Out of the boot? Maybe???
My 8 1/2 week app at the doctor this morning concluded the following:
* I am all healed, scar is fine, calf test works fine, all good
* my confidence is rock bottom
So when the doctor said ok take the shoe and boot off and walk to me in your bare feet, I was like “Really? you sure?”. So I tried, but it hurt a bit and I was unsteady (bear in mind I was not using crutches or anything). So he decided I should go back in the boot and that the physio will take me out of the boot on Wed (in 2 days time). WHAT? WHY? If the foot is all good but my confidence is the only thing holding me back, than the confidence will not change by waiting it out in the boot.
It also turns out I still had one wedge in my boot because they FORGOT to tell me to take it out. He said the notes suggested I was already in neutral position, but in fact I still had a wedge there, so hmm ooops, he took my last wedge out and walking in the boot in neutral position felt so much more comfortable, I so wished I’d taken the wedge out myself without waiting for them to say to take it out. But you know what they say: always listen to the doctors. Grrr! I can take the boot off at night and do yoga and stretched without it on as much as I like/can handle. The doctor seemed eager to just pass me onto the physio and he said in two days’ time I’ll be out of the boot anyway.
I am trying to practice walking around the house barefoot without the boot and using the crutches. I figured that gently is better than suddenly doing the whole “walk to me without the crutches” stunt he suggested to try.
Looking forward to Wed & the physio’s advice.
Happy healing everyone!
August 9th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Hello Andreea.
It looks like we are appx at the same spot. Had my ATR on the 8 of june. I have had 2 weeks of PT know, and i really is making some progress know. Of course i use the booth, but he adviced me to try without it too, and use one of the crunches. And after a couple of scary days, im moving around with one crunch, slowly but still. I also tries without the crunch, and im moving around, a sort of. At this point mutch is in once head, but you also need to be careful. Sorry for bad english, its not my native language
August 9th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Hi Ronny,
Thanks for the comments. I am so glad to hear you are moving about so well, it is always going to be a slow process isn’t it? Awesome that the PT is really helpful - I heard from many on this blog that PTs make a huge difference to recovery. Good luck with things and all the best.
Thanks again for the encouragement.
(Don’t worry about your English, it’s all good.)
August 9th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Andreea,
Forget the crutches when walking barefoot in a “safe” environment. The longer you use the crutches the harder it is to give them up and the less steady you are without them. How long have you been waiting for the day you could give them up? Today is that day. There is no reason to wait. When I was told I could go to one crutch and then none as soon as I could, the one crutch trick lasted maybe a day. One crutch was awkward and quite comfortable. I had to spend time in airports not long after that and got a cane to use instead. The cane gave me just enough security when I needed it, which was mostly in crowded areas like baggage claim.
August 9th, 2010 at 11:32 am
I should have said one crutch was quite UN-comfortable.
August 9th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Hi Gerry,
Wow you are probably right. I hate doing anything which the doctors didn’t specifically say to do - prob my wussy nature. Still, I am sure I will ditch the crutches as soon as possible. I feel as though the PT app will be very useful in reassuring me that walking barefoot is actually a good idea - this is partly why I hesitate to push my self. Also, since you mention the “safe” environment, what things should I be thinking about re: “safe”: like not crowded places, slippery surfaces, anything else? We don’t have stairs inside our home….or toys/small children/pets, nothing like that.
August 9th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Andreea,
The thing everyone here needs to remember is that doctors, no matter what their specialty, just human beings, subject to the same problems everyone faces and above all they are just as fallible as the general population. My wife is a doctor, thankfully not an orthopod or we might well be divorced by now and she agrees. I had one surgeon tell me he had never had a patient have a reaction to internal sutures so that couldn’t be my problem. Another surgeon insisted that the internal sutures were not creating any problems at all, that in fact the problems I was having were my fault because I was too active. He told my wife the best thing for me would be to clean out the infection and leave the incision to close on it’s own - no sutures and months of having a draining hole in my leg. I fired him. I listen to them and then decide if I will follow what they say based on common sense and my own research. Don’t get caught up in thinking any doctor is infallible. The surgeon who did my final surgery is a nice guy and he did just what I told him needed to be done, but we disagree strongly about the best approach for a ruptured Achilles.
