Here are some videos from today, April, 18th. It has been 76 days since I last walked (without crutches or a boot). At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk without the boot, so the first video is walking with the boot and no crutches. The second video I tried walking without the boot.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Walking for the first time! (76 DAYS POST-INJURY)!
I had my doctor's appointment today. They took another x-ray and scheduled my screw removal surgery for next Wednesday, April 24th. I can now put as much weight on my foot as comfortable, and they gave me a soft ankle brace to wear with tennis shoes instead of the boot. I will still be using crutches just to make sure I don't slip (can you believe it...it's snowing in MID-APRIL)! I also still have a lot of muscle to regain in my leg and I walk VERY slow, so I'll need crutches for a while longer. Otherwise, things are going pretty well. I don't have a lot of pain, but I can feel the plate. My leg is still very swollen and tight, but I'm sure that will go down over time.
Here are some videos from today, April, 18th. It has been 76 days since I last walked (without crutches or a boot). At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk without the boot, so the first video is walking with the boot and no crutches. The second video I tried walking without the boot.
Here are some videos from today, April, 18th. It has been 76 days since I last walked (without crutches or a boot). At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk without the boot, so the first video is walking with the boot and no crutches. The second video I tried walking without the boot.
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Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI also broke my fibula, tore ligaments, and dislocated my right ankle. My injury was Sept. 24th and went to get surgery on the 28th also with a plate and 9 screws! I remember taking my first steps too around the same time around 76 days and it felt so good. I was so happy! I know exactly how you feel. At this point I'm at my 7 month's coming up soon and still going to PT once every other week. This is a long recovery but stay positive. You're still young and will heal fast. Everyone like my physical therapist/assistants, and surgeon keeps telling me this. I know every heals at a different pace and don't have the exact same injuries or surgeries, but here's my blog if you're curious about my progress and maybe to help you see what to expect next since we have somewhat the same plate and screws in our ankles. We'll have to stay as healthy as we can and keep doing those ankle exercises for a fast recovery. All the best to you! You're not alone! Thank you for your posts, it helps me feel like I'm not alone in this. =)
http://brokenrightankle.blogspot.com/
I forgot to say, great job! Looks like you're healing really well at 76 days.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment! You don't know how much that means to me to hear you've been progressing really well! I've read so many horror stories online that I became really worried I would never walk normally or run again. It feels so good to have the walking boot off and to be able to walk around my dorm room without crutches. Unfortunately Minnesota keeps giving us this winter weather (it snowed like crazy yesterday), so I'm not confident enough to walk to classes without the crutches. However, I can get around the cafeteria by myself now. All the caf ladies were so proud of me because they've seen me everyday struggling and having my friends carry my plate for me.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get a screw or screws removed? Or are you thinking of it? I have one longer screw going through my tibia and fibula and I am schedule to have it removed next Wednesday. Just wondering if you've gone through that experience. They say it's pretty painless -- just a 20 minute procedure and I'll be able to walk out of the hospital.
Also, do you find that physical therapy has helped you a lot? Since I had my surgery here in my college town, I won't be able to do physical therapy with them. In fact, I'll be working in the Boundary Waters this summer, which is about 5 hours away from my hometown, so I don't think I'll have any opportunity for physical therapy. My surgeon hasn't mentioned it either; he just tells me to "stretch it" and keep using it. I'm worried I won't get back the same ROM as others who have done PT. Although I'm very glad to see you have a detailed blog! I see you've documented some of the workouts you've done in PT, so that will definitely help me!
Thanks again, and good luck in your healing process as well! And I definitely agree, it's good to know there are others out there who've gone through the same experience. :)
You're very welcome! I'm like you, very worried and have a ton of questions at the beginning. I agree, at first when I was in a cast for 2 months, I had a ton of time trying to find stories and research on what I should do next. There are so many horror stories and unhappy posts it didn't help he me at all. So I started my own blog to hopefully help someone some day. You're so brave! Minnesota winter with snow! I'd panic and wouldn't even dare to go out in that weather. The most I've had in California is rain for just a few days during my worst days. Continue using crutches as much as you need and feel uncomfortable. You don't want to stress out your ankle too much and will get tired. That's very nice to have friends helping you at school. It means so much to have people around to help, it is really hard to do things alone.
