Ank,,,,,

You know about the sprained ankle. Yep. After arriving back in Wellington I hemmed and hawed about going to physiotherapy. Physio was a new concept to us when we moved to NZ; it's not exactly physical or occupational therapy nor is it strictly massage or chiropractic treatment. Instead, it's a amalgamation of the three. So in NZ if you have a sprain or break you go to and see a 

"physiotherapist" and they assist you in your recovery. 

I spent the remainder of that first week at home with my foot propped up hoping that the rest would reduce the stress it endured on the trip back to Wellington. I did see a little progress each day; however, the following week I decided to go to physio because it was still pretty sore. I was still worried that something terrible had happened. I mean, who knows what's going on in there?

With trepidation I stepped into the physiotherapy office that's part of our Student Health Service here at Victoria. After an examination of the joint and surrounding tissue he confirmed that indeed it hadn't been broken. Or fractured. And there was no ligament tears! I was so relieved. Then he told me that the reason it was so painful was because I had sprained both sides. Of course I did! Sigh. And the terrible bruises came from damage to the muscle on the inside of my foot. 

Since then I've been stretching it as per his instructions and go back each week to have it checked. We are seeing improvement which is good. But I've also learned that my body, in an effort to protect itself, has altered the way that I walk. This is taking weight off the damaged portion on the outside of my foot while putting extra stress on the damaged portion of the inside of my foot. I have additional exercises for this and really hope that we can get a handle on it soon. Hopefully these "ankle" posts will fade away in the wind as my recovery continues. I'm so ready to be past this!