I quit my physical therapy.
I would go in and ride a stationary bike for a few minutes, stretch my calf and do some heel raises. The therapist would watch me walk and then bend my foot around for a while like he was going to get more flexibility out it (umm, it's got a bolt in it...it ain't bendin' big boy).
So I think I can do all these exercises at home, heat my foot before hand, ice it after and save myself a bunch of money.
I don't think most physical therapy places are like the one I went to, but I thought this one was kind of wasting my money AND the money of the other people in my group health plan.
I have a doctor's appointment next week. I'll do a long status post with some pictures and stuff after that one.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Nearly 5 months Post-op
Sorry it's been so long since I've written. Life gets busy sometimes, I know you understand.
I'm walking without a boot now. Normal shoes. At times everyone forgets I had surgery, but I'm sorry to say that I haven't. Still having a little pain and I don't have all my strength back just yet.
I wasn't able to jump into therapy when I should have. Money's tight as you all know and bills must be paid. My recovery was probably the last thing that I should have put off.
I've been having some pain on the outside of my foot. Painful enough to cause me to limp a little. So I went to physical therapy. Finally.
The therapist was great, she really took her time and made sure to understand every aspect of the surgery. (Make sure you ask for a licensed therapist!!)
She said the pain I was experiencing was most likely tendinitis -- not a bone injury. Te tendons on the outside of my foot are doing more work than they use too (my pre-surgery foot pointed out to the side a bit.)
So I do my exercises every day, ice my foot (like freezing it) twice a day and stay on a ibuprofen regimen. Over the last week the pain has begun to fade. Cool!
The therapy is all done at home for now. I stretch my calf muscle by sitting on the floor and pulling on my foot with a towel. I also do some strengthening by standing flat footed, slowly rising to my tip toes, then going back down. I repeat this over and over until my leg is tired. I have several other exercises as well.
The only time I really notice a strength issue is when I'm climbing stairs. Most people actually climb stairs on their toes (you'll believe me the next time you try it) and I don't have enough strength in my left foot yet. So when I go up stairs it's kind of a tip toes on the right foot, flat foot on the left. But it will get better soon. I'm very confident.
Baseball season has started for my boys and I was able to play catch with them in the back yard. I can't cut the grass yet, but that's a goal. Weird, I'm excited about cutting grass. What kind of meds did they actually give me?
I'm walking without a boot now. Normal shoes. At times everyone forgets I had surgery, but I'm sorry to say that I haven't. Still having a little pain and I don't have all my strength back just yet.
I wasn't able to jump into therapy when I should have. Money's tight as you all know and bills must be paid. My recovery was probably the last thing that I should have put off.
I've been having some pain on the outside of my foot. Painful enough to cause me to limp a little. So I went to physical therapy. Finally.
The therapist was great, she really took her time and made sure to understand every aspect of the surgery. (Make sure you ask for a licensed therapist!!)
She said the pain I was experiencing was most likely tendinitis -- not a bone injury. Te tendons on the outside of my foot are doing more work than they use too (my pre-surgery foot pointed out to the side a bit.)
So I do my exercises every day, ice my foot (like freezing it) twice a day and stay on a ibuprofen regimen. Over the last week the pain has begun to fade. Cool!
The therapy is all done at home for now. I stretch my calf muscle by sitting on the floor and pulling on my foot with a towel. I also do some strengthening by standing flat footed, slowly rising to my tip toes, then going back down. I repeat this over and over until my leg is tired. I have several other exercises as well.
The only time I really notice a strength issue is when I'm climbing stairs. Most people actually climb stairs on their toes (you'll believe me the next time you try it) and I don't have enough strength in my left foot yet. So when I go up stairs it's kind of a tip toes on the right foot, flat foot on the left. But it will get better soon. I'm very confident.
Baseball season has started for my boys and I was able to play catch with them in the back yard. I can't cut the grass yet, but that's a goal. Weird, I'm excited about cutting grass. What kind of meds did they actually give me?
Friday, February 13, 2009
14 weeks post surgery -- Cheating
I have a confession. I've been cheating.
On my boot that is. A month ago, I was given the go ahead to start putting 25% of my weight back on my foot. It felt great to use it again (still had the dumb crutches though). After two weeks of 25% I was to go up to 50% for two more weeks. I cheated though.
In the third week I was doing more like 75% and in week four I ditched the crutches. It was a little achy, but it sure was nice to get my own cup of coffee again.
About a week ago I went back to the doctor. (I went in with my crutches even though I hadn't used them in over a week.) They said I could try full weight bearing in my boot for 2 days and then try tennis shoes. TENNIS SHOES! I was so excited I almost kissed the nurse.
