Re: sub-talar fusion

Hi,I had a fusion in April 2004 due to a fall.The pain is ongoing and so is the swelling.I live in England where we get free medical care and so have had the physio therapy you were recomended.We get sent initially for Hydro therapy that is exercising in a swimming pool this is great because a lot of your body weight is supported by the water the excersises are simple: 1)Stand with both feet shoulder width apart and squat down keeping your back straight ten times the idea is to push your knee out over your toes.when you get better at it do it standing on one foot and alternate between the good and bad feet.2)Stand one one foot and swing the other leg across your body like a pendulum,alternate feet and do ten on each foot,you will probably find it hard to balance so do the excersises near the side of the pool using the least amount of support you can manage with.3)walk on your heels,then walk on your toes. stand still and push your self up to stand on the balls of your feet (we call it standing on tip toes) when you start to find it easy do it on one foot at a time.4)stand on one leg and try to balance for a count of ten swop feet, when you get good at it try with your eyes closed. 5)step onto and off of a ledge or step.Stand with the ball of your foot on the step and the rest of your foot overhanging, force your heel down below the level of the step ten times then swop feet.6)Place a styrofoam float under your foot,raise the foot as highj as you can keeping the float trapped and then force it down again,swop feet and repeat.7)lie on your back (we had a short canvas "bed"to support us) and flex your ankle forward and back to make the water swirl,when you get stronger you can try with a flipper on,this will obviously increase the load.
We get six sessions of hydro lasting a half hour once a week then we progress to the gym.I found it really helpful and although you might look a bit strange performing the excersises in a public swimming pool I think it would be worth while.If you push yourself to the point where it starts to hurt and then go just a littkle bit further each time you will soon reap the benefits,make sure to warm up and cool down by simply walking in the water before and after your session and have some water to drink after.
My therapist told me that pain relief was of paramount importance as the excersises WILL hurt but if you don't get the joints moving they will sieze up permenantly. Iwas initially given Tramadol but I built up a tolerance to them and now I have been prescribed Buprenorphine Which comes in a patch that I change every three days and I can top that up with co-proxamol which is a mix of paracetamol and Dextropropoxyphene.I wish you all the luck in the world and hope that you make a good recovery.

Posted By Seamus on September 19, 2004 at 02:37:05:

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Proven effective in the treatment of swelling and edema of the ankle joints. Controlled, uniform compression throughout entire effected area.
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