Need help with PWB
Hi again! I started PWB two days ago and I am having a little difficulty. My doctor gave me four weeks to get FWB while still in a short leg fibreglass cast. When I first started it felt as though my cast was too tight on my ankle so that the weight was not on the bottom of my foot but on the bones on the side of the ankle. It resulted in significant discomfort so I did not put much weight on it. Yesterday, I managed about 18 pounds according to my scale. When I woke up this morning it felt like my cast had shifted a bit and that more of the weight was being carried on the bottom of my foot. I think maybe the padding was more compacted. So I tried a bit more this morning and lo and behold it said 48 pounds on the scale. Progress I guess. Unfortunately, the problem is that it is very uncomfortable with some stinging pain along the top of my foot, and significant swelling. Has anyone else had these problems?? How long in days/weeks did it take you to go from NWB to FWB. Am I being impatient or should I take it slower? One other problem is that when NWB I was fairly quick on my crutches but now that I am PWB I am extremely slow as I moderate the weight on my bad foot.
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Hi Jenny,
I start this process in on Aug 11 so I am interested in your progress and any issues you have. Curious, how do you know how many pounds you have on the PWB? I have a boot. I am guessing you put your ATR leg on the scale and push down?
Best of luck. Take care
Leo
You definitely slow down going NWB to PWB - its temporary. I went PWB ion a boot, not a cast, so I can’t say for sure, but everyone I know who was PWB in a cast found it clunky at best… You will find your rhythm…
Ed
hey Leo, yes I did put my foot on the scale to see how much pressure I could put on it. Several people have blogged that their physiotherapists have used this technique to teach them how much pressure to apply when they go PWB. Glad to report by the middle of today, putting significant weight on my foot actually feels good and seems to drastically reduce the swelling in my foot. Of course as soon as I sit still for too long with my foot down the swelling comes on full force.