Run, Bri, Run!

21 weeks, 6 days post-op

Last PT Appointment
I had my last PT appointment yesterday. She did the (still painful) soft tissue massage (and said there were some undissolved stitches working their way out)... asked how things were going. Well, they're going great - I've been riding my bike to work, going for 3 mile walks, I went to my first SPIN class (it was difficult to stand up on the bike but I think it is good for building my calf muscle), I can go down stairs pretty normally, etc.

She had me do some jogging on the trampoline and some single calf raises - she was impressed. She had me try some jumps - forward and back and side to side. My tendon felt fine doing this but my bad foot didn't quite remember what to do. We looked at the exercises I had been doing and she starred the ones I need to focus on. She added light jogging and plyometrics exercises.

I guess with my insurance I only get 20 physical therapy sessions a year, and this was #15. So they're not really kicking me to the curb. I can call if I have any questions and I still can come in if I need to. She even gave me a t-shirt for graduation, woo hoo.

Daily Exercises
Gastroc Stretch
Step Down
Side Steps
Grapevine
Walking backwards
Toe push off walking
Walking on toes
One Foot Balance
Hip leg lifts
Hip leg raise
Bilateral Heel Raise
Heel Lift with Eccentric Loading
Single Heel Raise, eccentric loading
Plyometrics - forward and back
Plyometrics - side to side
Plyometrics - diagonals
Massage/Vitamin E

T-Shirts
AchillesBlog came out with a t-shirt and Dennis sent me one for free as a thanks for helping with the Marathon Tracker. Thanks! You made my day!

First Jog
Today I went for my first jog. It felt great! I almost cried I was was so happy - which is quite a change from how I used to view exercise, especially running. My injured leg is still weak so it was kind of a limp jog, but it was still a jog. I went around the lake, about 3 miles, walking and jogging.

Back to Volleyball
My PT said about 9 months to be back to volleyball so we're looking at December 1 people!

I'll post some photos soon...