So I've been transitioning out of the walking boot for the past six days. My foot has been released from prison but is still on parole for a few more days. All of the nerve endings, muscles, ligaments and tendons have come back to life and it feels a little uncomfortable. Pins and needles, weird sensations when walking in different parts of my foot, etc. But it feels great to be free.
The rebuilding process is going to be very slow...and probably painful. On Saturday I got a little too excited and rode my bike outside for 80 minutes. I kept the effort very easy but still that added time likely contributed to some of the discomfort I felt later in the day. I'll ratchet back the rides to 60' for the next few weeks.
On a good note, kicking while swimming is pretty much a non-issue. I've done two swim workouts where I've kicked for some shorter sets and it's been fine. And it feels great to kick and not have that pull buoy between my legs.
The next big thing is to start walking regularly. Beginning with 5 minutes and progressively working up every other day to a longer duration. Dr. Van Boerum says he wants me to insert a 4 minute run when I am at the 12 week mark - that's in two weeks and then progressively increase the run. I can't fathom running right now. One day at a time...
Wish I was transitioning out of the boot. I went to the doc yesterday for good news and bad news. Good News: the fluid around my tendon is almost all gone. Bad News: Absolutely no sign of the tendon healing. I have to do physical therapy 2 x's a week for 4 weeks to hopefully stimulate tissue growth (and I have to keep wearing the boot). If that doesn't work, they can try platelet or stem cell injections. If that doesn't work...surgery.
ReplyDelete