ReplyDeleteMy surgeon told me by August time, if the metal bothers me enough where I am not able to do my everyday things and I'm in pain, it is up to me to request for him to schedule in a surgery to remove all of the metal. He did tell me only less then 5% of the people with the same surgery request to have it removed. If it doesn't bother me, I'm good and can keep it in forever. I thought about it early on when I was still limping and getting sore at the end of the day but my PT suggested I let my ankle heal and continue going to PT to see in a few months time how I feel with my ROM and getting myself back to as much normalcy as I can. My surgeon said in about 9-12 months time, I will feel as close to normal 100%, probably about 98%. So I'll have to wait and see. I saw your xray showing that long screw at the bottom going across. Best of luck with surgery and glad they said it will be painless. I hope for your fast recovery after and look forward to reading more about your progress about having a nail removed.
My surgeon, PT, and 3 other people I know who had ankle surgery, one person with a torn Achilles, one also had the same fibula fracture with a plate and 6 screws, and one with another fracture as well and torn ligaments say it is crucial to go to PT. My surgeon scheduled me in for PT a week after I got out of my cast to start on getting my strength and range of motion back. The friend that has a plate and 6 screws have had it for about 7 years now and he appears to be walking fine and doing his everyday exercises with no issues. He suggested I keep up with the PT and don't be lazy doing those exercises everyday because he wasn't diligent with his exercises and still feels the stiffness in his ankle. Everyone else suggested the same and to keep going to PT because they really do help you get back to your normal self as fast and the best they can with the appropriate exercises suggested to do at home. I really do recommend you find a PT at your school or bring it up with your surgeon. I was going twice a week for about 2 months and finally went down to once a wk and now once every other week at this point. I feel that it really does make a difference as every week I notice some progress with the all the exercises that I am doing. My PT said most people with this injury will take up to a year and continued PT up to that year.
Because they're trained professionals, they can explain best and give the best advice on how I am feeling, what's normal feeling, and any concerned questions or any issues I encounter with my ankle. They also know how to give massages to alleviate the pain or any soreness before doing any type of exercises or to show me how to do it myself when I'm home to get through my day. I really do suggest you try to find a PT in school or somewhere online to ask them any questions you may have. For the time being I do suggest you do as much ankle stretches as you can find online for this type of injury recovery. ABC's with you big toe will be the best one to do everyday so your ankle gets use to all range of motion. Don't push yourself and walk too much because you don't want to reinjure yourself or stress your ankle too much.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is at this point, I'm close to doing fast walking and still have a tiny limp by the end of a long day of walking or being on my feet. No running just yet, and just started doing tiny two legged and one legged jumps in PT but still too much pressure. That means no running just yet. Almost every hour, I am doing toe raises to strengthen my calf. I try to walk as much as my body allows it so my ankle joints are use to walking for long distances. The most I can do now walking is about 2 hours and start to feel really tired and sore. Oh one thing my PT suggests doing a lot is massage my scar in all sorts of ways to loosen up the scarred tissue underneath. So it's not stiff and allow more movement in my ankle so it doesn't feel stiff or stuck. It's definitely loosened up and I feel a huge difference when I walk, sleep, squat, or do any type of movement. I know right now I still can't carry too much weight such as a 30 something lb. of dog food. Get an ankle brace! It gives you that extra support at the beginning. My surgeon weened me off it after wearing it for a month or so after being out of a cast. It was great extra support and also protected my ankle in case I slipped or if I accidentally bump into anything. I haven't worn it since and don't need it anymore.
I hope this helped and best of luck with your healing as well! Thanks! Don't hesitate to contact me with more questions. But by all means I'm not a doctor, all I can tell you is how I am improving and what I'm doing to get back to my normal self again. I'll try my best to continue to update my blog to show and explain my progress. I'm really happy to see you're on your feet and hope you're not in too much pain. We'll get there!
Long one sorry haha!
