Week 9 - Second Physical Therapy Visit

My visit to the physical therapist this week was more intense.  The difficulty of the exercises has increased.  I can see myself only doing them every other day.  I still have to flex my foot up and down, and side to side with an exercise band.  The tension in the band has increased so it takes more effort to move my ankle, which is good since it makes it work more.  An exercise they added uses a soccer ball.  I have to balance on my injured foot and move the ball around my body clockwise with the other foot.  After this, I do it again counter clockwise.  It takes a long time to do, so I can feel my ankle getting tired.  I have a take a break before I can finish the rest of the exercises.  The last two exercises are with what looks like a giant rubber band.  It wraps around both ankles and I take bend my knees, keep my toes pointed straight ahead and side step without letting the band pull my feet in.  This works the outer thigh muscles.  When I asked the physical therapist why these muscles need to be strengthened, he told me studies have been done that show stronger thigh muscles help keep the hips, knees, and ankles alined properly.  He said for any physical therapy involving these joints, they like to strengthen the surrounding muscles for increased stability.  The last exercise I do is with the band over the tops and bottoms of my feet.  I stand with my feet shoulder width apart and march in place without letting the band pull my feet in.  I can feel my ankle getting stronger and becoming more flexible.  My ankle doesn't hurt much when walking, and only really has pain when I wake up in the morning.  Even that pain isn't severe and doesn't last long.   I haven't tried jumping or walking for long distances yet.  I get to visit my surgeon next Tuesday for what should be my last follow up, and hopefully the end of wearing the ankle brace.

Week 8 - Home Physical Therapy

The physical therapy at home has been going well.  I did the first three days without any problems.  On the fourth day by ankle started to hurt around the incision site each time I took a step.  I let my ankle rest for the day and changed physical therapy to every other day.  I has been fine ever since.  I guess it just need some more time to adjust to being physical again.  I have started to use the elliptical each day too.  I am starting slow and only going 5-10 minutes each time.  It feels like it helps to keep my ankle from getting stiff.  I feel like I can walk better without the ankle brace.  I only wear it when I am out of the house.  My next appointment with the physical therapist will be next week.

Week 7 - Physical Therapy

The only pain I have experienced this last week came from shin splints. My left shin only hurts when walking and I can't stretch the muscle enough yet since my ankle is still too stiff.  Walking too fast or taking long strides aggravates the pain.   Hopefully the pain will go away as I complete the exercises given to me during physical therapy.  The physical therapy facilities at TOSH are excellent.  My appointment was this afternoon and I didn't have to wait long after filling out paper work. 

The physical therapist asked a few questions about my injury and how my pain has been since the surgery, and then we got right to work.  He started by taking measurements of flexibility and swelling in my left ankle and comparing them to my right ankle.  He also measured the amount of pressure my foot could exert in four different directions.  This information is used to evaluate my progress in the upcoming weeks and to give us a starting point.

The exercises that I learned today are to improve strength and balance.  The first few use a flat exercise band with a loop tied on one end for my foot.  The other end is held in my hand.  The band provides resistance as I move it up and down, or side to side.  It didn't cause any pain, but I could see that my foot was weak from the shaking it did after going through several reps.  The physical therapist also had me stand on one foot (the injured foot) and balance.  The first few times seemed difficult, but the muscle memory came back quick.  He then had me close my eyes and try to balance.  I was surprised how much more difficult this was, even with my good foot it was difficult. 

The other exercises use a tube shaped exercise band.  One end is attached to a fixed object, I will use a closed door at home, and the other end is held in both hands.  I am too hold both hands away from my body and write the alphabet in the air while standing on my left foot.  When this gets easier I can stand further away from the door to create more resistance in the band.  The exercises didn't create any pain in my ankle and they were not difficult to do.  I am do to do all these exercise for every day for the next two weeks at home.  I will return to the physical therapy office in two weeks for an evaluation.  By the end of today I could tell my ankle was swollen more than usual.  I was told to expect this as I exercise and use my ankle more.