Physical Therapy (about 1 mo. post-op)

 The next big step after my second post-op appointment was to start physical therapy. I originally selected a large outfit that came recommended by several, but a friend gave me a phone call with some advice. His wife has been a physical therapist for many years, and he said other than qualifications probably the most important thing is that the therapist give you one-on-one attention during your sessions. Many larger businesses assign two or three clients to the therapist at a time. What happens is that you might be by yourself, doing the therapy slightly wrong while the therapist is with someone else. I took this to hear and went to a smaller business.

So far I've been to two sessions. Most of our work to date has been pretty basic. A lot of stretches and moving the foot around. He gave me instruction about how to move about on the crutches well, and also how to use just one crutch. 

One of the homework exercises consists of weight shifts. You gradually put more weight on the booted foot laterally, then with the bad foot slightly forward, and then slightly backward. 

I noticed that after stretches and after these shifts, my booted foot felt pretty well. Eventually, I tried walking on it with one crutch kind of used as a cane. It worked pretty well. 

After my second appointment and this same homework (plus stretches and exercises focused upon other parts of the leg), I started to walk on the boot without a crutch. The first day, I walked about 3,100 steps. It felt pretty good at the time but did hurt quite a bit at the end of the day. After a fresh sleep, the next morning it felt fine so I did it again...this time up to 3,300 steps. I also added cautious, one step at a time stairs. I'm on day three, getting ready to go to my 3rd PT appointment this evening and I'm not using the crutches at all. I still rest a lot and ice it, but I'm getting around pretty well. 

I'm pretty amazed at how quick things are progressing. I am doing very well with walking in the boot. I can see a return to normalcy at the end of the tunnel and I'm barely over a month post-op. By "normal" I mean walking, driving, and the basics. I know something like lifting weights or jogging is way down the road. I'm not out of the boot yet, after all. But a basic existence is fine with me. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weaning Crutches - Day 40 - 43 (Work Week) Post Op

After a lot of pain Monday night (and a pain pill), Tuesday morning felt better.  I was able to do some non-crutch walking today, as well and some one crutch walking (all with the boot, of course).  It felt pretty good until the evening, but more movement today than previous days (over 1800 steps).  Ice, ice, and more ice! I ditched the crutches Wednesday morning.  I decided I'd go for it and went to work with them in my car, but they stayed there.  No crutches the entire day.  It is an awkward walk, and it certainly isn't pain free.  But it also isn't excruciating and I can handle it.  I'd say it is a constant 3-4 on the 10 scale while I'm moving about.  The first few steps are always awkward.  To counter this, when I stand up I do a bit of back and forth rocking on the natural curve of the boot, trying to "fire" the muscles and tendons a bit.  This helps.  By the end of the day, the foot felt a little raw and tired, but not...
Read more

Swollen - Day 20 (Wednesday) Post Op

Image
Groundhog day from  Day 19, really.  Crutches are a pain. Seems like I'm developing a pattern of once per day putting full weight on the bad foot.  Today it was a missed stair (stairs with crutches are not fun).  I caught myself with the bad foot, and more shooting pain.  It goes away, but isn't fun while it occurs. I'm not too far away from when I am supposed to try to ditch the crutches.  I think it is a bit of a mental struggle on top of the physical limitations.  It has now been almost three weeks since I walked normally on the foot.  I've avoided it so much that I'm concerned about trying it, even in a boot.  However, I'm improving every day. After hobbling around a bit today at work, I removed the boot and sock and was kind of surprised to see how swollen the ankle was!  Normally I can see the interior bone on the ankle (the end of the tibia, I believe).  It was lost in the mass of swelling today. After I got home,...
Read more

Need Crutches & a Scooter - Day Two Post Op

I would say that day two was a repeat of day one, but on a good note, the pain was a little less.  I dropped to one pill every four hours throughout the day.  I had to hit four hours, though; as the time passed, my need for a pill increased.  I also found that the best position for my foot was almost flat on its outside (the left side, since it is my left foot). I've given up on the crutches and ordered some on Amazon.  The higher quality ones I have are too tall, and the shorter ones are not of good quality.  Pay attention to the hand and armpit pads; they make a big difference.  Also, the shorter pads have feet that tend to slip on my wood floor.  This created a couple of scary moments today.  I'll let you know if my replacements are good and what brand they are.   I also ordered a knee scooter.  I think that will make NWB not as bad. Washed my hair in the kitchen sink.  Not too hard to do with the counter height barst...
Read more