Like you, I was a very active person. I was in a softball league on monday, volleyball on wednesdays, running or gym classes the rest of the days at least 5 days out of the week I'd be working out. If you have a gym at school, utilize the bike machine that has no back support. This was the very first thing my PT had me do everyday once I started my physical therapy sessions. It's the best way to get your joints moving and ankle motion which will help translate to walking. No resistance though, just pure biking for about 10 minutes a day everyday or as much as you can. I've just recently increased my time on the bike for the extra cardio workout. I can't stress enough how important it is that you should do those ankle exercises. As diligent as I am, I still feel some stiffness and my range of motion is coming along. I'd say I'm at about 75% now. I'm itching to run haha! Ok, I think I'll stop now. I don't want your eyes to bleed reading all this haha. Yea, feel free to get back in touch anytime! I just feel really excited any time I come across someone who had the same surgery with metal in our ankles because I still have so many questions and curious about how people are progressing too! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments! Seriously, I'll take all the information and advice I can get, so this is super helpful!
ReplyDeleteAs for getting the metal taken out, my surgeon said I can never have mine taken out. One of the reasons I got a plate and screws in was because there was a gap between my tibia and fibula and if I weren't to have had the surgery, there was a high chance I would get arthritis at a very young age. So the only screw I can get out is that big one. I wish I had the option to get it all out, even though I couldn't imagine going through surgery again. That was the worst pain I have ever felt. However, I think that long after the healing process, it would be nice to actually have that option in case I would be having daily pain that I just didn't want to live with. That's why I'm so worried. What if I'm in pain everyday because of this? I don't have the option to ever get it out. But that's nice to know only <5% of people do. I'm also worried that I'm still so young, and although I know I'll "heal faster" than someone much older, I'll also have to live with this metal for the next 60-70 years...it just seems like so much could go wrong and I really hope it doesn't affect the rest of my life.
I don't think there's a hospital or clinic up by where I'll be working this summer (since it's in the middle of nowhere, in the woods!), but I guess that means I'll have to aggressively do PT on my own and hope it's good enough. That's really good news it's been such a help for you though! That treadmill with the gravity control on your blog looks really cool! I have tried doing the stationary bike in our gym here at college. I have only done it a few times for about 30 minutes. I've also been working on calf raises to build up muscle. My surgeon said since I'm "young and in-shape," the muscle will come back quickly...but it's been about a month since I had the cast on and my leg is still so tiny! And I feel like my other leg has gotten bigger because I used it so much more. My legs just look so strange! Haha
By the way, did your doctor or physical therapist tell you when you could potentially start running? I know it's probably different for everyone as is the healing process. But I absolutely LOVE running! I did track in high school as a long-distance runner, and I got back into running when I started college. I got back up to running 7.5 miles without stopping, then I got shin splints. I told myself I wouldn't run for 2 weeks (to try to heal the shin splints), then the day before my 2 week waiting period was up, I broke my ankle. So now I haven't run since early January. I'm only 11 weeks post-injury, so I know I still have a LONG ways to go, but I'm just wondering if you've thought about running? Sorry for all the questions! I'll definitely keep up to date with your blog though. It kind of seems like a glimpse of the future for what is to come for me, so it's really helpful! :)
No need to be sorry. Wow your surgeon said you'll never have yours taken out. Before your summer job, gather as much information on exercises as you can find online or by asking your surgeon too. Good to hear you've already been biking. Sounds like you're very athletic and will bounce back in no time. It's ok! I laughed at my tiny calf and wished my other ginormous calf was the same thin size. Even my thighs on the good leg was getting very big and muscular. I bought some boots that I can't even fit anymore because my calf was so big so I returned it haha. I think my calf now is almost the same size. It's taking longer then I expected.
