The Boston Globe's Jim McCabe writes a Friday column making picks for the weekend's NFL games. While I'm not a betting man, this week's column had an interesting medical tidbit in a most unlikely place.
Detroit at Green Bay (-5) -- Huge disappointment for Lions running back Kevin Jones, who has been placed on IR with a left foot injury that may be a Lisfranc fracture-dislocation. It's a rare bone break named after Dr. Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, who was the field surgeon for Napoleon's army in the 1800s and made note of this rare injury after a soldier fell off a horse and was placed on IR just before the Super Bowl-like matchup at Waterloo. Pick: Packers.
Well, not exactly. Rather, it's more a dislocation than a fracture, and Dr. Lisfranc's description pertained more to the joint through which the amputation was performed to treat the problem than to the exact injury pattern. But still!
Jacques Lisfranc (1790-1847) was a field surgeon in Napoleon's army serving on the Russian front. He wrote about a new amputation technique to treat forefoot gangrene from frostbite. This technique involved a route following a series of joints to avoid having to take the time to cut through bone. This route became known as the Lisfranc joint. However, Lisfranc did not actually describe the injury pattern well known by this eponym.
Although the amputation technique survives, the term is used today to describe a wide spectrum of traumatic injuries to this distinct area of the foot. A Lisfranc injury encompasses everything from a sprain to a complete disruption of normal anatomy through these joints. Early recognition and treatment of this injury are important to preserve normal foot function.
Still, Mr. McCabe is a clearly sports columnist with a little something more to offer. And how about that picture of Bernie Kopell of "The Love Boat!!"
