Progress

Had another PT appointment today. It's been almost a month since my first visit on 1/26/06 (thanks to this blog, I have it all recorded). When I first went in, I could only put 40 pounds of weight on my right leg when standing. I'm up to almost 100 pounds! That's a huge accomplishment, according to Sallie, my PT. She contorted me again and measured my ability to move in certain directions...all of my angles have improved, some more than others. The new goal is focusing on strength while continuing with the range of motion.

2/23/2006 Routine 6

Exercises:

• Hip Flexors-Lie along the right edge of a bench, hanging right leg off to the side, knee bent. Left leg should be straight on the bench. Slowly lift leg up on bench, knee still bent. Foot should be rest near the left knee. Make sure I don't slowly bring my foot up and start resting it lower than at my left knee. (3x6-10)
• Hip Lift--This is an advancement on Routine 3. Hip Lift--lie face up at edge of right side of bench. Place chair (about 2 inches lower than bench) beside it and put both feet on the chair, knees bent. Back should rest entirely on bench. Push with left leg first, bringing hips and right leg up. Switch and do the same with the right leg. (3x6-10)
• Quads 2--This is an advancement on Routine 5. Lie on back, prop right leg up on bolster. Add increasing weight on foot (5, 7, 10 pounds) and then back down again, (3x15). Lift leg up at the knee. Concentrate movement on the quad. Make sure knee cap is straight up and not pointing inward.
• Hamstrings--Lie on bench, face down. Place folded towel underneath quad, above knee. Place weights on foot (2, 4, 6 pounds) increasingly and then back down again. Lift leg up as high as comfortable. (3x15)
• Marching (kind of)--Standing straight, align my head with a central point in a mirror. Begin to slowly raise right leg up and place immediately back down on the ground. Do the same with the left leg. This should resemble marching, but should not be as fast as marching. Make sure my body stays as still as possible and that my head stays in contact with that "central point" in the mirror at all times.
  

As for my gait, I can start using a cane around the house. I should experiment walking without it, but only for VERY short distances. The key is to ensure I don't start over correcting and walking with a limp or sideways.

I tried to get on the Hardrock bike in the driveway at home yesterday. It hurt: 1) hard to swing my leg over saddle, 2) hard to pedal (I was able to get about 10 pedal rotations in).

I see Dr. Schwend next Tuesday and will get another referral to continue seeing Sallie. We may slow our visits down to every other week. We'll see. I'm really happy with my progress and am glad I decided to see a PT.