Well as the title says, it is 18 months since my surgery and I have just managed my first single calf raise!!   

The main reason for this post is to warn others not to do as I did and accept what I was told by so called specialists i.e.

• At my age (60) - 18 months is not a long time to wait to do a single calf raise and I must learn to be patient.

• My surgeon told me in November that muscle wastage was not due to the Achilles but due to damage to my S1 Nerve (prolapsed disc).  I disagreed, but he suggested I see a back surgeon with the view to back surgery, which was rarely successful; all this was very depressing after such a long time.

• The physio I received was fairly passive massage and ultrasound; no progress was made at all.

What I did:

I decided  to seek another physiotherapist.  This time I went to a specialist sports injury clinic.

What they found:

The muscles in my lower leg were non-existent, the thigh muscles were weak and the muscles in my buttock was also weak, all this explained why I was finding it so difficult to walk any distance, walking with a pronounced limp and difficulty going up and down stairs and not being able to push off with my Achilles leg.  Instead of improving I was actually getting worse.  The main cause of the problem was scar tissue, obvious really, but when I asked my surgeon if that could be the cause he said ‘NO’.

The Treatment:

I have been attending my new clinic twice a week for 3 weeks, having extremely painful deep massage (and if it wasn’t for the fact that they are so chatty and tell such funny stories I’m sure I would cry with the pain), continual assessment, and serious exercises.  Yesterday I actually managed to do 5 single calf raises by placing the palms of my hands on the palms of my physio’s hands.  Not right up on my toes but enough to make me realise that I can do this over a period of time.  Maybe it doesn’t sound much but to me it was a dramatic improvement, three weeks ago we tried this and my leg stayed firmly planted on the floor.  As I progress I will receive help with re-training my walking as I have damaged my hips and knees because I could only ‘swing’ my leg to walk.

It is early days still but I am so much more confident in walking already, it is still very painful but I will get there, I have to prove my surgeon wrong and walk into his office one day and show him how wrong he was, that will give me the greatest pleasure.

Sorry this is so long winded but it helps, my advice to all of you now is to make sure that you get the right treatment, don’t wait as long as I did before getting a second opinion (I only did this because TomTom and Smish insisted I did, so special thanks to them).

My extra-special thanks go to my new physiotherapists and I wish them and everyone else a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

 I have noticed a distinct lack of gleefulness recently (from me) so I thought I would give some good news.  I forgot to mention that in August I had my 60^th birthday and went for a fabulous meal with some of my family to the recently restored (by English Heritage) The Monastery in Gorton, Manchester, we had the small chapel (see picture) to ourselves, and it was fabulous.  Also a picture of myself and my brother just after he gave a very embarrassing history of our lives, it was quite touching really. 

The other exciting part about being 60 over here in the UK is that I get free transport.  As I don’t drive this is fabulous.  Yesterday I decided I would ‘just pop into Manchester’ as it is only 5 minutes on the bus I was in and out of town and back to work in just over an hour.  A nice little escape from work.  I also get lots of ‘senior citizen’ discounts, just loving being old.  And, the major yippee is that as from next week I get my pension.  How fantastic is that!!

Well 16 months on from my achilles surgery problems still exist.  

I went with my hubby to see my surgeon this morning, he did the Thompson test again and said it was OK  and the achilles felt strong and in place, despite failing the test at my physiotherapists and NHS walk in centre, but he was at a loss as to why I had no strength in my leg, the calf muscle was quite obviously very weak, and when he asked me to go on my toes I couldn’t nor could I push his hand with my bad leg.  He is arranging for me to have a scan.  In his opinion the achilles is OK but he wants to confirm this.

We will have to see what happens after he gets the scan results, which could be about 2 weeks, there is a new scanner in my area which he wants me to use, but there is a waiting list, he said it is a much newer and better machine than the one I used last time.

If that does not show any obvious problems he will then refer me to a spinal doctor in case it is some sort of nerve problem that is affecting the calf.  My husband asked all the questions TomTom suggested I ask, but it was a case of lets see what the scan says.

So no news as yet.  I have to admit to being a little disappointed that I didn’t get a positive answer.

I had to go to my local NHS Walk in Centre this afternoon because as someone who is prone to cysts I had a really bad headache over the last couple of days then one almighty eruption as the cyst on my head burst, so I went to the NHS  centre to get some antibiotics.

I went on to explain that the last time I went into the centre I was misdiagnosed big time, eg achilles!!  I explained what happened and they were very apologetic.  We talked about the Thompson Test and that I may have to have a second operation anyway.  They had never heard of the Test so I said I would demonstrate it.  She called in the other staff and I lay on the table instructing the nurse how to do it,  I was also  able to show that my bad leg still has no response to the Test therefore they could see how the response should be and shouldn’t be.  They were amazed at such a simple test could work.

Thought I should have got a round of applause when I left, but I didn’t.  I did feel good though because anyone else presenting with a possible achilles rupture would get better advice.

