So you broke a foot - no big deal? HA! A must read post...
A week has gone by and I've not been on ActiveRain. I'm not sure, but that very well may be a first for me since 2008. How ever does one survive without a little rain every day? Honestly I just wasn't up to reading or commenting this past week. I needed sometime to just deal with the fall out of the whole broken foot craziness. Who knew that after 11 weeks in a boot that one would then have to deal with another bigger issue. Seriously? You've got to be kidding me was my response at least a couple of times or more. I thought I was 'free' to roam about the country after 11 boot weeks (with caution of course).
So here's what I've learned 'after the fact' of a broken foot. If you ever have a broken foot (and I hope you never do) there are a couple of things that you should know up front in order to avoid what I'm going through now.
- The first week of having to wear a big boot to protect your broken foot be very aware that it's going to cause you to be off balance. What does that mean? It means that your back and hips are going to go bonkers and the longer the boot is necessary the more bonkers it can be - I call it - peg leg walking. Are you getting the picture?
- Start chiropractic adjustments right away and continue them once or twice a week while the boot is necessary. That will help you stay in alignment and not have issues to deal with after the boot comes off.
- Treat yourself to massages once a week while the boot is on (and afterwards as well). Massages can help keep the energy flowing and hopefully keep you from severe pain afterwards.
- The longer the boot stays on the more likely it's going to be that you're going to have to deal with a bigger issue after the fact. You could develop severe pain (acute sciatica) on the opposite leg from the hip to the foot, because it's worked so hard to keep your broken foot 'safe' for weeks and months.
- If you do develop acute sciatica after getting out of the big boot get help right away. By help that means you'll probably have to be on a series of specific drugs to help calm the inflammation and reduce the acute pain. I tried to deal with it as I normally do with health issues, naturally. That didn't work (at all) and I finally got the help (drugs) needed to deal with the severe pain.
- Know it's going to take time to heal the sciatica issue. Ask for professional advice what you should do to help it get better. At first it's being still, then it's walking just a bit around the house and at some point you can start gentle stretches. For me I'm hoping I can start to walk around the block today....that will be a real good thing!
I'm writing this post to share information about what could happen if you break your foot and to give some tips about how to deal with it upfront (This is NOT a pitty party - so please don't go there). I simply don't want anybody else have to go through what I've gone through this past 2 weeks after the boot came off. I wish I had had more information upfront on what possibly could happen after having to wear a boot for close to 3 months. And I sure wish I had known how I could have avoided a worse situation than a broken foot! Who wouldn't!!
So there you go.....my story is out there for anybody else that is unfortunate enough to break a foot. Now you (or a loved one) will have more information to handle it upfront and be up and walking sooner rather than later, all while avoiding a worse situtaion than a broken foot. That is a good thing!
So you broke a foot - no big deal? HA! A must read post...
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