This am, 7 weeks and two days after surgery, had my first PT session. Just came out of the cast (6 weeks) a week ago but am still non weight bearing (& not booted) so I had no idea what to expect.
We spent the first few minutes talking about the injury, how it occurred, the steps of recovery taken so far, and how the leg feels now. Then we tested things out by measuring range of motion.
I asked him for the measurements so I could track progress:
DF: 5 degrees
EV: 10 degrees
PF: 38 degrees
INV: 38 degrees
He said I was doing OK and that the side to side rotationals were good but obviously the flexing the foot up part would take some work. Have no idea what those numbers mean in scale to normal or how they rate to my good leg since I didn’t get those written on the take home sheet. But with ATR, I’m learning something new each & every day thanks to all of you and this site.
Finally got to see both ankles side-by-side, too:
Guess things look OK. They are just a little concerned about one part of the incision that hasn’t fully healed yet so I have to keep an eye on it.
After all the measurements we started on the exercises (my home study program until I can start putting weight on that leg).
The 7 exercises:
- Stretch Gastroc sit w/towel
- Stretch ankle PF sitting
- AROM ankle DF uni sit
- AROM ankle DF/PF (elevated ankle pumps)
- AROM toe flx w/towel
- PROM ankle inv/ever self
- PROM ankle PF/DF self
The two pages came with illustrations and explanations on reps & time- let me know if you need more info on them and I can post the pics.
I’m just really excited at having something to work on so I feel I’m moving forward and not just looking at my leg wondering if things were progressing.
The one thing the PT said though is it’s a least a year until I can get back to where I was. Something is better than nothing though so bring on walking so I can get started!
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