I completed physical therapy a few weeks ago and wanted to share my story while it is still fresh in my head. I first went to PT 2 weeks and 5 days after the accident. At the time, I could not lift my leg up or bend my knee. My right leg was noticeably smaller than my left. I could not separate my legs in any way- even moving my right leg a centimeter to the side was a massive challenge. My right leg had virtually lost all of its muscle. Even though it was my right pelvis that was fractured, it effected my entire right leg and back. My core, butt, and leg were still swollen and at that point my rib was cracked. I felt broken. Going from training for the Glass Slipper Challenge (10k on the Saturday, half marathon on the Sunday) and feeling strong to not be able to put on my own socks was quite a shock.
The day after the evaluation, I had my first real appointment. I had trouble getting up on the table and needed a step stool with a handle. Started off with some kegels and some breathing exercises to help with the core. I did the most basic moves such as pulling on a band attached to my foot so my knee could bend. The first couple of weeks were a lot of range of motion movements. The results were immediate. By the following week I had some movement in my leg. The few muscles that were left were waking up from hibernation. Once my leg could move up and down, I could start to bend down to pick things up (you never realize how much of a butterfingers you are until you can't pick anything up). This helped my quality of life tremendously. I started working on moving my leg from side to side. We did this by lying down and moving my leg/foot along a slippery board. I can remember the first time I tried the exercise and thinking how excited I was I could move my leg that way. All of my exercises were on my back. The exercises seemed so simple but were targeting specific muscles. My "cardio" during this time was an arm moving machine. Pre-accident I was in the athlete's range for blood pressure and had a healthy heart rate. The stress of the accident and stress of healing had caused my blood pressure to jump up and it never came back down. Without cardio and still trying to heal, I knew it would be awhile until I reached 'normal.'
St. Patrick's Day brought the good news that I was allowed to start weight bearing on my right leg. The 3 1/2 weeks of physical therapy had me thinking I would be able to walk. I started off slowing easy pressure on my leg and a week after St Patrick's Day I attempted to walk without crutches. I took a lap around the inside of PT without any issues. All of the therapy helped me gain enough strength to start walking. I was still not allowed to run or do any hard pounding movements with my leg. The one fracture was at the Acetabulum (socket part of the ball and socket leg bone) so the doctor didn't want any extra pressure on that part of the bone. With me being able to do weight bearing and walking, the PT was able to introduce more exercises.
Step up on the box with the right leg. Step down using my right leg first.
Like a reverse leg press- used it as well to work my shins and calves
hamstring curl
steamboats- something I can do post-PT
hurdles- lifts my leg up and works the heal to toe movement
Six weeks after St Patrick's Day I had a follow up with my doctor. X-rays showed my bones are fully healed and I could now handle running. Quite possibly one of the happiest days of my life. I waited to talk to my PT a couple of days later. On April 30th I got the all clear from the PT and tried out running for the first time in over 12 weeks.
My PT worked in other exercises such as jump rope, jumping off of a box, and squats. My leg muscles were getting better, although nothing like they were before. I ran a mile every day in PT. It felt quite taxing at first, but my muscles got used to it and I started to increase my speed.
squat down on one leg while the heel touches the ground
weighted three way hip- move my leg back then angled to the side then straight out
During this time, I worked outside of PT doing some of the exercises and working on my core. I would run an additional couple of times a week. Eventually I worked up to running 5 miles for a race in Hawaii. Once I came back I really thought I had to be at the end of PT. I felt I could do everything I needed to (just slower). 16 weeks after I started PT, I was finally done. I went from not being able to lift my leg to running races. My PT provided me with some information so I could continue with exercises post PT. Most of these I did while I was there.
There were times I was frustrated and thought I could have been moving fast, but overall I had a good experience with PT. I worked hard every time, usually doing a few more reps than required and asking to increase weights sometimes. So thank you to physical therapy and physical therapists everywhere. You helped me get to where I am which hopefully means I continue towards my races in the Fall.
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