PTT Insufficiency: Fourteen Months, and All is Well

Fourteen Months, and All is Well

It's been almost fifteen months, and the foot feels fine. Normal life has resumed, and it is hard to believe that I was on crutches a year ago. There is no pain in the foot, I can walk around the house barefoot for a while, and in a couple of days I am going on my first canoe trip on the Delaware in a couple of years. I've jogged a little to catch a train, and I am starting to walk and bicycle enough to help lose some of the fifteen pounds I gained sitting in a chair. The legs are a little asymmetric yet: it takes a long time to regain lost muscle. The scars have healed nicely, and kids don't say "EEOOW!" when they see them any more. I sometimes climb stairs two at a time, and a couple times have gone down the same way. That's probably pushing it.

It's not perfect, of course. Occasionally either PTT may get a little annoyed, and I ice it and tighten the New Balance sneakers. If it acts up a little more, I'll put the orthotics back in.

In June our family took an old-fashioned drive around the middle of the country, logging about 3,600 miles. My left knee started bothering me, and on return home I was told it was bursitis. The alleged cause: pushing the exercise a little too much. A couple of weeks of ice and a prescription NSAID fixed it up fine. Don't favor a leg, folks.

I had my last meeting with Dr. Deland on the one-year anniversary. An x-ray was taken, and then a baseline x-ray of my right foot since the PTT was annoyed at the time. He suggested that I continue to wear the orthotics, and do some of the PT foot exercises every day for the rest of my life. They are not strenuous, and are easy to do in front of the TV. Don't over-do, or the tendons become annoyed.

Summary

So, it worked for me. Reasonably full function, and no pain. Yes, it was worth it, and I will do it again on the right foot if it becomes necessary. It's less fun than a trip to the beach, but at least I can make those again, and walking barefoot in the soft sand is good exercise for the PTT! I am receiving about two emails a week now from interested people. Apparently these pages have been quite helpful, and I am glad I wrote all this down. Please keep the letters coming. I will answer as quickly as I can.

I will be putting some of these letters on the web pages, if you say it is ok. The various stories can be quite interesting. I suppose someone could start a mailing list: I don't have the time, but I would be happy to include a pointer on the web page.

I also need to put up a FAQ, and more details on the Arizona brace, which one of you has sent me. It would be useful to put up a time table of what happened at what week. I am not going back to reread this stuff, but I'll make a table if someone else gathers the information.

ches

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