ReplyDeleteYou're a hardcore runner! 7.5 miles non stop! Nice! That was actually my goal by the end of last year but then my ankle accident happened. Sorry to hear you've gone so far running in that two weeks and this accident happens. Yes! I do love to run! My usual runs are more around the 3 miles range. I brought up running to my PT and so she had me try this Alter G gravity treadmill. So I can actually start running with the Alter G but it's actually kind of uncomfortable strapping into that machine, my leg circulation is sort of cut off because of the air being pumped into the machine. But that's the only way to get back into running faster my PT said. This way I will definitely see how much weight I can eventually bare over time and finally ween off that machine. It's pretty expensive per session though so I didn't continue with it. I was only able to put 75% of my body weight to run comfortably. So really it depends how fast my body heals to get strong enough to run. There is no real answer to when I will be able to run. I feel like I can almost though. My goal is to get back to running before the year ends. I can't wear heals at the moment. I still have a lack of ankle side to side movement. So walking down hills are still a bit funky for me. I still can't fully bend my ankle to the right. So now I'm given a lot of balance type exercises. One I really like is the half yoga ball where I do step ups one leg alternating, squats, and basically standing on it for balance. If you own one it's actually a really good exercise tool to have that you can use everyday. It will help with improving your range of motion too. An exercise band is another easy thing to get for your ankle stretches. I've posted about those too, you can see for more info. I'm guessing you should be able to run again before this year ends. Just have to be very patient getting there. My accident happened just 3 months before yours and in those 3 months you will definitely see quick improvements so long as you keep up with your exercises. Don't be lazy! That's what everyone tells me or I'll pay for it down the road. It's best to exercise as much as you can during the beginning so your muscles, ligaments, and everything in that ankle is active to rebuild your strength. It'll make all the difference to how you will feel in the future. Keep up your workouts! You'll be fine!
Brain farted. I said heals instead of heels haha. Talking about healing for so many months now. I can't spell anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice! I might have to buy one of those half yoga balls to use this summer. It seems like such a long process to get back to "normal" or close to normal at least. When I broke my ankle, my dorm room was in a building with three long flights of stairs, and I lived on the top level. The building had no dorms on the entrance level. The first floor of rooms was a flight up the stairs. So the day I broke my ankle, they moved me into the "disability room" in a different residence hall that had rooms on the entrance level. I was assuming I would only be living in this dorm room for a month or two until I could go up stairs (granted, this was before I knew I would have to have surgery). Now, there's 2 weeks of classes left plus finals week and there's no way I would have ever been able to move back into my old room. I can go up stairs now, but I'm very slow and it's a little painful (or maybe just "uncomfortable"). Either way, it's been almost three months and although I am proud of my progress, it just seems like there's still a LONG ways to go in the healing process. I never would have thought a broken ankle would take this long to heal.
ReplyDeleteI have the same problems with my range of motion right now. I don't have a lot of strength in my ankle yet, but when I lift my ankle up, my foot kind of turns to the right. I have more trouble turning my foot to the left. I also can't pull it up more than probably 90-95 degrees. And I can go up stairs alright (but pretty slow), but going down stairs is a challenge because my ankle can't bend as far as I need it to bend to be able to go down stairs.
I just really hope I can get back into running. So many blogs and websites have said that getting back into running is really difficult after a broken ankle (and surgery). A lot of people that have posted online have said they've just excluded running from their workouts altogether, and they just settle for swimming/biking, etc. I realize maybe running isn't that big of a deal to lose for someone who is 40-50+, but for someone younger, running is a great workout. I'm just worried I'll lose running because I won't gain back the same ROM or flexibility in my ankle. I guess we'll see what happens; I can't predict the future. But I'm just hoping SO MUCH that I'll be able to run again! It sounds like you're making really good progress though, and that gives me hope at least! How is your range of motion? Would you say it's close to normal now or do you still have a loss of motion up and down?
3 flights of stairs! Coincidentally, when I fractured my heel and tore ligaments on the same ankle from a rock climbing fall I was also living in the dorms at the time on the 3rd floor with no elevators haha! Instead I went to live with a friend at her apartment on the first floor. It was a pain to get around with crutches. If you have handicap school golf cart drivers I'd suggest you call and use them because they saved me a ton of walking. But that was 10 years ago for me. It's completely a different feeling getting surgery and healing from it. I know that excruciating pain the first 2 days out of surgery. Don't forget your meds on your second surgery. I still have one flight of stairs to get to my room so I basically hibernated and worked from home for the first 3 months. I remember still elevating my foot up to about 4 months. I didn't swell up as much anymore after about 3 months. Even now, I don't even swell up so it's a great sign my PT said. She was actually surprised she didn't even see swelling at all when I first saw her to start exercises. Does your ankle still swell up?
