Week 11 A little massage goes a long way…two shoes!
Without this blog I don’t think I would recall how quickly I have progressed over the last three weeks since the cast was removed. Midway through this week I dropped the aircast for everything except biking. While I am still very careful, I have been comfortable everywhere I have been. I am especially cautious on stairs and other uneven surfaces.
The big revelations for me this week are self-massage and orthopedic pressure socks. I have a friend who is an occupational therapist. I should have talked with her two weeks earlier, as she explained some of the whys and wherefors of things I should be doing. I don’t start real physical thereapy for another week, so I might have learned the same things then, but I am quite grateful to have gotten a jump on them. By massaging the tendon surgery site and the whole calf I am gaining flexibility. I expect at least one of the reasons for this is loosening the fascia layers on the muscles and tendons so they will slide on one another better.
I have also progressed from just wearing pressure socks while I sleep to wearing them just about 24/7. Even though I reported my swelling had gone down some last week, as I have become even more active with my ankle the swelling returned. By wearing these socks all the time, my cankle has disappeared again. I am not sure how much this makes it feel better, but normalcy is a good thing too.
Over the last couple of days (espeically since starting massage) my walking has improved considerably. My stride length is about 80% of normal, with a minor limp, as I continue to refrain from pushing off with my left foot.
Biking remains good as I commuted to work a couple of times and rode a total of 50 miles over the weekend. The new addition is riding on a spin bike without the boot. I did half an hour yesterday at about 80 watts, then added another half an hour today during spin class at something more like 100-120 watts (no meter on the 2nd bike). While I could have done those workouts and power levels with one leg, I was putting pressure on with my left leg too. I am experimenting with the pressure, cadence and flexure to see if there are any issues. ..none yet after these two efforts. I could bike without the boot, but I believe the risk of injury due to a fall is too high. The doc originally said four months from surgery until I’d be on the bike, so I expect another five weeks or so of riding outside with the boot.
Next Monday I see the doc and learn how he thinks I am doing.
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Great post keep up the good work. Love the way you have written it
Geoff