It’s officially been 1 week since I’ve ditched my scooter and crutches and I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back on my feet!
Get to Walking
Once I got the news that I could walk again, I immediately went to the gym to do some arm stuff. It felt so good to be able to a.) walk into the gym and b.) do something physical.
The active person in me immediately started thinking about all of the ways I could work on increasing my activity…. pulling out my fitbit and bumping up my steps, walking on the treadmill, doing some home exercises, etc.
Walking Ain’t Easy
But then I went back to work, and going from being immobile to walking around a hospital all day was not exactly a walk in the park.
My foot and ankle hurt so much during and after work that I knew I really just needed to chill. So I’ve spent the last week going to work and then coming home and relaxing. I have been able to ditch the icing and the ibuprofen, so that’s good.
Game Day
I was torn about whether or not I should go to the VT game this past weekend. My doctor did encourage me to walk, so I felt confident that I wasn’t actually going to hurt anything by going. But I knew it was probably a little too much too soon. I obviously decided to ultimately go… I just couldn’t let go of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be there for that game.
I was actually okay walking around before the game, but the standing during the game was rough. My right leg has practically no strength so I have been pretty sore since then.
Oh well… I have no regrets! I’m just really talking it easy for the next few days.
See ya Week 1… Moving Forward
Now that I have that first week out of the way, I feel like things are kind of going back to normal. I am going to lay low over the Thanksgiving holiday while the aftermath of this past weekend dies down, but I know I’ll be ready to work on some physical things after that.
I’m not supposed to go back to “normal” physical activity for 4-6 weeks, and I’m supposed to be building strength back up in my leg until then. My main goals moving forward will be to walk more and do some leg weights and exercises that will build leg strength. I also want to make sure I truly ease back into things so that I don’t do something dumb to re-injure myself. I’m going to be choosy with my weight machines right now and skip ones that put stress on my foot and ankle.
I do feel like a lot of the discomfort I’ve felt over the past week has more to do with just putting weight on my foot after it has been immobilized for 9 weeks and not walked on for 5 weeks. In terms of the actual tendon issue, things seem to be all good in the hood. We’ll see!
I’m glad you’re back to walking. But definitely ease into it.
Thanks, Jen.
YAY for walking! I battled hip bursitis while marathon training so I’m trying to focus on strength training and building up my glutes for the next couple months! Hope we both build strength to prevent any more injuries!!
Yes, I will keep my fingers crossed for you!
Woohoo for walking! :)
Who knew walking could seem so amazing?!
It’s amazing how our perspective can change when we go through different stages of injury and recovery. Take it easy – and congrats for getting back out there and being smart about it!
Thanks! And yes, I definitely have a new perspective :)
So happy to hear you are free! But yes, take it easy. I had multiple foot problems last year and the first month or two off crutches is really important to take it easy and strengthen the ankle. I ended up with a stress fracture in my ankle from going at it too hard walking on the treadmill. Go slow! You’ll know when the time is right to increase things.
Thanks so much for sharing your first-hand experience!! I was definitely thinking about logging some time on the treadmill.