A tough girl – not!

It’s been nearly 11 weeks since I broke my foot. It’s been the fastest and slowest weeks ever. 😉 I took my aircast fully off after week 8 and have been walking without ever since. I don’t have any pain, but I am not walking properly either. It feels like I am limping a little. So, finally I started physical therapy last week – I know I should have started earlier, but with the move and all things were pretty hectic…

I didn’t know that PT could hurt so much! Just thinking about it makes me go OUCH!!!!! (and now throw some bad words in as well…. LOL). My muscles in my right lower leg are super tight from not having been used properly for a long time and they scream out HELP!

After my first 2 visits my physical therapist wasn’t happy with my progress. I guess I really have been practicing patience over the last 11 weeks, because I was like, “It’s only been 2 visits! What are you expecting?” Apparently a lot!

Anyway, now after my third visit, my foot actually does feel slightly better. I am hoping to slowly start running again in a few weeks. I will definitely work with my PT on this and not rush as I’d like to not break the foot again.

My next PT session is tomorrow and I am already looking forward to an hour of pain. So much for being a tough girl! 😉

A short moment of self pity

I don’t really do self pity. I get annoyed by it. It doesn’t seem to help me and definitely doesn’t lift me up. But right now I need just a very short moment of it.

Despite all my healthy eating (see Healing foods for a broken bone), I got a cold. I had fever 2 nights ago. Not happy.  Maybe after spending most of my days inside without much human contact, my immune system doesn’t know how to respond to anything when I am actually outside. My guess is that having spent the weekend under people in several cafes and restaurants probably made me catch something. Booohhhhhh!

night time

My foot is healing slowly (I hope), but it’s really hard to tell. The swelling is going down and I can finally see some bones in my right foot again. Yippieh! There is still some bruising, but even that is slowly going away. I hope all of this is a good sign for the healing process. I am keeping off my feet for most of the day, spending the day in front of the laptop or on the couch reading or indulging in daytime TV. I try to carefully walk a little bit every day with crutches, keeping the weight off my right foot. Stimulating the broken bone apparently helps its healing process. But I am staying on the safe side with less rather than more, since the doctor really hasn’t given me any advice on walking.

day time

I am going to see my regular GP tomorrow and hope he will have more advice for me than the doc at the hospital. My biggest concern right now is the flight to California. With the visa well on its way into my passport (embassy visit next week hopefully), my move to California is soon approaching. The flight will be more than 5 weeks after the actual break and I hope that it will be ok to get on an 11-hour flight. Eeek…

With things going their way, I hope I can shake this cold off in a few days and start real packing mode. But right now I am up for some more daytime TV. I must have watched 2 seasons of CSI Miami already, a show I have never watched before, but am getting totally into it. “I know you are lying. I just don’t know what about yet.” I might have to start a new CSI Miami quote blog…

Thanks for letting me indulge in a short moment of self pity. I think I am finally over it!

Healing foods for a broken bone

There is one thing that I really wish the doctors would have given me advice on when they put my broken foot in a boot.

What can I do to support the healing of my broken foot?

Unfortunately, the doctors didn’t provide me with any advice on best behavior for a broken foot. They didn’t tell me whether to rest completely or exercise a little. They didn’t tell me whether physiotherapy may help or not. They didn’t tell me how to adjust my nutrition to support the healing process. This has been bothering me from my first encounter with A&E. So I did some research.

A lot of the right behavior depends on the way the foot is broken, so other than my doctors no one could (or should) really given me any advise on resting, exercising, etc. But the right nutrition to support bone healing is probably less dependent on the exact nature of the break.

Here is some information that I found. Some of it may be self-explanatory for the nutrient-wise, but not all of us are nutrient-wise when it comes to broken bones…

TO EAT…

Protein – to support the healing process and reduce further bone loss

• milk, yogurt, cheese, lean meats, poultry, eggs, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, almonds, quinoa, vegetables

Calcium – important for bone strength

• broccoli, Chinese cabbage, kale, milk, yogurt, cheese

Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin K – for bone growth, bone formation and regulating blood clotting

• oranges, broccoli, salmon, tuna, mackerel, fish oil, red bell peppers, strawberries, brussels sprouts.

Natural anti-inflammatory nutrients – to reduce pain and promote the formation of new connective tissue called bone collagen

• citrus fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, whole grains

SKIM MILK, YOGURT, BROCCOLI, FISH and ORANGES seem to be some of the best foods to eat for healing broken bones.

OR NOT TO EAT…

Stop eating foods containing ingredients that either inhibit calcium absorption or increase calcium loss:

whole milk dairy products

red meat

processed foods

sugar

carbonated beverages

alcohol

caffeine

Here are some of my sources:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5682948_eat-healthy-heal-broken-bones.html

http://www.livestrong.com/healing-broken-bones/

http://www.womentowomen.com/bonehealth/speedbonefracturehealing.aspx