My Lisfranc Injury: Let's talk shoes...

Let's talk shoes... post-op shoes, boots, splints and casts. 

I know, I know, not as fun as fashion shoes, but it is what it is.

Vive Post-op Shoe

This one was purchased shortly after my injury (prior to surgery). I initially bought it to wear around the house and to sleep in. I ended up using this at work some as well. When my foot started hurting, after wearing the boot for hours, I would switch. It still gave a visual to everyone around me that it was injured, plus it is much lighter than the boot. It also gave me a reminder to not walk on it and provided a little bit of protection.

I ended up buying a second one and took it with me on a cruise. I decided to use this one around the pool deck and to swim in (one-footed swimming).  It wasn't too expensive, so I wasn't worried about messing it up.

This shoe is not a looker, but got the work done. It has 3 straps. There is a removable velcro patch. It allows you to adjust tightness level. You can cut off the excess strap, if wanted.

I haven't used this since I had surgery. I have incisions on the top of my foot and haven't wanted the shoe to rub them. If I end up using, I'll put in an update.

I bought this on Amazon for about $18. Link here.

Splint

While this may not really count as a shoe, same with the cast, it did cover my foot for weeks so it deserves to be discussed.

This thing was huge.

I work in an ER and see splints all the time. This was a ginormous splint. It was put on by the surgeon while I was under anesthesia. The nurse said his splints are always big. Extra protection?

I had to buy new pants because of this splint. I only had one pair of pants that could fit over it. And just a FYI, women's lounge pants usually have a bigger leg opening than men's. I was a little surprised by this, but there you go! We bought 4 pairs of men's and 3 pairs of women's--all sized up. We had to take back all the men's.

While I had this splint, I had to keep my foot elevated 90% of the time. I had to sleep on the couch and I didn't had a lot of movement. Even so, it was actually rather comfortable. I had minor itching and then pains from the surgery, but not much from the splint itself. It kept my foot cushioned and supported. It didn't allow for movement.

I realized how well it did it's job once it came off. I was in so much pain the week it came off. I was put in the Aircast boot for a week until my stitches were removed and then I was supposed to have a cast placed. I couldn't sleep the first night due to pain and then I cried most of the car ride back to the surgeon a week later. The bumps and vibrations got me.

Cast

They almost didn't put me in a cast. I had an option of staying in the boot, but I requested the cast. Due to the pain I had when the splint came off, I didn't want to stay in the boot.

Honestly, I had almost immediately relief of pain after the cast was placed. The last day I used prescription pain medicine was the the day we drove down to have it placed.

The week before my cast came off I decided to decorate it. I waited to do it, just in case I ended up hating it. I didn't want to have to keep staring at it. Aha. I ended up really liking how it turned out.

With the cast I had some itching and it did rub my toes some, but overall I didn't have many issues.

I had the cast for 3 weeks. I dreaded getting it off. I had some pain come back when it came off, but it wasn't even close to the pain I had when the splint was removed. I think I just needed a little bit more time to heal.

I think the biggest issue with the splint and the cast was showering/bathing. Now that was an ordeal. I ended up buying some cast covers on amazon. They worked pretty well, but it's almost impossible to put it on yourself. We also wrapped it in towels, prior to putting the cover on, for added protection.

Walking Boots

I have two walking boots. Both of my boots are considered air casts. They have pumps that push air into the lining of the shoe to allow a tighter fit, keep your foot in alignment and for comfort. One of the boots I received when I first injured my foot and then I received the other from my orthopedic surgeon after surgery. They are both quite heavy. You're supposed to keep your heel on the bottom of the shoe to stay at a 90 degree angle. I had trouble doing this with both boots--part of the problem is because I couldn't use weight to keep it down. I had to rely on straps and air pumps. 

Since surgery, I am supposed to be sleeping in a boot. Both are uncomfortable to sleep in. They are bulky, put pressure on parts of my foot and ALWAYS get trapped in the blankets. I have to sleep with one leg uncovered. 

The boots do have some differences. I'll go into some of them. 

Breg Walking Boot

This was my first walking boot. This one has a soft fabric liner that wraps around your foot. You then strap the plastic, outer liner. This boot has a 3 straps, one of which is over the ankle. This strap was very uncomfortable for me. Because of the placement of the strap, it put pressure on the part of my foot that was injured. If I had it tight, my foot hurt. If I loosened it, my foot slid all around the boot. 

While this boot is uncomfortable to sleep in, it has been better for side sleeping that the other boot. It stays in place better than the other. The liner is also much nicer. It goes all around the foot and leg. You don't have to have a tube sock/boot sock in order to wear it. 

On this boot, there is only one air pump "pocket". When you pump air into the boot, it disperses the air all throughout. You can not add air just to specific areas. This is a negative for me, compared to the other boot. 

I wasn't able to find a link for the Breg walking boot that I have, but I found a mid-calf version. Here's the link. 

Aircast AirSelect Elite Walking Boot

This was my second boot. 

It only has a cloth lining around the toes and at the very top of the boot. Because of this, it comes with a boot sock. The sock is supposed to prevent pinching and rubbing from the boot. I suppose it works fine, but it's just another thing to put on and keep track of.

The Aircast has a removable plastic front panel which has a pre-inflated liner. The liner, I believe, is added for comfort. For me, it puts a lot of pressure on the part of my injured foot. There is no way to prevent the liner from resting on my suture line and the area where my screws were placed. Also, the cloth liner around the toes does not have enough fabric. I can't get it loose enough. It rubs and is tight on my foot. 

The front liner has nothing holding it on to the rest of the boot. When you undo the straps, it falls to the floor. This also means that when I'm trying to strap it in the correct location it slides. I have to adjust it each time I fasted a strap. This is also why I don't like side sleeping with this boot. When I do, the liner shifts and put pressure on unwanted areas of my foot. But for sleeping on the back, I prefer this boot. When my foot starts bothering me, I have on multiple occasions just taken off the front liner. This is probably not recommended by doctors, but the foot is still sitting in a protective casing and there isn't pressure on the top of the foot. 

A lot of the issues I have with this boot are due to my suture line. Once my foot has healed more, I don't think many of these things will be an issue. 

My insurance covered my boot, but I found a link for the one I have on Amazon. Aircast also has boots with soft linings like the Breg version above. 

Walking in a Walking Boot

I'm still a few weeks away from this, but I'll update after I've limped around for a while.