Jan
10
4th Week Post-Op Appointment-progress!
January 10, 2012 | |
Well just arrived home & feeling great. They decided I was ready for FWB!!!! I explained my concerns about a reoccuring bunion & extremely weak knee. She said the bunion was reaggravted by me walking on it without the tendon attached, thus all the weight was on my foot. The weak knee is expected & she said with FWB the knee should strengthen quickly.
I asked about massaging the scar area & where there seemed to be a lot of scar tissue. She said have at it & do as much as I can bear.
I’m to start PT anytime so things are progressing better than expected.
Comments
5 Comments so far
It sounds like you’re making very good progress Luigi. I went to FWB right at 4 weeks too.
Before starting PT, I would ask your insurance company about it. Do you have a fixed number of sessions they allow? For the next couple of months (probably until ~12 weeks), PT is going to be somewhat restricted by the still weak tendon. Don’t do what I did, and “spend” all your PT before you’re able to participate in full strength work, plyometrics, etc.
I dont see much full weight bearing. My knee is flimsy, worse than the ankle actually. Everytime I step my knee hurts. I’ll stay on crutches with a walk & almost full weight. Not much flexibility in the ankle either.
She stressed “if you have to limb then use crutches”
Thanks for the advice about PT, I’ll ask them when I book first appointment.
Keep working on it a little at a time, and I expect that after a few days you will probably find that you can walk fairly easily with 1 crutch opposite your ATR leg, and that you can even take a few (somewhat uncomfortable) steps with no crutches…it slowly gets better.
And be sure to let your PT know about the knee issues as well as your ankle, s/he may suggest exercises to help reduce the knee pain.
Good Luck!
Thanks. I hope so. I can bear full weight but the step hurts the knee. All good in the achilles area. She was very clear on not limping.
On another note, she said I should absolutely start massaging the scar, around the scar & where the scar tissue has seemed to amass in a tight little ball.
High protein & R.I.C.E. seems to be doung the trick Ive actually lost weight!
Not limping is really good advice–it’s all connected, and a limp will make something else in your body be off balance, and aches will follow…plus, limping is an easy habit to get into, and can be a hard habit to break.
I’ve read on other blog posts the advice to take small and slow steps to get your gait right, and that in time the steps will get bigger and faster. I think that’s wise.
Practicing walking in front of a mirror is good too, so you can see how each foot moves, and make corrections to reduce limping.