Getting moving with an injury

[hall2ja]

Hi all!

I've been a Fitbit fanatic for about a year now. Eight weeks ago, I had an unfortunate injury at a trampoline park. Badly sprained ankle and four broken bones in the midfoot. Thankfully, no surgery, but it's already been a long recovery. Six weeks with crutches and knee scooter. I stopped wearing my Fitbit early on because it was frustrating to know that steps just weren't going to happen.

I'm allowed to walk now, but still wearing the walking boot. There's a chance it could come off Tuesday, but there's also a good chance it could be on for another four weeks. Ugh! I know that once the boot comes off though, I won't be able to go full speed ahead.

So, tips for getting moving with an injury? Or recovering from an injury? Any other injured FitBitters who want to buddy up and recovery/move together? 

[WendyB]

Go slow do what you can.

You seem like your in a rush. Im injured but Im taking it one day at a time. Im not in a rush to make things happen. I want to get better and slow is the way to do it

[edkiwi]

Sorry to sound boring but it is important to take it slowly!

It is the most difficult thing though because it is natural to want to get straight back to full speed!

Hope your foot heals soon!

[DanielleinDC]

As  others said, take it slowly. Before I became a Fitbitter, I tripped on an uneven section of sidewalk and broke my wrist. The recovery process was a bit slow; my injury was in early April, my surgery about a week and a half later, a week in a splint, three weeks in a cast, and ten weeks of physical therapy. Listen to your doctor and physical therapist and do the exercises they recommend. (I was very scrupulous about doing the exercises the physical therapists gave me.) Don't rush anything.

Best wishes that you do get your walking boot off soon!

[Trevino24]

I am always getting hurt so I know alot about the recovery process. Try going to physical therapy, they will help you get back into the swing of things. Whatever you do don't start working out again until you are 100% ready. The worst injuires happen when the body isn't totally healed yet. Take things slow. Your body will do the healing the rest is a mental game.

[yoebz123]

I know the feeling you're going through. i broke my foot in 3 places and had to have two surgery. I never thought I'd get off those crutches. But slowly and steady I did. I was scared to workout in my foot afterwards but honestly, I still went to the gym to at least workout my upper body.

So that's where I started but I wasnt getting any steps doing that so I started just walking, slowly but surely around my neighborhood which I finally started seeing progress. From there, I would sort of do a hop or lightly jog for 30 seconds and and walk. Eventually increasing it weekly or daily, depending on how my foot felt until I was finally able to run again.

[PastaLuver14]

Don't know if your still in a boot or on crutches as this post was written in December.  Yes, I personally broke my knee cap. Tripped on the sidewalk and landed on my knee....just one of those things! I was hoping to be on crutches for 6 weeks only. Then it came time to check and I landed up being in a full leg cast and crutches for a little over a month. No surgery needed as typically people in this situation usually do need it. The bones just healed on their own.

To answer your question---even on my crutches I went for daily walks on flat ground around my neighborhood. I even used a running track at one of the schools which was nice to walk around. I know it will be hard and it was hard for me. I kept wanting to get out and exeriece.I hated being pined up at home.  I recommended though gloves for your hands because they will get blisters on them eventually. Mine did at least. My hands just became kinda raw. Gloves help specially when walking outside.

[Mikeg9699]

My advice would be to follow the advice of your medical professinal / physiotherapist.

Only do what you can.

If you feel any pain, stop.

If you feel fatigued, stop.

Slow and steady will win the race.

[kaelarenee7]

As everyone else is saying, don't go too hard too fast once you can start walking around again! I sprained a ligament in my knee a couple of years ago and was on crutches and in physical therapy. I didn't do any extra exercise beyond physical therapy and what exercises they told me I could do to help strengthen my knee while I was recovering and then once I was recovered, I incorporated some of the physical therapy exercises into my routine and slowly transitioned back to a normal workout routine.

[Kathbl44]

I find it hard to sit still .i have no cartledge in one of my knees .some days its too painful to walk but becauae of my job im on my feet 16 hrs a day .its hard to take it slow but it is worth building yourself back up again gradually .it does help and good luck