For the first two weeks (at least), my insurance covers six home visits of a physical therapist. Debbie came for the first time on Tuesday. This is what my "assignment" is for the next couple of days.
Walking with the crutches:
Up and down the hall every two hours, as much as is comfortable. For me, that's about four times before my hip starts to get tired. Not really painful, just my muscles telling me they're done for now.
3x10 reps of each, per day:
Flex the ankle up and relax
Tighten quad, pushing knee down. Hold 5 seconds, relax
With leg flat out, move heel out to side. This uses the muscles on the outside of the thigh. Relax, move foot back in to center.
This one is rough for me, as much of my actual "pain" is on the inside of my thigh. The physical therapist said that at first, I didn't even need to worry much about actually moving my foot, so long as I was concentrating on using the muscles that would, eventually, move my foot.
Lay on back, with foot flat on bed. Raise knee up, sliding foot on the bed. Slide foot back down.
Here are some pictures, in case you're curious
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00303
Debbie was very nice. She assured me that I was actually ahead of many of the patients she usually sees, simply because the rest of my body was in good shape. She corrected my walking slightly and gave me tips for getting up off the couch easier. She'll be back tomorrow, and I'm not really pumped about upping the difficulty!
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