What does a Physio and Fintness Instructor do when she gets Injured? 


So when I fell down the stairs and twisted my foot underneath me I was devistated. I had 3 kids to get to school, a jam packed day of  Pilates classes, HiiT classes, Physio appointments, home chores, relatives staying and more!


The first things that went through my head were those people who walk around on a broken foot and then later find it’s complicated things them doing so. I quickly realised I had way too much on to let this slow me down. So, I did a quick check of the foot tapping the bones and checking I could move it both actively (using the foot) and passively (with the hand). It was ok, I could also walk gingerly on it. It was swelling quickly though so I iced it immediately in some ice water in a bucket (some say this is not the correct thing to do as it slows down the natural healing process - but i really needed it for pain control!) 


I managed to walk the kids to school then teach a pilates class carefully and nobody noticed! Whilst then treating clients I was feeling the foot swell and couldn’t wait to get some compression on it. I stole some time to do this and this felt amazing. By 14.00 I could finally look after it, more ice, painkillers, compression, elevation. 


Once I stopped, everything stiffened and felt quite a lot worse. The mornings activity was taking its toll. The kids had swimming lessons and I couldn’t bear standing on my foot again. So I begrudgingly got out the aircast boot (kept in the cupboard after my hubby snapped his Achilles). 


Ahhhh the relief. I mainly put it on for convenience, to actually be able to physically move around! but here’s a list of other reasons 


1. If my foot was broken then immobilising it would be the chosen treatment anyway and therefore I’m not doing any more damage. 

2. I could walk faster therefore get to places on time. 

3. I could control my gait and walk in alignment therefore not injuring other parts of me. 

4. I could keep the blood flowing to the area whilst gently using it in the boot. 

5. It provided some compression so reduced the swelling. 

6. There was no pain! 

7. It let people know I had an issue with my foot so they did not stand on it. 


The next morning I swallowed my pride and wore the boot. It was such a relief to walk without pain and move at my normal speed. The only down side was all the comments and questions when seeing those I knew on the school run etc. It was hard to explain that  I had the boot on for convenience and to ensure I could get around and live my life rather than having broken my foot / had surgery. Ironically I used it to get to and from the school run with haste and ended up taking longer from all the questions. 


That morning I taught a HiiT class with the boot on, it was low impact, no jumping and such a pleasure to be able to continue exercising (I later filmed this for YouTube check out my channel and subscribe!). 


For the next week I stuck to the following rules:

*Wore the boot while walking any distance

*concentrating on good walking - equal stride and heel toe. 

*Put my foot up when resting 

*Put it in a bucket of ice water for 10 mins 2xper day 

*Continued with all normal activities

*Worked out 1xper day HiiT with the boot on and 1xper day pilates without including gentle foot movements equal weight bearing and stretches. 

*Self massage on foot shin and calf 15 mins per day. 

*Wore compression bandage all day. 


After 1 week I was walking normally had very little pain. One month on I resumed full activity. 


Now of course there are all different types of injuries and this is an example of what can be done NOT ADVICE. It suited and worked for me. I was able to assess my foot and make the decisions so this blog is for interest only and by no means advice. You must always seek advice when injured and also when planning to stay fit throughout. 


I do however truly believe that I lost no fitness and my injury improved quicker as a result. 

If you have an injury good luck and come back stronger and fitter than ever! this is a good time to improve on your weaknesses! 

So I have developed a course to keep you fit and strong with an  injured foot / ankle. You can sign up here