Am in week 4 of my 6 weeks of non-weight-bearing. Am not in a cast anymore, but can’t put weight on it for 2 more weeks. Doc has advised to exercise the ankle 4 times a day… just move it around in circles and up and down. Try to get better range of motion.
The problem is, my ankle is so stiff that it feels like the bones are fused together. I can point my toes downwards, but I can’t point them towards my head. My foot doesn’t move backwards beyond a point (90 degrees). And my other good foot does , so its quite disheartening to see the difference and know how much the bad foot needs to catch up.
So I’ve figured that its the muscles and tendons that are really stiff, particularly the area above the back of my heel (achilles). There’s no way it will stretch unless the tendon or muscles get loosened up.
Enter Contrast therapy/Alternate heat-cold therapy. Athletes use this to recover from injuries faster. Basically you do this:
1. You heat the area for 10 min using a heat pack or hot towel. During this time stretch the tendons out as much as you can. You can use a towel around your foot and pull the ends towards you with your hands. Heat relaxes muscles and increases flexibility and range of motion. There is also less pain while stretching… yay!
2. Immediately follow with an icepack on the same area for 5 min. Continue to keep your foot stretched. This kind of freezes the tendon into its stretched mode.
3. Repeat procedure next day. You can continue the alternate hot-cold a couple of times in the session, but if you’ve had surgery like me, your ankle will protest. Slow and steady.
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TIPS:
Do not use overly hot or cold packs. Keep a cloth between the pack and skin to prevent burns/frostbite
Do not use on stitches/open wounds. Don’t use heat on swollen areas.
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Watch this video to know how to do it right –
Life on one leg 