August 9th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Two days is no big deal along this marathon of ours. But if removing your last heel wedge made your foot MORE comfortable, then you’re probably in good shape, and should be fine walking around barefoot or in shoes, CAREFULLY, always watching each step, and not stepping past your healing foot until it’s clearly comfortable to do so. Weight bearing is a Good Thing, and gradually getting your ankle to dorsiflex the way it used to is also a Good Thing. Putting the two together can be a risky thing, so I’d recommend “underdoing” that part, until you’re comfy with how far you’re flexing while walking.
8.5 wks is definitely not too soon to start walking bootless. But it is a vulnerable time, because one trip bootless can do serious damage. At 12 weeks, the vast number of re-ruptures have already happened, though we’ve got several 13-week re-rupture “victims” blogging here currently. But the next few weeks are obviously a time to be very careful about where and how you step. Talking on the phone while going downstairs is definitely OUT!!
August 9th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Dear Normofthenorth,
Thanks for your long and detailed reply. I am looking down at my calf muscles and I can honestly say you can not tell which is the bad leg and which is the good one. I feel strong in myself and I am a positive person. I have been doing no exercises at all as the drs. didn’t know what to recommend and they kept saying that the physio is in charge of that. I can’t wait for Wed when I first see the physio, so until then, I am going to try to keep walking barefoot to a min anyway, just to be sure. I tried to put on any of my shoes today and it was soar and tingly and I gave up, so that is going to be interesting. While in the boot, I can walk down and up stairs alternating feet (but obviously not on the phone ha ha ha good one).
Thanks again
August 10th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Andreea,
You will benefit from physical therapy. It will give you some confidence that you can walk around and exercise out of the boot. Riding the stationary bike was huge for me, you’ll probably like that one also. My first appointment at phys therapy, I voiced my fear that they would push me too hard and make me reinjure the tendon. But nothing could be farther from the truth. They made me exercise all the muscles of my injured leg which weren’t the affected calf and tendon. Only when I went to 2 shoes did they give me a couple of things which directly worked the calf and tendon. And I felt ready for it.
Walking barefoot………I found that to be a bit more painful then walking around in comfy running shoes with a nice gel insert and walking barefoot on carpet is definitely nicer than on a hard floor. You might wish to try walking with a cane when you are barefoot. Might give you some conficence. My first steps showed a very pronounced limp as I was mainly thinking ” protect the tendon. Walking is much better now after 5 days. There is less of a limp but it is still noticeable and being very careful going up and down stairs is a must….but it’s doable. OK…….gotta go now. Time for therapy. Looking forward to doing a longer stretch on the stationary bike. Good luck Andreea, I hope walking around sans boot is getting easier for you !!
Pete
August 10th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
When you’re in a boot, you should have no problem walking down stairs fairly normally. One good trick — which you definitely want to use when you’re going down stairs in 2 shoes — is to place your “bad” foot half on and half off the step. That way, your “bad” foot (shod or booted) will naturally roll over the nose of the step as you step onto the next step down with your “good” foot.
In shoes, this trick prevents you from seriously dorsiflexing your “bad” ankle while it’s heavily loaded, which (a) your ankle and AT are definitely NOT ready for yet, and (b) is how “normal people” go down stairs.
August 11th, 2010 at 4:15 am
Thanks for this - yes in the boot I found stairs fine, I can alternate them ok and I feel stable. Given that I have not yet started in 2-shoes even on the flat yet much, I guess stairs in them is still a long way - good keep the stair-trick in mind for later though, cheers for that!!!
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August 11th, 2010 at 4:30 am
Hi Pete,
It’s excellent to hear a positive story -physios seem to be life-savers for the most part don’t they? I can’t wait to go see mine in an hour. I am super keen to get out of this boot too. Unfortunately, we don’t have carpet in our flat and I can’t fit into any of my shoes - I tend to wear very snug fitting shoes and I am afraid to push the trainers in case I can’t get out of them easily and end up forcing me foot …
I will prob look for a cane, you are second to suggest this as an alternative to crutches. Cheers for the positive reply and happy walking (better in only 5 days, yey)!!!
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