2.5 Weeks Post-Op
The Pain
I’ve been really lucky that this whole process has been minimally painful. I think the highest rating I would give this entire process (including injury and surgery) is a 3 out of 10. In some ways, I am lucky that it was a complete rupture; it was less painful than a partial tear (according to my research)! I do get a little bit sore at times, but I don’t regularly take any pain medications. The crutches have displaced my back a bit and that has been pretty frustrating. I’ll have a heat pad on my back and ice on my ankle at times. I’m pretty high maintenance right now. I think part of it was just trying to do too much too soon. I slowed myself down this last weekend and it helped my back tremendously.
The Scar
It feels like surgery was months ago and personally I think my scar looks that way as well. It looks pretty damn good! I’m lucky that my surgeon used surgical glue instead of sutures. It definitely was the better option for me. It’s healing really well and I am excited to start using some scar treatments on it. I am pretty confident that I can minimize the scar. I do live in Southern California so I am already thinking about how I will have to protect the scar from the sun in the future. From my research, scars cannot tan, they just burn. One thing that is for sure is that this injury is making me much more aware of what I can actively do to take care of my body.
The Tendon
I’m totally willing to admit that I am vain. It may seem random, but my ankles were actually part of my body that I really liked. I am definitely disappointed that my tendon is always going to be thicker. My PT told me that I can massage it to help break down scar tissue so I have started doing that frequently. I am trying to also drink bone broth frequently for the collagen benefits. I think I will start taking pictures to help show how it develops.
The Calf
I know a lot of people deal with uneven calves and mine has shrunk quite a bit. I have been measuring my legs each week to see how much muscle I loose. People tell me not to do it but I don’t really find it upsetting. It’s fascinating how quickly your muscles atrophy. My left leg (injured side) is generally an inch smaller in every place than my right.
Activity
Last Friday (2 weeks post-op) I didn’t elevate my foot at work. I was horrified when I saw how swollen it was at the end of the day. It caused a little bit of panic. I think I have been afraid of using this injury to be lazy, but I realized that I just need to slow down and let myself heel (pun intended). I can only go about 1 block on crutches before I am burnt out. I was a very active person before the injury, so it is pretty humbling. My gym is a huge part of my life but I have realized that getting my heart rate up is too taxing right now. Just moving a stretching is going to have to be enough. I think most of us here are eager to get back to our old selves, but we all go thru the process of realizing that you just have to be patient. I am excited to retest all my major lifts at the gym when I can. Then retest them every few months. I’m hoping that watching myself regain strength will be empowering.
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During the first weeks I also measured calf, quadriceps, weight, … and tracked it in an excel file…:D… and there was no big difference. Two weeks ago I went for an Indiba session. The morning after I found my injured calf was now … thinner! Do not worry too much, sure it will get stronger in a short time!
As a crossfitter I am also missing the barbell, my snatch was 110 pounds,I am willing to test and improve it!
In the meantime I am trying to keep fit as much as I can, but 2 weeks post-op was not the same. Getting used to cast, crutches, etc takes some time. Knee push ups, ab roller, leg raises, mobility and stretching is what I did. Electrostimulation on quads (injured leg) is something I recommend you.
Keep positive. Day after day you will feel better. All the effort you do in being active will ease your recovery
I’m lucky that I was not put into a cast. I was put into a boot 3 days post-op. I’m really glad that was my doctors protocol. Too many additional issues with a cast!
People keep telling me that my upper body is going to get so strong. The problem with that is that if i burn out my upper body on a workout (because it is all anyone wants to program for me), I don’t have the energy to use the crutches! Part of the reason I have decided to tone it down.
The vanity in me wont let me weigh myself. I’m trying not to stress too much about body composition because there isn’t a ton I can do.
I will definitely look into the electrostimulation. You aren’t the first to mention it so I definitely think it may be a good idea!
You can do some cardio at the gym - recumbent bike and rower. You just have to row with the injured foot sticking out and when you bike rest the injured foot on the pedal but don’t push on it at all. Just resting it on the pedal helps a LOT. I started biking initially with the injured foot off the pedal entirely - that is HARD! I asked my doc if I could rest the injured foot on the pedal so at least its weight helps the pedal go down as I pull with the other foot. He said that was OK - whew! Don’t worry about body composition now. You can’t do much about it until you get to the point where you start actively working on getting the strength and flexibility back in the injured foot/leg. Then you’ll have a lot of work getting the injured foot back where it was. That will take time. Most docs say it takes at least a year to get back to normal.