bobfv’s AchillesBlog

Well the time really does pass quickly.  We returned on Monday from 2 weeks of vacation out West, and today marks 11 weeks to the day since my ATR surgery.

While we were gone I did not go to PT, but I did go to the gym each day the first week and I progressed through most of my PT exercises.  I did standing balance on each leg, leg raises in four planes of motion, massage and Theraband resistance with the assistance of my wife, toe presses on a leg press machine, and eccentric strengthening on a leg press machine - pressing down with both toes and then back to neutral under resistance with just my repaired leg.  Also, I did at least 3 sets of 10 of two footed calf raises every day.

Most all of my activities were fine.  I wore mid-height hiking boots with a heel lift for extra support.  My gait is pretty normal but I walk pretty slow, some steps feel perfectly fine, others make my repair site feel like someone is squeezing it with pliers.  Range of motion is the same in both ankles, which is great.  The biggest problem I have had is with walking down stairs, but we are starting to work on that specifically in PT.

I went back to PT on Tuesday morning, the morning after my flight home.  I was excited to show my therapist how strong I had gotten and how I could do two legged calf raises with ease.  That was a mistake - never gloat to your physical therapist.  He proceeded to kick my butt for an hour, even having me walk around on my tiptoes with resistance bands, which really hurt a lot.  It helped to have him work with me on my stepping and I think before long I will be fine walking down stairs much better.

I continue to drive with absolutely no problem.  I got another set of boots - side zip lightweight mid-height black boots from Under Armour, they work great!  I added a 1 cm heel lift to my right boot. They are “Men’s UA Valsetz RTS Side-Zip Tactical Boots.” Extremely comfortable, lightweight, and supportive.

My scar is healed and gives me very little trouble.  Around the house I still don’t go barefoot, I use light shoes with a heel lift to remove some of the stress from my Achilles.  I took walks up to about a mile on vacation and plan to continue walking as much as I can.   Being out of the boot, I feel my strength and muscle tone returning.  The hardest thing for me now is my balance, it is taking a while to come back.  I bought a stability pad to help me work on my balance at home, and will be doing some one-legged exercises in my spare time too.

Next appointment with the OS is next week - looking forward to that.  Will concentrate on improving strength and balance before my next OS visit.

So I am at 6.5 weeks post-surgery on an aggressive protocol. I recently added new exercises at PT prefatory to getting back in to two shoes, which should be in about a week and a half. Since yesterday was a holiday Friday and my wife had yoga class at our gym, I hitched a ride with her and did a workout based on my PT, here is what I did (all with boot on):

Exercise bike: 40 minutes level 3 80 RPM
Leg lifts - 20 with each leg in all four planes of motion (boot on)
standing balance with 8# ball - 30 seconds on each leg
Leg presses - 2 sets of 10 with the bar and 2 10 pound weights
Squats “sit to stand” - 2 sets of 10
Step ups - 10 with each leg.

In the evening I took the Metro train into Washington DC for dinner with my boys so I walked about 4 blocks FWB with no crutch or cane.

Well, this morning I am sore, but “good sore” - both glutes and hips really feel the work I put in yesterday, which is great. I am looking forward to continuing with PT and with these workouts on my own! Can’t wait for the boot to come off so I can do even more. OS said strengthening with my legs and feet pushing away from my body is what I need to concentrate on.

Oh - also last week at PT, with the consent of my therapist, I had my wife come in while they were doing “scar tissue mobilization” massage and she learned how to do it, so now I am taking the boot off once a day for her to give me a massage and rub vitamin E on my scar. I also still take the boot off once or twice a day to use the vaso pumps (still a chance of blood clots until I am out of the boot) and I also take it off to shower, and to walk between the bathroom and my bedroom (very carefully!) after I shower and before I dress.