What Could be Causing the Swelling on the Top of my Foot?

With as gorgeous as it has been lately, many people are out playing soccer and football in the yard. Since these are contact sports that can often lead to someone getting tripped or tackled, it is pretty common for people to trip with their foot pointing down towards the ground. When this occurs, you can injure a ligament, the Lis Franc injury, that connects your midfoot to the forefoot. This ligament when injured will make the midfoot unstable and can lead to fracture and/or dislocation.

If an injury like this happens, there will be marked swelling of the top of your foot. There will also be a great deal of pain in your foot. Lis Franc injuries are difficult to assess without radiographical visualization of your foot because these injuries have a good deal of variation. The injuries can have dislocations, ligament injuries and fractures, or any combination of the above. Through x-ray visualization, your physician will be able to determine what has been injured and how severe the injury is.

Since there is such a large amount of variation in these injuries, there is also a wide range of treatment plans that exist. If the injury is solely ligamentous and a complete tear has not occurred, treatment will consist of a non-weight bearing cast that will immobilize your foot and allow it to heal. However, if the injury is anything other than just a partial tear of the ligament, then you will require surgery.

When you have swelling on the top of your foot, it is very important that you seek the help of your podiatrist. Through a physical exam and the appropriate imaging studies, they will be able to determine the type of treatment that you need to heal your injury. If you live in the Methuen, North Andover, Tewksbury or Boston, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel can see you and determine the cause of your symptoms. Our office staff would be more than happy to help schedule you an appointment. In no time, you will be back up and on your feet again.