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.