Following advice from Smish and TomTom I have been back to see a new physio who looks after the England Cricket Squad, when he called in one of the other physio’s for a second opinion I knew all was not well.  So, they both agreed I have no response to the Thompson Test, the achilles is very thick, hard and twisted and in their opinion the only thing to do is to operate again, I was prepared for this so was not too surprised.  I asked what would happen if I didn’t have it done and they said they thought I had no alternative as my walking was very poor now, there was no muscle at all and they would expect it to wither even more.

They will write to my surgeon suggesting surgery again as soon as possible.  I said I would not want surgery again until late autumn as I didn’t want to miss the rest of the summer (even though the weather is horrendous at the moment).  So, I will report in when I have seen the surgeon (hopefully he is away on a long summer holiday!).

It is hard to believe but it really is one year ago today that I ruptured my achilles tendon whilst walking in a car park.

Things have changed dramatically since then, although I can walk I still cannot walk quickly or do a single heel raise on the bad leg.  I have tried all the exercises for core strengthening as given by my physiotherapist, my cousin the nurse, and Jon on AchillesBlog.  I have now accepted the fact that I don’t think things will improve much more.  I have a lot of scar tissue and thickening but that is an age problem, not applicable to you young ones!!

The muscle in my leg is still hiding away somewhere where I cannot find it, but the main thing is I am able to walk, which is good news.

I don’t check out the blog as much as I did but without Dennis setting up this site, my off-line friends, Smish, Richard, Jon and Karen,  the last year would have been very difficult.

For those of you who are just setting out on this long road to recovery I wish you well.  Blogging was a mystery to me before this injury now I have found a new hobby and cannot put down my laptop at night.  So instead of painting and decorating, gardening and badminton I now BLOG for Britain.  So very special thanks to Dennis for all his help.

Good luck to you all.

By the way, Manchester City’s Valerie Bojinov and Aston Villas Curtis Davis  both played at the City of Manchester Stadium a couple of weeks ago, Bojinov came on as a second half substitute but Curtis went off at half time.  So, when the teams were announced I gave them both a particularly hearty welcome from one Achilles sufferer to the two of them.

Annie

Merry Christmas to all achilles sufferers all over the world. 

Particular mention to Dennis for setting up this fantastic community.  A little gift will be coming your way very soon.

Lets not have any accidents over the holiday period (Richard cut back on those tinctures!!!), I will drink a toast everyones health with my christmas dinner

I hope the New Year brings health and happiness to all.  Enjoy the holiday and have a very happy time.

Tis the season to be jolly….

Annie

This is the latest report on the Manchester City Footballer who ruptured his Achilles in August.  Remember, he is getting the best treatment possible so don’t judge your progress by his. 

There’s contrasting news on City’s pair of injured Bulgarians, with Valeri Bojinov making good progress in his battle to overcome a serious Achilles injury.The desperately unlucky striker ruptured his right Achilles tendon just minutes before City’s opening league fixture at Villa Park was due to begin. This latest blow came after he had fought back from a cruciate ligament injury that had ended his first start for the Blues a year earlier, while Martin Petrov was ruled out for around four months after sustaining a knee injury while on international duty earlier this season.

Of the injured pair, City’s assistant Mark Bowen says: “We expect them both back before the end of the season. If you’re asking for an exact date, I can’t give that but Boj is back on the training ground now and he’s working hard on a one-on-one basis with our sports science department.

“His fitness seems to be improving every day, and I imagine without having any exact dates that it could be a matter of weeks rather than months before he is able to work with the rest of the players.

“Martin’s situation is more serious, he has had his operation and is not even doing any work at the moment, he’s waiting for the initial stages of his rehab to unfold.

“We’ve missed him - we’ve missed both of them, but with Martin we know what he can give to the side. Boj is a different kettle of fish, I don’t think anybody has seen too much of him since he came here because he has been so unlucky with injuries. The sooner they are back, the better.”

Tim Oscroft

I have had a very busy weekend, restoring on old (50 years plus at least) console table back to a really nice piece of furniture, It was a very shabby table and now it is a gorgeous dark walnut piece of furniture having been stripped, sanded, stained and varnished,  I have also lifted some old tiled flooring and removed the boarding below it, re boarded the floor and laid new vinyl tiling strips.  It all looks fantastic and I am really pleased with myself as it was very hard work.

The reason for this new post is, I am still very unfit and strength in my leg is still very poor despite doing more exercises (thanks Jonathan for those).  So, after all my exertions I sat back looking at my great achievements, cup of tea, piece of cake and watching shopping channel on TV.  The item they were showing really grabbed my attention, it was a vibrating plate called VibraPower.  It looked ideal to me.  You take up various positions and it basically vibrates through the body strengthening the body core.

My question, has anyone heard of it, or used one, and most importantly is it safe to use.

Any comments would be appreciated.  It is quite expensive £99 but if it is any good I would consider buying one.  The fitness trainor using it said it was used in gym’s, but as I have never been to a gym I wouldn’t know.  The fitness trainor showed various positions to stand, in order to strengthen different parts of the body.

Have googled it and it is also known as a ….Body Sculpture Power Trainer Vibration Plate.  Thanks all.