I've gotten lots of questions about how my ankle is doing post-surgery, especially now that I'm back in the gym. It's been a longer than expected recovery and I'm still dealing with swelling and pain.
I transitioned from the cast to the boot, and then to the Ritchie brace which I showed in my last ankle update. I was in physical therapy for 8 weeks, and after seeing my surgeon last week she told me I could test going a week without PT as long as I was doing strength work in the gym and there was no increase in pain or swelling. It's been a little over a week and so far, it seems okay.
Today was the first day I didn't wear any sort of brace while moving, and I was terrified. I kept anticipating an increase in pain, but thankfully it didn't happen. As always after a workout or really any prolonged time on it, there was swelling, but some ice and elevation helps take it away. This is the first day in a long time that I haven't been frustrated with the healing process. I know that if I can operate some without the brace (though I do have to use a custom orthotic insole forever), there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I woke up this morning and fought myself about getting up to go to the gym. It was a struggle, and I nearly didn't make it. I stayed in bed just long enough to have 5 minutes to get ready to get to class on time (it's group training). Of course as always, I didn't regret one moment of it.
The session ended with a Tabata-style 4 minutes of wall sits and slams. (Tabata is 8, 20-second bursts of all out effort, with 10 seconds of rest in-between each burst.) We alternated wall sits and medicine ball slams.
It felt so good to be moving without the limitations of the ankle braces. I had to be really careful on the sits to make sure my ankle wasn't rolling in, but it was okay.
And for fun, an animated gif!
So hooray for movement! Don't ever take your physical abilities for granted.
