One Step Forward...Two Weeks Back

The beginning of last week was awesome.  I was able to put a lot more weight on my ankle and my balancing had started to improve.  Because of these two things, getting around was easier, to the point where I had started using my cane.  I was really improving and was starting to feel more “normal”.

And then Thursday happened.

I had physical therapy on Thursday and did all of my regular exercises...nothing new.  And I ended up hobbling out of the PT office.  That entire afternoon was pretty sucky.  Even if I was just sitting with my foot up, it would just throb.  I tried taking ibuprofin when I got home and then later that night, and it did nothing to help the pain.  Ice didn't help either.  The only thing that helped was if I stayed off of it completely.  So I did.

Both Friday and Saturday weren't much better, although the throbbing was limited to only after I would try to walk on it...so that was a mild improvement.  I went back to using my crutches and tried to put as little weight on it as I could for a few days.  My ankle felt as if I had gone back two weeks.  And the bone that I had the screw put into was what was hurting.  It was tender to the touch.

I had acupuncture Saturday morning and by Sunday it felt a little bit better (usually acupuncture takes a day to “kick in” for me).  Today, Monday, it feels about the same as yesterday, maybe a slight bit better.   It's still tender to the touch...as much as a few days ago.

After explaining everything to my therapist, she said that it could have been how aggressive she was with the distraction last Thursday.  The weird thing is that when she did that, it didn't hurt.  Only afterward, when I tried to walk on it, did I feel pain.  She didn't do much hands on today...gonna give it a rest...and next session she will just go a little easier when distracting.  I'm hoping by my next PT appointment that I will be able to fully walk on my ankle again and can get back to the treadmill.

It's funny how you have to sometimes push your body past it's limits just so you know where your limits are.  The 'ole “I really shouldn't have done that” routine :)  How many of you out there have done something similar?