Ankle pain (OMG not again)

[ny biker]

Two subplots running concurrently in my life...

1. When you put the ankle boot on, you inflate a couple of small bladders in the back so the boot won't be too loose. After a while these bladders dig into the sides of my ankle and it hurts. I've tried wrapping a soft microfiber cloth around the ankle inside the boot, but it still hurts. If only I could find a thicker soft cloth...

2. I'm working on learning to crochet. So far my initial row of chain stitches is a mess but once I get going the rows of single crochet, double crochet and half double crochet stitches look pretty good. For practice, I crochet a section about 6 inches high and 8-10 inches wide. I've got several of these practice crochet pieces now, what am I going to do with them?

1+ 2
I put two pieces of practice crochet into the boot behind my ankle. It feels much more comfortable now.

[emily_in_nc]

LOL, NY, your post made me laugh, and that's a good thing.

Good luck with the crocheting. It is really not that hard to learn (easier than knitting) and immensely satisfying! I used to knit and crochet quite a bit though haven't done either for years. I didn't have the stick-to-it-iveness for really large projects, but a couple of of my favorites were crocheted white snowflakes (made with white twine and stiffened up in a cornstarch/water bath) for Christmas tree ornaments, and a lovely cotton cardigan I crocheted for one of my nieces. Oh, and a few cute dog sweaters!

[ny biker]

I'm thinking of crocheting something like a footless sock to wear over my heel and ankle inside the boot. Right now I'm wrapping pieces of crocheted fabric around it, but it's hard to hold it in place while putting my foot inside the boot. But first, since it's about to get very cold here, I'm going to see if I can wear one of my winter cycling booties inside the boot. The thicker Gore booty may not work because there's a zipper down the back, but the Louis Garneau neoprene booty might be okay. I've also got wool Kneekers (knee warmers from DeFeet) that might do the job. Or maybe I'll try a fleecy arm warmer, folded to double thickness.

Oh, I just remembered the fleecy Terry ear band that I bought about a year ago. It has a velcro closure. Maybe I could wrap that around the crochet pieces to hold them in place. Hmmmmm. I'll have to go through the Big Orange Tote Bag of Winter Cycling Gear tonight and do some experimenting...

BTW, it is SUCH a pain in the a$$ having to take the boot off every time I get in the car and put it back on when I get out. It's very hard to do it in the car with the steering wheel in the way, so I have to open the door and swing my legs out. Today when I got to work it was windy and the car parked next to me was too close to get the door open all the way so I could barely reach down to my foot. I was swearing like the father in A Christmas Story when the furnace breaks down. Then I realized I had forgotten to pick up lunch on the way in, so I had to take the boot off again and put my sneaker back on to drive to the deli. &^%$#&&*@!#! When I got back to the office I parked in one of the visitor spaces right near the door, where there was plenty of room to maneuver with the boot.

For short walks into sandwich places to pick up lunch or to put gas in the car I make an exception and don't put the boot on, but for everything else I remind myself what the doctor said: it won't work if you don't wear it. Last night after work I had three errands to run in stores that were next to each other. One store was Whole Foods, so I made that my last stop, bought a salad at the salad bar for dinner and ate it there. It generally is less annoying if I can park the car once, put the boot on, then run multiple errands.

The other night I managed to go to the gym for weight training. I had to skip a few exercises but was able to do most of them. No cardio, of course -- walking around the office or in grocery stores is the closest I get to that. At least I'm weight bearing and not forced to use crutches. And I have a few pairs of shoes that are close enough to the boot in terms of heel height, so I'm not having problems with hip or back pain.

p.s. I do like the crocheting. So far my single crochet, half-double crochet and double crochet stitches are pretty good. My first row of chain stitches is still a mess, very uneven in size. But I think I am ready to move on from practice swatches to an actual pattern. I'm thinking of starting with one of the pink hat patterns from the pussyhatproject.com. I'm also starting to think about possible Christmas gifts that I might be able to make for people next year -- I like the snowflake decoration idea.

[ny biker]

I remain in forced sedentary status due to the ankle tendon issue. Two weeks down, two more to go wearing the boot. Will be a total of 8 weeks of almost complete inactivity by the time I take it off and hope the pain is gone for good. My mood is now a constant state of blah and I've gained two pounds.

I'm working on crocheting a scarf for myself using a mushroom-brown worsted wool. The pattern I started with (alternating two types of stitches) didn't seem to look right so I'm improvising one of my own, mostly single crochet stitches with some double crochet rows every four inches or so.

The boot is causing some discomfort (sometimes outright pain) in other parts of my ankle and leg. I've tried to add padding inside it but that seems to alleviate discomfort in one spot while causing pain in another. Frustrating. Had to put a plastic bag on it a few days ago so I could go outside and clear the snow/sleet/ice from my car and shovel the area around it. My foot was very cold.

I can't stand being stuck in my house all weekend with the stomping neighbors upstairs so I've been looking for excuses to get out. So far I've seen Logan and La La Land. Trying to decide what movie to see this weekend and which theater to go to. Also I'd like to finish up the bedroom furniture painting, which will necessitate wrapping the boot in plastic again to keep from getting paint on it.

I so hope the tendon is healing!!

[Pax]

There are many downsides to living in FL, but one big upside is the kayaking. I get so tired of being held hostage by my bum leg "is it okay enough to ride or walk today... how about tomorrow". My upper body still works fairly well, so I can almost always paddle!

[emily_in_nc]

Sorry NY and Pax! Having a bum leg, ankle, knee, whatever, is really a pain in the ...!

[Crankin]

I empathize with both of you. Since I am hopeless at any handwork, finding that kind of replacement for sports would not work for me! Having a stress fracture (twice) and flantar fascitis pushed me to the limit, because usually if I am tired or hurt, walking is my go to thing. I couldn't do that with foot problems. The first stress fracture and plantar fasciitis, I had a pool, so I swam. Since I can barely swim, it was a good thing the pool was in my backyard. It was 5 AM and I was blasting aerobics music. Thankfully, it was still September in Phoenix, so the AC units were droning away, drowning out the music.