ReplyDeleteAs for range of motion of my ankle moving up and down, I was at the same rate as you at 3 months time. About 50%. Right now I'm about 90-95% up and down. It's almost there. I wonder if it's because this is the second time I've torn ligaments on the same top side of my ankle. Except that this time I tore all around the top and sides because of the dislocation of my ankle bending to the right when that muscular guy stepped on me? For strength building and ankle range of motion I was given a lot of exercise for. I started out with the lying on your back and lifting your body with your feet prompt for 10 repetitions at a time leveling your body with your head and shoulders still on the ground, arms straight down the body. Then it increased to one legged lifts alternating. Eventually I graduated to toe raises, doing this every hour. A lot of one legged lunge positions to stretch the calf and ankle. Then anytime you sit down. Do the up and down ankle stretches as much as you can. And include the ABCs 3x a day + ankle rolls in each direction as your motion permits. Eventually you'll notice and increase as each week passes by. I still do those everyday and now doing 1 legged toe lifts. Still though my broken ankle toe lifts are not quite there yet, I still feel a bit week but I can do them slowly. Alternating side lunge squats, front lunges, and basic squatting are also my everyday exercises. It gets the ankle joints moving in all directions and getting the ankle to bend. I guess we just have to retrain those ligaments to bend. I notice a lot of these types of poses are yoga like as well. Another one now for balancing are one legged stands, like a tree pose but not completely. I'm also now doing one legged started out as 4 inches books to do heel taps to the ground after I am able to balance with 1 foot without holding anything and alternating sides. I just recently increased it to 6 inches 2 weeks ago. So one foot on the book and the other foot when bending down, touch the ground with just the heel. Still wobbly with the bad ankle but I can hold it on for long enough to do 10 reps just being on that one leg.
I was also very eager to get back to running and have told my PT when I first met her at 3 months. She said that it would be her goal to get me back to that point. It will be a long recovery but be very careful and don't overwork your ankle to stress it out as your ankle is still in the healing stages. Running is very possible. I have also read on other sites that it won't be the same 100% but I will find out when I get there for myself. That is true, every body is different when healing. I am hopeful though. Oh yes! swimming at this stage is a very good workout for your ankle. It's great strength building since you have the water supporting your body weight so you can do a lot in the pool.
Right now, some days I wake up to feeling completely normal until I start walking more. So far it feels still like as if someone is squeezing my arm type tight and stiffness. Then every step is like an extra squeeze of pressure. Mostly because of the scar area because my skin has loosened up from massage it every such way so it allows for more movement. My up and down feels completely fine now, no pain or pressure. As mentioned before it's about 95% on good days. However there is this tiny bit of swollen part on the top of my foot that seemed to have never left since day one out of the cast. Seems like it's the stressed and stretched out tissue from the dislocation so I'm massaging my ankle on all sides to reactivate and warm the ligaments and tissue before I do long walks or exercises. The only problem mostly for me is the ankle turning to my right. That is where I'm still at 50% which sounds like your ankle turning to the inside. My PT said it can basically just be the metal causing that motion to be limited. You're still early and it could just be that your ankle is still stiff. It sounds like it could also be that rod going straight across the bottom too? Those questions should be for your surgeon or whatever PT you can find online to ask. But at this point, I can jump but not do a full jump comfortably with equal weight. I'd say I'm about 70%. Jumping on the bad ankle still scares me. My PT only made me try 10 per side, I've only done it twice so she can see and measure my strength. 2 weeks ago was my second try and I was less in pain but still had a ton of pressure and barely made full jumps. I did about 5 before I was uncomfortable. But you don't do that yet at this point. It all comes with the single leg balances to see how much strength you have. You will hurt yourself if you try. You'll definitely feel the pain haha. Not a good idea. All we can do is continue using the bike. But if you have access to a pool, that will definitely help with strength building and range of motion too while doing these exercises inside a pool. My other goal is to wear heels again, but all I can think about are wedges. Any type of high heel scares me to death. I feel like if I twisted my ankle any time now, I'd cry like a baby. Yesterday I brought my dog to the beach and walking on sand is still a bit iffy for me. Uneven sand is good stretching for the ankle but anytime I step on a bad uneven part, and my ankle turns to the right I get a quick bad painful pinch since my ankle can't yet bend that way fully. After about an hour of walking I am very sore and come out with a small limp. That's where I am now. There's just so many types of exercises for each stage of your healing. If you go back to my 3 months point, you can see it. But again, I am about 10 years older then you so my ankle may heal a bit slower. I don't know or have the answers. But these are just some suggestions from what I went through. One good thing though, my PT did say I will be able to run again one day. She did give me an estimated time, in about 2 more months or so. I tried a tiny bit of jogging across a red light street crossing haha. It wasn't pretty, I clearly had a limp and was very slow at it. But I can feeel it that I'm getting to that point where I can almost run! I'm just getting more excited as each week passes by. My toe raises now on that ankle is getting stronger every week. So I am hopeful you will be able to too one day. Keep at those ankle bending exercises anytime you're sitting or standing. Toe raises, stretches, everything in reps of 10, etc...
