LeahMichelle’s AchillesBlog

nice article thanks for sharing

Thanks Paul!

Sorry to hear that Leah. Wish I could help, but i haven’t experienced an itch on my scar. When i’ve had problems like that in the past though, I’ve gotten some relief from hydrocortisone cream. You can get that over the counter.

Good luck!
Paul

Thanks Bruiser! I’m looking forward to get to that level of PT.

Hi Paul, yes I did have two lifts in. They removed them last time I saw my doctor.

Leah, you must not have any heel lifts in your boot, is that right? Did you ever have them?

Yes, I definitely am in need of a Chiropractic adjustment! I know my hip and back are all out of sync. I also have knees that hyperextended and I’ve been noticing how often it happens when I hobble. My evenup just came which will make going to my daughter’s soccer games and taking my son out that much better! I appreciate the suggestion paul1 and cserpent.

It is interesting how varied doctors opinions are on recovery. I know my doctor (and my family) thought I would do to much to soon. I’m not messing around with this injury though. I’m actually thinking more conservatively then they are. When my doctor said in two more weeks he’d let me start walking around the house without the boot I was surprised and asked if he was sure. PT keeps giving me new exercises and I guess their report back to him was very good. He thought it was because I liked using my iwalk2.0 and called it cool. I have grown fond of my “peg leg” but I just want to heal properly and I know I have alot of strengthening to do on my chicken leg. I’ve got an African Caribbean dance class waiting on me and my kids to keep up with lol.

Thanks Leah - much appreciated. I agree with Cserpent about the evenup. It’s critical to have otherwise you will tweak your hip when you start doing much walking. I can’t imagine going far without it. I’m borrowing a friend’s but I think they’re available on Amazon for ~$20.

So interesting to me how your doc supports PT earlier than mine but not walking; whereas my doc supports lots of walking but not so much PT. You’d think there would be more consistency in medical approach to recovery.

Wow - that sounds great Leah - congrats on how well it’s going! Can you describe the 5 exercises that you did? I’m looking for things I might try until I’m able to get into the PT.

All I’ve been doing is walking a few miles each day, and a little swimming maybe 2-3 times/week. I haven’t tried to stand flat footed on my bad foot yet - is that what you were doing already? Sounds awesome!

You absolutely need the evenup if you’re boot and shoe don’t keep your hips in alignment. I’m quite surprised the nurse said you wouldn’t. Before my surgery my doctor gave me a list of things I would need and an evenup was one. I suggest you tell your doctor and nurse that they absolutely need to tell people who will be in the boot to get the even up if the boot and their shoe aren’t even. As it turns out my boot for my left foot is exactly even with the new running shoes I got. Whereas the boot I got 2 years ago for my right foot required the full height of the evenup.

Hi Paul, the exercises I have currently have are: flexing and pointing my foot to increase range of motion, doing the same laterally, writing the A,B,Cs (uppercase), extending my leg straight up from a seated position without pointing my toes for leg strengthening, leg lifts while laying on my back and side for hip strengthening, rolling up a small washcloth placing it under the middle of my foot and then pointing my toes over it, while seated with my foot flat on the ground slowly gliding my foot back so that my feet are even in a normal seated position, and doing 3 second weight shifts from standing on both feet to mostly on my recovering foot. The reps very but are no more than 10 at a time and often just 2 sets. They have me easing into things which I am happy for because I have a tendency to push myself to much. I would definitely suggest requesting PT from your doctor since they will fine tune a plan specifically for you and your situation. My doctor and therapist said PT is probably the most important part of this recovery. The therapist deal with people who decline the surgical route for ATRs to those who have the most

Leah, Please let me know what kinds of exercises you get from your PT. I’d be interested in expanding what I’m doing now. I see my doc in 7 days and will be asking him for a PT referral even though he doesn’t seem to feel it’s important (he just thinks walking is sufficient). I walk a couple miles a day in my boot now and can motor along pretty well with no limp. Are you walking pretty well now? If you haven’t yet, I strongly recommend you get an evenup lift for your other (good) foot.
Good luck!
Paul

Thank you everyone! I’m going to PT tomorrow and I’m really excited to see what exercises they give me. One step (boot hobble) at a time! I’m going to take it slow, I’m in it for the long haul. I don’t want to suffer consequences later in life because I rushed things now. I want to be able to run around with my grandkids (if I ever have them) far far in the future!

