May 04 2010
Completed my last PT session
I completed my last PT session last Thurs. It was a momentous occasion after going every week for nearly 3-4 months. I felt an extra burst of energy during my last session and was so excited to finish up, that I brought some cookies for the PT.
After last PT session
I am more or less normal in using my right foot, but there’s still a psychological barrier of not wanting to push myself too much. These were some of the accomplishments / exercises that I did:
- Single leg lifts - my right foot can be raised as much as my other foot — ~ 3 inches
- Total gym single leg lifts
- Hopping on the agility ladder (see below) on the ground - I’ve been doing this for a while, it was really helpful at first, but now its mostly cardio-vascular exercise for me
- Stair master
- Practicing jumping 1 foot off both feet — this is the one exercise where I can still feel a noticeable difference between the 2 feet — it is a much more explosive exercise, so will require more practice
- Hopping on 2 feet - side to side, front to back
- Agility Ladder
I will be seeing my doctor this week, so hopefully, he’ll confirm that I’m OK and ready to do any exercise. I’ve tried to still continue stretching because my right foot still feels more stiff than the other foot.
Thank you for all your support!
5 responses so far
Your function sounds great, and right about on schedule for ~10 months, too. But I’m surprised that your “bad” tendon is so much thicker than your other one, at least visually. Did you have an ordinary open surgery, or did your ortho do a graft or something else that might have added bulk to it?
Obviously the function is the key, but I am curious about the thickness. My function is much wimpier than yours (at ~20 weeks), but I think my tendon area looks more normal (= thinner).
(Mind you, my “normal” AT was torn 8 years ago, so maybe I’ve forgotten what a REALLY normal, untorn AT looks like!!)
Wait, is that red vertical line to the left of your AT your surgical scar? It looks a bit like a shadow, and it may have fooled my eye into seeing a wide square “box” around your AT that isn’t really there. . .
good progress.
hope I will do the same soon too.
at what week did you start driving car?
Yeah, I’m not sure why my tendon is slightly thicker than the other one — I believe it is scar tissue, as it has gotten thinner slowly over time. I had an open surgery … the scar is about 5 inches thick. I’m sure you will get much stronger over time … what really helped me get strong was trying to find ways of doing the one-leg calf raise — it was hard at first, as I had to find ways of helping without putting too much weight on it.
I started to drive the car around 12-15 weeks.
I never stopped driving, but I had a left ATR and an automatic car.
Last time, I think I drove (shift) once I got FWB, in a “walking cast” then a hinged boot. It may be illegal to drive in a boot in some jurisdictions. And if you stomp on the brake AND the gas at the same time because your right foot is in a boot. . . you’d better be driving a Toyota!
My tendon is a lot thicker too, I’m chalking it up to scar tissue.
I just noticed, we are days apart with the surgery.
And I let go of my PT last week too.