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear! I was wondering when this swelling would go down! It definitely looks like I have "cankles" so I can't wait for the day to have a somewhat normal sized ankle. It gets a little better with ice, but my ankle is still pretty big right now. Certainly less so than the days/weeks right after surgery, but I'm at 2 1/2 months right now, so hopefully I'll start seeing the swelling go down in the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteDo you get a tight/pulling feeling in your leg? Sometimes when I point my foot a certain way (and I realized this while doing the alphabet exercise), I feel this weird pulling where the plate is. It doesn't hurt, but it restricts my range of motion and just kind of surprises me every time it happens (not in a good way). Is that normal, and will it ever go away? Or did you not experience that?
Let me know when you get back into running and how it feels. It would be nice to know what kind of timeline I can expect to get back into normal activities. Some websites have said not to do sports or running until you gain back the full range of motion. But what if that doesn't happen? At least I have a friend here in college who's on the swim team! I told her I wanted to go swimming the other day and she got really excited, so I think we're going sometime later this week! :) Are there any kinds of pool exercises you suggest or that you've found to be helpful? Or should I just swim laps?
I can't even imagine jumping! It's such a basic and easy thing to do, but with this broken ankle history I feel like it'll take me a lot of time to work up the courage to try that. I've tried balancing on my bad leg, and I can only do it for a few seconds, maybe 3-4. It could also be that I just don't have enough muscle in my calf still, but my ankle does still feel weak. I agree though! I'm going to be so cautious and paranoid about my ankle now! Surgery was the worst pain I've ever felt, and I can't imagine having to go through the same experience again.
Keep your leg elevated as much as you can whenever it swells up. Even in class on a chair because it'll help a lot. I remember that irritating cankle swollen feeling.
ReplyDeleteI do remember the tight/pulling feeling. It's the nerves and muscles relearning to walk and being used. It's normal. I remember I had random twitching at the beginning too. If it's your skin area around the metal, that's because the tissue right under your scar is sticking to the tissue and metal. So you'd have to massage that scar everyday to loosen it up. Such as bending the scar is all sorts of ways, squeezing it in and out, up and down, pinching the scar with fingers on each side and pressing it in opposite directions. Basically moving your scar around to loose it up. I don't know if it will ever go away because I'm wondering still myself. But for now I still feel a bit sensitive in the scar area whenever I stretch, it's still a bit sticky or stiff. Maybe about 10% left of that feeling since I have been massaging it up to this point and will continue to as instructed.
I will definitely post something too and let you know when I do get back to running. That's what I'm waiting for haha. That's great you found a swimming friend! Whatever you do, do not kick. You're ankle is too fragile right now. I did all the squats, walking, stretching and ankle rolls, abc, types of exercises. No running at all either. You will be sore after about 45 minutes in the pool. That was how long my sessions were. But I stayed mostly in the deep end so it's less body weight on my ankle. Do stuff like bicycles, not in full force. Just in slow motion so your ankle is getting the motion back. Nothing strenuous. I did no actual swimming when I was in the pool. It was mostly for walking and stretches. Even now, if I were to go to a pool, I wouldn't kick. I still feel like it's too sensitive for that movement now. you'll see once you get in there.