So, I had already been doing the full weight in the boot for probably 10 days so I rushed home and put on my Nikes. Ah yes, I had forgotten the feeling. I stood up and took a couple of steps.
It hurt.
But I was determined to keep going. Therapy hurts, isn't that what they say? So I tried walking for a few days. The weird thing is that it felt like I was walking on the outside of my foot -- I had walked flat-footed for so long. Seriously, it was a very strange sensation.
Bad news is that the pain became progressively worse and I called the doctor. I'm back in the boot and back down to 50% for a couple weeks again.
Crap.
On my boot that is. A month ago, I was given the go ahead to start putting 25% of my weight back on my foot. It felt great to use it again (still had the dumb crutches though). After two weeks of 25% I was to go up to 50% for two more weeks. I cheated though.
In the third week I was doing more like 75% and in week four I ditched the crutches. It was a little achy, but it sure was nice to get my own cup of coffee again.
About a week ago I went back to the doctor. (I went in with my crutches even though I hadn't used them in over a week.) They said I could try full weight bearing in my boot for 2 days and then try tennis shoes. TENNIS SHOES! I was so excited I almost kissed the nurse.
So, I had already been doing the full weight in the boot for probably 10 days so I rushed home and put on my Nikes. Ah yes, I had forgotten the feeling. I stood up and took a couple of steps.
It hurt.
But I was determined to keep going. Therapy hurts, isn't that what they say? So I tried walking for a few days. The weird thing is that it felt like I was walking on the outside of my foot -- I had walked flat-footed for so long. Seriously, it was a very strange sensation.
Bad news is that the pain became progressively worse and I called the doctor. I'm back in the boot and back down to 50% for a couple weeks again.
Crap.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
8 weeks follow-up
Just had my 8 week follow-up appointment. Really great news. The bones are almost fully healed and all the soft tissues are healed. I can now put 25% of my weight on my left foot.
How do I figure out 25% of my weight? First I weigh myself (I'm 200 lbs.). Then I find 25% of that (50 lbs.). With the boot on, I press down on the scale until I reach 50 pounds, and that's what I target as I walk (with crutches still). It's not exact science, but the idea is to ease my foot back into being used.
The bones are close, but not fully healed. Putting all my weight on my foot would be a really bad idea. However, for my bones to heal completely, they need to start experiencing pressure again. So this partial weight will help me heal.
In two weeks I can put 50% of my weight on it. Then in 4 weeks (drum roll please) I can finally ditch the crutches. That will be 3 months of crutches and let me tell you, will not miss them when they're gone.
I have to still wear the boot, but only when I am walking. If I am watching TV, at work, sleeping, etc., I don't have to wear the boot. The bones are strong enough now that I cannot injure them unless I walk on them. Frankly, I stopped wearing the boot to bed a week and a half ago, but I wrapped my foot up tight in an Ace bandage. I don't have to do that anymore either.
I have to start moving my foot up and down and in a circle to reduce stiffness. It's a little sore when I do this, but I know I'm not inuring anything. Moving my foot in a circle is tough. I couldn't move it in a circle much before because of the coalition, and still can't. But I have to try as part of the therapy. Obviously the circular motion will always be limited because of the fusion.
All in all a good visit, with good news. I'll post some pics of my healed up scars soon. Things are looking up!
How do I figure out 25% of my weight? First I weigh myself (I'm 200 lbs.). Then I find 25% of that (50 lbs.). With the boot on, I press down on the scale until I reach 50 pounds, and that's what I target as I walk (with crutches still). It's not exact science, but the idea is to ease my foot back into being used.
The bones are close, but not fully healed. Putting all my weight on my foot would be a really bad idea. However, for my bones to heal completely, they need to start experiencing pressure again. So this partial weight will help me heal.
In two weeks I can put 50% of my weight on it. Then in 4 weeks (drum roll please) I can finally ditch the crutches. That will be 3 months of crutches and let me tell you, will not miss them when they're gone.
I have to still wear the boot, but only when I am walking. If I am watching TV, at work, sleeping, etc., I don't have to wear the boot. The bones are strong enough now that I cannot injure them unless I walk on them. Frankly, I stopped wearing the boot to bed a week and a half ago, but I wrapped my foot up tight in an Ace bandage. I don't have to do that anymore either.
I have to start moving my foot up and down and in a circle to reduce stiffness. It's a little sore when I do this, but I know I'm not inuring anything. Moving my foot in a circle is tough. I couldn't move it in a circle much before because of the coalition, and still can't. But I have to try as part of the therapy. Obviously the circular motion will always be limited because of the fusion.
All in all a good visit, with good news. I'll post some pics of my healed up scars soon. Things are looking up!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)