the severity of the orginal inury, but I would say typically it involves a hard leg and foot cast with no weight bearing for at least 8 weeks...On top of this there is extensive rehab which would take several months...Dwight Freeney will not be seeing a football field for quite sometime, definitely don't expect to see him at the very least until next season...
I hope this helped clear things up with what exactly a Lis Franc's injury is...feel free to post questions and/or comments...
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Yeah....that's good stuff there
that's some good bloggin right there.
this is better than web md. Can the captain go over herniated L5 S1 disks next?
I'll tell you what, if you send him an email asking for it, he probably will. He's not only a Captain, but he's also a Doctor (in real life, seriously).
thanks - I was just kidding. Far too many health care professionals have explained it to me already. I just need them to fix it.
First, it always frightens me to find out that bloggers have life-or-death jobs in real life. How long before we see a photo of the Captain "shootering" over someone's sliced-open body?
Second, we'd all get on board with this surgery if someone would give it a catchy name like "Tommy John". Get Freeney's agent on the phone.
Excellent idea there Extra P...that will be my next mission...shootering over bloody patients....
since this is french name, is it safe to assume that john clayton (and everyone else on TV) is butchering the name?
like, it's supposed to be pronounced "lee fron" or something?
WOW, Captain...I'm impressed. You put the whole Lis Franc thing in terms the average person could understand and explained how it could have happened as well! Great job!
Off topic, but could you explain to distraught Eagles fans if Donavan McNabb will ever regain his form after his surgery to repair his knees?
Thanks Anonymous...thats kind of like, "Alias Maximus." Meaning...some guy named Maximus...either way, thank you. With your question about Donavon...it will be worked up...this could be possibly something I do weekly or bi-weekly...and gianluca if you truely want me to go over herniated disks, I will be more than happy to
Wow - i didn't even know the foot bones (metatarsals) were disconnected. I've seen tons of knee x-rays and diagrams but never one of the foot. Now I understand Wayne Rooney's injury too.