Wow you're daring to even stand on one leg at 2.5 months! I just the single leg balancing at my 4-5 months pt. I think because the PT can see exactly what stage my ankle was in during my healing to tell if I can do it or not. I'm just afraid you'll stress your ankle out a bit too much cuz you're in the early 3 months where your muscles are just trying to get back to it's normal calf size and the tissue and ligaments are rebuilding. Be careful! Hearing you trying it almost made me cringe because I knew for sure I wouldn't have been able to do it at 2.5 months point. I don't know if you use any ointments to help your achy or soreness, but my grandma bought me some stinky asian alcohol rub and it helped a ton. I didn't swell up at all and felt good the next day.
But the more walking you do the better to get your foot use to walking again. I still get tired at about an hr of straight walking. If I stand for about 20 minutes straight and not doing any exercises or movements, I will get stiff and will start limping. It sucks but I'm sure you know your limits too. Swimming will be fun! But you don't actually swim haha. It's more like pool aerobics for your ankle. I really liked it!
Oh yeah, I was going to ask about scar tissue too! Haha, sorry, my surgeon just kind of rushes me in and out of his office and he never really answers any of my questions or gives me advice...but I have a bump/lump about the size of a quarter at the top of my scar, which I'm assuming is just a mass of scar tissue. Is this scar tissue something that will go down over time by itself? Or do I need to massage it everyday? It still hurts to press around my scar, so I've been hesitant to rub it, but I guess if it helps the healing process, I should probably start doing it more. Thanks for the pool advice too! I'll try those workouts sometime this week.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm trying to be careful to not stress out my ankle too much, but my surgeon said to put as much weight on it as comfortable and to try to stretch it and move around everyday. I can't walk for long periods of time. The most is probably the 3-4 minutes to get my food in the caf. I have a pretty bad limp right now and I'm extremely slow! But I know it'll get better with time. I think I read somewhere that it's good to focus on walking without limping, even though it might make you slower. Because when you limp, you aren't using the same range of motion, you're keeping your foot/ankle more straight. So I've been really trying to focus on walking "normally" and taking it step by step heel-toe to try to not limp. It's so funny because I see people around in the caf sometimes that haven't seen me without crutches, so all of a sudden they see me walking without crutches (and if I walk really slow, I don't limp that noticeably), so they get excited that all of a sudden I can walk perfectly! But really that's the only place I don't use crutches, so then they'll get confused if they see me walking to class with crutches the next day. It's just such a long healing process! I can't wait to be completely free of the crutches!
Oh I don't know about the limp/bump. What did the surgeon say about that? My PT started massaging my scar after it completely healed. Start small. Mostly you're just moving the skin so it has movement. I can't really explain it well but I know that your skin is really tight at the moment due to swelling and that you're still early in the healing process. I used a lot of lotion and massaged my ankle to help it move in the angles I can't move it to. I was told to massage it everyday so the tissue doesn't get stiff inside which can cause stiffness if you don't massage it. I haven't recorded myself but I'm sure there's youtube videos. There's a ton of good ones I found. Here's an example of one:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLJ0Qx7zP9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZRb46Ezh7c
My PT is more gentle then this guy but it's the same idea. Minus his nails digging into it. A lot of other one's showing on the side bar.
Use those crutches anytime you feel like you're tired or have a crazy limp. I used my crutches and graduated to one crutch by my 4th - 5th month. But yea, do as much walking as your body allows for the exercise to get your ankle mobility back and building up that calf muscle. Haha nice job in the cafeteria! Yes! Keep telling your brain to walk as normal as you possibly can. I still have to remind myself too. At first my knee bending looked a bit wonky because it wasn't bending completely to allow full body weight since it was sort of achy. Heel to toe, oh yea that's another exercise that was good for balance and range of motion. Walking in a line from heel to toe one foot at a time and then backwards. Try those and see how you feel.
Laura!
ReplyDeleteI just got back from PT and I did some warm up jumps and ended my session jogging on the treadmill! First time on a treadmill running for the first time in 7 months! Tomorrow will mark my exact 7 months since injury. I'm so happy! You said to let you know. I'm finally there! My homework for the next 2 weeks before seeing her again will be every other day alternating 2 min. walks and 1 min jogs on a treadmill to my comfort level. Do however much I can handle basically. I haven't ran in so long and still not all balanced yet so i looked like a waddling duck. I've only lasted 2 rounds so basically 2 minutes and definitely felt tired already. It was clearly visible too. So in 2 weeks, she'll assess me on the treadmill again and possibly graduate from that last session!!! That means no more PT for me too! You'll get there in a few months! You're not too far behind me.
