bobfv’s AchillesBlog

Not a lot to report except for a major milestone - six months post-op today!

Everything is going well and I pretty much have forgotten about the injury.  I wear regular shoes with Superfeet insoles and I walk without a limp. I am in the gym 6-7 days a week. The only thing I still can’t do is run, ie, have both feet off the ground at the same time.  I can walk fast (1 hour 5 kilometer pace) at a high incline.  Truth be told, I am pretty sure I could jog right now, but I am holding off until I build up more strength.

I am doing calf raises, resisted duck-walking using Therabands, eccentric strengthening on the leg press machine, one-legged balance exercises, and a few other  exercises every other day.  My daily cardio is a 40-60 minute fast walk on the treadmill or a 30 minute bike ride or elliptical machine workout.

The last resisted exercise I cannot do is a one-legged calf raise on the bad leg.  I am working towards it, but just don’t quite have the strength. I have gained full symmetry back in both calves, but I notice that on the repaired leg, the development in my calf muscle is "shorter" than in my uninjured leg - I think as I continue to exercise it, more of the calf muscles will regain strength and tone.

My scar looks good. A couple of nights a week I apply a silicone patch to lighten it up a bit, and when I don’t have the silicone on I rub some Bio-Oil into it.

So that’s it, I am pleased with the progress. Also very happy that I went surgical and got into an early weight-bearing protocol and in to PT early.