Broken Ankle Week 25

Some streets where I walk downhill in my neighborhood

What is too much? It’s hard to define. Some days just walking around feels like too much if there is intermittent sharp pain. Other days walking 2 miles with hills is too much. I’m learning to calibrate. I’m almost at 6 months since the injury and there are still months left in recovery.

Walking is sometimes easy and sometimes a low level discomfort party. I feel every single step in the ankle and I’m adjusting to the asymmetrical experience of right ankle moving/fine and left ankle moving/tight/aches/twinges/sharpness/resistant and all the feels of the left ankle as it recovers. My strategy is to push on and keep going because I want to move more!

Change in Goals

• I had a goal of jumping on my little trampoline. Physical therapist said no, not yet.
• Current main goal is walking up and down steep hills, preferably without pain, but mostly just doing it.

Successes!

• I have not used a cane at all in the past week.
• Stood and balanced on left leg for 10 seconds. 10 seconds! On my right leg I can stand and balance on it for 1–2 minutes so that’s goal for left leg.
• Got out my triggerpoint GRID roller and used it on my calf. Aaaaahhhhhh, that feels good. Then I used a lacrosse ball to roll on my achilles ankle. Feels good. Keep doing whatever feels good.
• I’ve been wearing Birkenstock Stalon boots and that makes me feel more normal. Wearing Hokas sneakers all the time every day reminds me of my injury. I’m used to only wearing sneakers when exercising.
• New exercises to help with my downhill walking goal: step downs, golfer squat, golfer lunge, butt burners to add to my usual mix of heel raises, squats, lunges, balancing, band walks, glute kicks.
• Balance board! 2 years ago I bought this balance board and recently I got it out to see if I could dorsi-flex and plantar-flex enough to use it and I can.
• Acupuncture once/week is making a noticeable difference in pain reduction and increased flexibility. I so appreciate having an acupuncture clinic 1 block from my house.

Discomforts

• Pain is never consistent. I stand up and tibia hurts. I stand up 20 other times and it doesn’t hurt.
• Socks: ankle socks were feeling just fine until a week ago. Now they bother one of the incisions so no ankle sock wearing for a while.
• Not yet (sigh): dancing, jumping, bouncing, running. Physical therapist said I first need to be able to do 10 single leg raises and single-leg squat on my recovering leg. Soon!