AHH!! That's so exciting! I am so happy for you!!! I bet it feels great to finally start running again! :) I can't wait for that day to come. This made me so happy reading it though, thanks for letting me know! Good luck with it, and hopefully you'll graduate from PT soon!
ReplyDeleteAs for the lump, my surgeon didn't say anything. He doesn't fully answer any of my questions, so it's kind of frustrating. But I'll keep massaging it. It's still really sensitive to touch, but rubbing it a little each day has helped regain feeling around the scar. I have my surgery tomorrow to get the screw out. I wasn't really nervous for it, but they just called to tell me I need an antibiotic IV put in my hand so I won't get an infection. I'm SO scared of needles and I hate IV's, so I'm now more nervous for the IV than for the actual procedure! I also just got back from the caf, and I was going down the stairs and heard a big crack in my ankle that really scared me. Did your ankle ever crack at this point?
Thanks for the advice and update again! Can't wait to hear more about how running goes for you! :)
Thanks! I'm still excited and feeling a bit sore now haha. I forgot to mention my PT suggested doing Pilates/Yoga to help with regaining muscle and balance. This will help with running at this point. I guess now I'll wait until Aug. to know how I feel then to decide if I want to remove my plate and screws. So I am very curious to how you will feel after your big rod at the bottom is removed.
ReplyDeleteI'd find another way to ask other doctors and Physical Therapists about your lump, where ever online. An advice nurse too even, if your health insurance allows that free service.
Oh yes, I remember at around my 3 months point when I did new types of exercises I did notice some tiny pops, some crunches, or other weird knuckle type cracking. It does happen my PT said. It's normal. I've also read that online too. It just comes with having ankle surgery, when they get in there to move the muscles and tissue around to place the metal in, it stretches our ligaments and whatever other things in the area. My top and the exterior bottom of the ankle where the metal is placed has a bit of crunchy weird popping like knuckle crack feeling whenever I bend a certain way or too much squatting. It doesn't hurt though. Wait a bit longer to massage the scar. Keep massaging your leg and foot to keep your circulation going.
Surgery tomorrow already. Time flies. It'll be over in no time! I had my IV put into my left hand. Just don't look! It'll be really fast. Listen to music when they do it. I don't like needles either, but it was the other way around for me. I was more nervous for the surgery. Keep those pain meds handy for after your surgery! Get some rest. All the best to you!
So today was my surgery. As always, it's no fun, but I'm glad I got it done. I can't walk on it for 2-4 days now, and they wrapped it up. So now I'm back to crutches and NWB. Back to having my friends get my food in the caf... :( It's kind of sad actually to have reverted back a few steps to be completely non-weight bearing now. But it's only for a few days, and my next doc. appointment is Tuesday so hopefully they'll remove the stitches and tell me I can walk again. It's hard to lose walking again! As for the pain, it's not too bad (certainly not as bad as the first surgery). I took some advil today. I still have some pain, like a stinging feeling, but it's mostly on my skin (like where the stitches are), and not the bones. I have to keep my leg elevated and ice it still. Overall, it was worth it in my opinion to get this screw out (we'll see in the future if I think the same), but I don't think I would ever want to get the rest of the metal out. Just even going through this tiny procedure was enough to persuade me I never want to get surgery or have to be on crutches ever again. I've heard the recovery time from complete metal removal is more (like a few weeks), versus this which is just a few days.
ReplyDeleteI also asked about PT but didn't really get a straight answer. The nurse said she would pass it on to the doctor, and that's all I got!
I did not like the IV either! I'm fine with shots and stuff because the needle comes out in a second, but with IV's and giving blood, etc., the needle stays in you, which is what freaks me out. I'm fine when they put it in, but I just don't like the feeling of having a needle in me. Now my hand is all purple and my vein is huge! Haha.
Also, good thing I'll have plenty of time in the peaceful wilderness this summer to practice yoga outside! I'm actually looking forward to that! And going on walks too. :)