In my post
a week ago Monday, I noted a lot of frustration at being injured AGAIN, but by the time I'd posted that, I had come to terms with it. Simply
writing that post was probably therapeutic, so thanks for listening to me bitch.
I had a scheduled physical therapy appointment for last Wednesday, and I prepared for my visit with 16 questions for her regarding what I can/can't do, and what the plan of action should be:
Before I could share too much of what I thought I needed to do going forward, she started putting my own words in my mouth
from Monday's post:
she said now I just need to lay off and let things heal up with lots of rest. Her instructions:
- She put me back in the boot (which I put on last Sunday on my own) for 2-3 weeks. I need to have 4 days of pain free walking IN the boot before it can come off.
- She cut back MOST of my PT exercises. Some of my new 1-legged "balance" moves to strengthen my butt and ankle got the cut as I need to stay off my leg if possible. I can start a few of those again in a few days (hopefully).
- We talked about all other things that this pain could be (I shared a lot of comments from Monday's post, so THANK YOU), and she's still 100% sure that it's a stress reaction / stress fracture. The next step would be an MRI, and that would most likely just confirm what we already know. (And it's mega expensive.) So we'll jump to an MRI if there's still an issue in 2 or 3 months, but she's pretty sure it'd be confirming what we already know right now.
- No biking or swimming. I could still probably aqua jog, but what's the point at this stage? So my thoughts in last week's post about just needing to do NOTHING and rest up was about 100% right on.
Well, I think I just set an odd PR. I don't think I've ever averaged an hour of strength work / day over any given week, but I did that last week:
The ONLY good news with my old body is that I'm lifting weights again! My elbow/forearm is still sore, but the doc told me back in early March that it's probably being hurt from my day-to-day stuff with the boys and computer work, so some extra stress lifting weights isn't going to "hurt" it. I have to be careful how to do certain moves, and I can't do certain things (pull ups, push ups, and cable rows all HURT), but I'm finally moving back up with regards to the amount of weight I can lift. Two months ago when I re-started lifting, I would put 25 lbs on either side of the bar to bench (95 lbs total), and I'd do that 12-15 times. A few weeks ago, I started with 35 lbs on either side. On Thursday, I put 45 lb plates on either side (135 lbs total) mainly because I was at the Hamline gym and I apparently have a bit of an ego when surrounded by 19-year-old meatheads. I'm still lifting much less than when I stopped lifting last June, but I'm working my way back.
Finally, on Saturday, the boys and I cheered at the first race in the MDRA series and in the USATF series that I had to miss this year: the Get in Gear 10K:
My wife has been gone for 3 days and is still gone today, and I've been posting updates on
Twitter and
Instagram.
I'm sorry to read that you may have a stress reaction or fracture. That is a bummer, but I agree with your PT that rest is probably best.
ReplyDeleteA bone scan (not a bone density test) is a much less expensive diagnostic test for stress fractures. I've had four stress fractures, and all but one were diagnosed with a bone scan. You get a shot of some kind of dye, then go back 3 hours later for the scan. Something to consider.
Best of luck with your rehab. Injuries are really frustrating, but I learned something from each one.
The "dye" is actually a radioactive marker that is taken up by the higher metabolic activity of inflammation. So, it shows arthritis, active fractures and cancerous lesions. Not entirely conclusive evidence but still one of the best tests for detection of a stress fracture.
ReplyDelete