Santonio Holmes in his college days at the Ohio State University.
In the 4th week of the 2012 football season New York Jets player Santonio Holmes sustained an injury to his foot in a non-contact play that resulted in a touchdown by the opposing team when he fell to the ground fumbling the football.
A review of the film does not immediately give away what happened to Holmes, but if you watch closely you can see that the left foot was planted as his lower leg moved forward over his foot creating great tension over the Lisfranc joint, which is on top of the foot in front of the ankle joint, and possibly a dislocation or fracture.
Lisfranc injuries usually occur due to high velocity forces like a fall from a height or a blow to the foot with the foot planted and/or the ankle plantar-flexed (on tip-toe) by twisting the foot as in Santonio’s injury. These types of injuries are commonly seen in competitive sports, however Lisfranc injuries due to falling are most commonly seen in the elderly. We have treated several such injuries at the Beltsville Foot and Ankle Center and continue to see patients come in to our office with similar conditions. Below is a video of Santonio Holmes injury.
A Lisfranc injury is a very painful injury of the foot that involves 5 joints across the middle of the foot and a very strong ligament. The Lisfranc Ligament attaches the base of the 2nd metatarsal bone to the 1st metatarsal and the medial cuneiform.
This ligament is so strong it is more likely that it will pull a small piece of bone from either of the bones it connects than to tear. The Lisfranc joint is the tarso-metatarsal joint which attaches the long bones of the forefoot to the midfoot.
Any fracture of the bones of the joint or tear in the ligaments that hold it together cause the foot to become unstable. Lisfranc injuries can be successfully diagnosed with an x-ray or MRI. Left untreated it will cause chronic pain, instability, and arthritis.
The only treatment option is surgery to repair the ligament (and fractures if present) for professional athletes and the general population alike. The success rate for surgery on these types of injuries is generally very high, and with approximately 6 months of rehabilitation to help stabilize and strengthen the foot, most patients are usually pain free and back on their feet returning to previous activities.
The podiatrists at the Beltsville Foot & Ankle Center have extensive experience with, and successfully treated many cases of Lisfranc injuries. If you think you may have suffered a Lisfranc injury, give us a call today so that we can successfully diagnose and treat your problem.
