yoo hoo? anybody here?

[coffeetime]

Hey, lifters, is anyone still around? I'm still having issues and still trying to lift and not giving up, darn it! And I could use some company.

Since I had the metal taken out of my leg (if you were here a while ago, you'll remember I broke it badly in 2015) I have had full range of motion and I still do a lot of physical therapy exercises to maintain balance, improve small muscle coordination etc. That leg is still not the same size and shape as the other one. I am also doing a lot of yoga to improve balance and stability, and I know from doing one-legged standing poses that the formerly broken leg is also not as strong as before I broke it. I wish I could hit on the exercise(s) that would best help me build that leg back up and get its strength back. Calf raises just don't target more than a small area and also there's a weird hollow on the outside of my shin a few inches below the knee, like I just lost mass there and it will never return. What brilliant plan am I not thinking of?

Comments

[indywind]

Just wandered by and noticed this post. In case it's still useful,
I'm wondering if the muscle you have noticeable atrophy in on your formerly-broken leg--is the tibialis anterior.
Here's a site with a diagram showing where it's located, its functions, and links to exercises for it:
http://exrx.net/Muscles/TibialisAnterior.html
The "see also calf exercise analyses" link at the bottom has more good stuff.
Here's a highly specific targeted exercise for tibialis anterior strengthening/growth:
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/TibialisAnterior/LVSeatedTibiaRaisePL.html

If you want exercises you can to without special equipment, I think anything that requires ankle dorsiflexion under load would do some good, especially if you try to keep the big muscles of the upper leg from taking over the work. So, squats, but with focus on ankle flexion rather than knee and hip. You mentioned yoga, so, utkatasana variation 3 from hot yoga -- that's the squat with knees pressed together and torso upright, stabilizing the knees and limiting hip flexion -- might be a good one.
Or just draping something heavy over your toes and lifting them, or walking through deep sand.

Or, apparently, riding horses hunt seat with deeply flexed ankles/ dropped heels -- that muscle got massive on me back in my horse-riding days. But that's probably not very accessible just for rehab!

Good luck!