Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - Week 30
I can't believe today marks exactly 7 months from the day I injured myself. It's been quite a journey with this healing process. I woke up a bit sore today because I tried running on a treadmill for the first time at PT yesterday! Sore with a bit of stiffness in movement so I got out of bed with a bit of a limp. Just have to warm it up and I'm good to go.
Before I ran, Colleen had me do a bunch of new jumping, skipping, and block hopping exercises to see how my balance was. This time I was able to jump 12x on my bad ankle! 2 weeks ago, I could only do about 4! Then she reviewed the usual balance exercises I do for homework. And she said the magic words. Let's try running on the treadmill! So we started off finding my comfortable walking pace for a minute, which is at 3.0. Then next minute, I will find my comfortable jogging pace, which is at 4.2. I felt fine in that first round and was SO happy! =) This was what I have been waiting for and it's finally here! No pressure but it felt weird because I haven't ran in so long! I felt very heavy. The second round came and I definitely felt tired and a bit of pressure build up in the ankle. No pain though which is great! No crunching, or popping in the ankle either. Once that round ended, Colleen had me stop because she noticed a difference in my steps and saw that I was more slow and tired. She said that because of my balance not fully there yet, it looks like I'm waddling. Waddle running haha. I guess it clearly shows my balance isn't all quite there yet, so for now I'm like a waddling duck! Then even better news came! Colleen gave me a Running Progression plan to do for homework! Run on a treadmill every other day with 2 minutes of walking and 1 minute of jogging at that same pace and do as much as I can! In 2 weeks when I see her again, if I follow all of my homework and do well in my running assessment, I may be able to graduate! That means no more PT! YAY!
Before I ran, Colleen had me do a bunch of new jumping, skipping, and block hopping exercises to see how my balance was. This time I was able to jump 12x on my bad ankle! 2 weeks ago, I could only do about 4! Then she reviewed the usual balance exercises I do for homework. And she said the magic words. Let's try running on the treadmill! So we started off finding my comfortable walking pace for a minute, which is at 3.0. Then next minute, I will find my comfortable jogging pace, which is at 4.2. I felt fine in that first round and was SO happy! =) This was what I have been waiting for and it's finally here! No pressure but it felt weird because I haven't ran in so long! I felt very heavy. The second round came and I definitely felt tired and a bit of pressure build up in the ankle. No pain though which is great! No crunching, or popping in the ankle either. Once that round ended, Colleen had me stop because she noticed a difference in my steps and saw that I was more slow and tired. She said that because of my balance not fully there yet, it looks like I'm waddling. Waddle running haha. I guess it clearly shows my balance isn't all quite there yet, so for now I'm like a waddling duck! Then even better news came! Colleen gave me a Running Progression plan to do for homework! Run on a treadmill every other day with 2 minutes of walking and 1 minute of jogging at that same pace and do as much as I can! In 2 weeks when I see her again, if I follow all of my homework and do well in my running assessment, I may be able to graduate! That means no more PT! YAY!
To celebrate, I decided to finally remove my final crutch out of my room. I don't need it anymore! It was just sitting there behind my room door. I hope to not have to ever use it again! However, Colleen did bring up removal of my hardware if it does bother me to a point it's debilitating. Now I am reading up and have so many questions on the pros and cons of removing it. It makes me nervous and I ended up staying up til 330am education myself. I'm exhausted today!
Here's what my calf looks like now. It's almost equal in size! It's taking longer then expected, I need to do more one legged exercises to build it up. I'm just so happy I now have running exercises!
Nov. 21, 2012 April 24, 2013
Oh my goodness, this is my story almost exactly. I broke my right ankle almost 6 months ago. My right calf looked about as atrophied as yours - getting better. I'm not a runner, but I am trying to walk again. Still can't go down stairs normally. Unfortunately, I haven't had access to PT..; Anyhow, I can't believe this has taken so long. It seemed like such a minor injury at first.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post :)
You're welcome =) Aw, everyone heals at a different rate. Keep stretching everyday. I still stretch diligently everyday, even when I'm sitting at work. It is a long recovery, but you'll get there. I hope for your fast recovery!
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