physical therapy: progress report

so i've been going to physical therapy for the ol' ankle for about a month now, and it's been going really well. i do feel like a bit of a poseur when i'm there, because i'm technically fine - i'm not in pain; i haven't sprained it RECENTLY so it's not stiff or swollen right now; i have nearly full range of motion, even in the bad ankle - and a lot of other people there are in actual pain, or can't move their shoulder or whatever. and then i show up, waltz in, and do my little exercises for 45 minutes, and skip out. i mean, it is still legit: i had virtual no lateral muscles left in my ankle (which is apparently why it kept collapsing. who knew!) and without the therapy, i'd continue to sprain it over and over. still. mine is basically preventative PT, and most other people there are there to fix injuries.

anyway. my therapy is focused on building strength in my ankle (and calves and quads to help protect my ankle from taking the fall, so to speak) and improving my balance and proprioception (n, Physiology: awareness of the position of one's body). the exercises have all been fairly tame so far - i stand on a wobble board for 3 minutes, for example, or stand for 30 seconds at a time on my bad ankle, on top of a halved exercise ball (harder than you'd think, fyi!) - in other words, difficult-ish, but nothing over the top.

well. i apparently graduated to the next level of ankle therapy this week. they took all my normal exercises and made them crazy.

one of my staples is looping a theraband around my good ankle & a fixed pole, then standing on my bad ankle and doing little kicks with the theraband-ed ankle to increase resistance (which forces the bad ankle to continuously adjust and correct - proprioception!). except this week, i had to do that while standing on my bad ankle on a block of squishy foam. HARD.

it doesn't look like it should be hard, which is why it's even more embarassing that i was weaving all over the place like a topheavy drunkard.

or the wobble board one? this week i had to balance on the wobble board, while throwing one of those huge exercise balls at an angled trampoline. which, of course, means i had to catch a huge exercise ball bounced back at me, while on a wobble board. wtf.

or previously, i'd done squats using one of those same balls wedged in between my back and the wall. i love doing squats like that. it's WAY EASIER than normal squats. know what's not easier? doing squats while balancing on a halved exercise ball.

MUCH FLAILING. and i fell off like 4 times, too. i think there was some snickering.

i didn't know there were going to be level changes at ALL, and now i'm worried what the next level is going to be. balancing on one leg on foam while someone lets a hive of bees out around my head? squats on an exercise ball while a 40lb monkey scampers all over my body? IT COULD HAPPEN.