Congrats Leah! Boot walking is so much better than NWB, you will love your new-found freedom. Please take it slow and easy in the beginning. Your body will tell you when you reach your limit. I wouldn’t do too much other than walk at the moment until you get more comfortable with it. Wiggling your toes, spreading your toes out and back will feel good and is fine. My doc didn’t want me to do any dorsiflexing until I see him again after 8 weeks post surgery.

Congrats!! We ALL know how happy you are! My PT ramped up my exercise list as I progressed along the road to recovery so I didn’t really add any exercises specifically for my achilles. I continued to do what I could of my normal exercise regimen with modifications to it based on what I was allowed to do for my foot.

Love how you do them while brushing your teeth bruiser! LOL! Speaking of which I need to go see how many my heel will let me do after my day at Disneyland yesterday. LOL!

Congratulations!

The resistance bands were great for me as well as Bulgarian squats to get the quads and glutes working again. In terms of the calf, I swore by calf raises while I brush my teeth. Still do them 9 months after starting PT. Now I start with 15-20 single calf raises (you’ll have to work up to a single calf raise, don’t start until your PT or doc clears you) then do about 100 doubles. Excellent exercise and keeps you honest about brushing for 120 seconds!

Thank you @Fred and @paul1 tomorrow’s the big day. I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Getting out of that last cast will be a major step forward Leah - you’ll be there soon! You will love the significant mobility boost. Hang in there, that 5-month old will be rolling all over the place soon and you’ll want to keep up!

I used one briefly, perhaps a couple of weeks. In the house I could just use an office chair on wheels. It is important to practice in the house before going outside where there are more variables. Once I got to the boot it was harder to use. But I got mine used in great condition and then I sold it more for later. Enjoy it! I loved the look of it too.

Congrats on each ’step’ of the way, getting the boot is a big improvement to look forward to! Warning that your leg will be quite thin and weak, and it will be a few months before you are close to normal, however, you shouldnt have much pain in the process.

Hi LeahMichelle, My surgery for full ATR was 7/26 so we are on a very similar timeline. I was only in a splint for 10 days before transitioning to a boot. Have been NWB past 3 weeks in the boot and seeing the doc tomorrow hoping to get cleared for boot walking then.

It’s amazing to see the spectrum of post surgery treatment, but we will all get to the same place in the end. From what i’ve read on this blog, most people are out of their cast/boot in ~12 weeks or so and I’m expecting the same.

Best of luck to you on your journey!

Paul

Hi LeahMichelle, My surgery for full ATR was 7/26 so we are on a very similar timeline. I was only in a splint for 10 days before transitioning to a boot. Have been NWB past 3 weeks in the boot and seeing the doc tomorrow hoping to get cleared for boot walking then.

It’s amazing to see the spectrum of post surgery treatment, but we will all get to the same place in the end. From what i’ve read on this blog, most people are out of their cast/boot in ~12 weeks or so and I’m expecting the same.

Best of luck to you on your journey.

Paul

: D thank you so much Bruiser your story gives me hope!

You’ll definitely be mobile by 2020. My guess is your doc will tell you to put weight on it as tolerated once you’re in the boot. I spent roughly 5 weeks on crutches before I started walking in the boot. Was out of the boot in just under 3 months. Once you become ambulatory the progress comes in leaps and bounds. I was injured on 9/6, put in a boot NWB on 9/13, began walking in the boot in late October, and got out of it by end of November. By end of December I was walking with almost no limp. Started jogging again in late February. Hang in there.