PT 2 weeks post op????

Posted on July 20th, 2008 by bryan

Greetings all,

I had my 2nd post op appointment with my surgeon on Friday. It was 10 days after surgery and my doctor removed my stitches and placed my into a Bledsoe Achilles Boot. I currently have two 10 degree inserts in the boot…so I guess my foot is positioned at about a 70 degree angle.

My surgeon has me scheduled to start PT on Tuesday, which is exactly 2 weeks post surgery.
Although the PT protocal doesn’t seem too rigorous, it’s seems to be a bit premature based on what I have read from other bloggers. Have any of you heard of anyone starting PT 2 weeks post op??

Please let me know your thoughts or experiences with regard to PT taking place so soon after surgery.

Hope that all is well for you guys!!

Bryan

4 Comments »

Glad to see that I’m not alone in the world

Posted on July 16th, 2008 by bryan

Greetings my fellow ATR survivors.

I must say that it’s refreshing to know that other people are going through the same thing that I am experiencing. Actually, I hate that anyone else has to deal with this. However, it is nice to know that there are people out there who can offer advice and understanding as to what it takes to recover from this type of injury.

I suppose I ruptured my achilles tendon on June 13th…yikes…Friday the 13th, nonetheless.
I was playing softball and out of nowhere, I fell down while running from 1st to 2nd base. I was able to crawl to 2nd base (Safe!!) but that was the end of the night for me. I didn’t initially realize that I ruptured my achilles. I simply thought that I had sprained my ankle. So, I went home and iced my ankle and called it a night.

I proceeded to ice and elevate the ankle while I continued to live my life. I spent a weekend in Kentucky hanging out and dancing with friends. I went to Costa Rica for work and walked around in the jungle. After that trip, I could barely walk. In fact, I had to use the dreaded golf cart at the airport to get from my gate to the baggage claim area. My ankle has swelled to the size of a grapefruit.

The next morning,(June 29th) I went to the Emergency Room where I was diagnosed with a ruptured achilles. It was difficult to schedule an appointment with an Orthopediac surgeon who specializes in Foot & Ankle. After calling several surgeons, mind you, I live in Fort Lauderdale, and we only have 5 surgeons who specialize in this field in all of South Florida, I was able to get an appointment for July 2nd.

I met with the doc, who confirmed that it was a complete rupture of the tendon. Surgery was scheduled for July 8th.

Today, I am 8 days post op and I feel great. I haven’t been on pain meds in a week. I haven’t had much pain. I don’t have a cast. I have a splint. My doctor said that he wanted to be aggressive with my rehab. It looks like I’ll be starting PT at week 3. I’m not sure how I feel about that. In one scense, I want to be as agressive as possible and get back to full strength ASAP. However, I eager as I am, I don’t want to rush things to the point that I risk re-repture. I have to admit…I AM SICK OF BEING ON CRUTCHES…SICK OF BEING IN A SPLINT….SICK OF BEING ON THE COUCH….SICK OF IT ALL REALLY……but hey, patience is a virtue.

I look forward to communicating with some of my fellow ATRers and learning from you experiences.

Warm regards,

Bryan

8 Comments »

Hello world!

Posted on July 11th, 2008 by bryan

Welcome to Achillesblog.com.

This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Following link will take you to your blog’s “command center” where you can write your posts:
http://achillesblog.com/bryan/wp-admin/

Be sure to fill out your city, Achilles rupture date, surgery date, etc.. (if you know it) here:
Fill out my Achilles Profile Here

When you do, you can keep track of your recovery progress and see your information on the Marathon Tracker.

Here’s more info: using Achilles Timeline Widget

Please change this post’s title to something more descriptive. Just leaving it as “Hello World” leads people to believe that you haven’t updated your first post!

If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask! :)

Dennis

1 Comment »

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  • Recent Comments

  • zurichfan | July 22nd, 2008 | 9:42 am

    Hi there,

    I went to PT 6 days after surgery — nothing too strenous but a lot of ROM work. It was awesome!

    I think the earlier you can get your AT moving the better.

    Good luck to you.

  • gotthat77 | July 20th, 2008 | 10:38 pm

    My doctor also gave me the ok at 2 weeks post op. But like trider23 I couldnt get an appt until the 3rd week. I’m glad that I had that week because it allowed me to air out my wound a bit.

  • bryan | July 20th, 2008 | 8:17 pm

    Hi Trider23!!!

    Thanks for the insight! I hoping that my PT will be the same.
    Thanks again!
    Bryan

  • trider23 | July 20th, 2008 | 7:35 pm

    I was released to start after 2 weeks but didnt get an appt until the third week. The first week or so is measurements and light stretching.

  • damacar | July 17th, 2008 | 11:11 am

    Welcome Bryan!
    You are going to get sick of EVERYTHING. It comes and goes. We’ve all had our tantrums of throwing remotes and crutches. I’m 10 weeks post-op, FWB-two shoes and I threw one of my bags of peas the other night. This injury makes some of us throw fits like 2 year olds! I just couldn’t get the peas adjusted right, my leg hurt, my ankle was swollen…&)*$($&@#. haha. Its a long road but its really only a few months.
    Hang in there. This site really helps. When you think no one else gets “it”….we do.
    damacar

  • jenny | July 17th, 2008 | 10:00 am

    Hi Bryan,

    Sorry you had to join the club. I am sure you have read through many of the blogs. There is a fairly high rerupture rate amongst those whose doctors are using aggressive treatment so I would be very cautious if I were you. I am 5 weeks post-op tomorrow and reached 90 degrees today. I am still in a full short leg fibreglass cast and they put a walking sole on it today. However, I am to wear it for another 5 weeks for a total of 10 before I even start in the boot.. I can start PWB at 6 weeks, and the doctor told me to be FWB when I come back at 10 weeks post-op but to do it very slowly. No PT until at least 10 weeks post-op. It is conservative but it is safe. Make sure you ask lots of questions and don’t let the doctor push you. It seems awfully early to me. Good luck

  • bryan | July 17th, 2008 | 9:14 am

    Greetings!!

    Thanks for all of your replies!

    Ed…I think that you are right. I think that I tore the remaining pieces of the tendon while I was walking around in Costa Rica. I was walking on unlevel surfaces and stepping on small tree stumps that were hidden beneath wet leaves. That’s when my ankle really started to hurt.

    Otherwise, I never had the pain that so many other people have experienced. I never felt like someone kicked me in the back of the leg. I thought that I sprained my ankle. I never noticed that I could put too much pressure on my toes because I was walking on my heal after that injury.

    All in all, this recovery process should be fun. It’s a going to be a challenge, but I look forward to it. I am eager to get back to health but I know that I have to be patient.

    I appreciate all of your responses and I wish you all the best with your respective recoveries.

    Also….Can someone tell me what I need to do to be able to put pictures on this website….I had my first follow up appointment 3 days after surgery and I was able to snap some pics.

    Bryan

  • karen1 | July 17th, 2008 | 7:23 am

    WOW I am glad my doctor is being very conservative doing it by the old school he says. I am at 6 weeks and just got to 95 degrees, I go back again in 2 weeks for the 90 position then back in the plaster cast (no boot in thailand) for a further 6/8 weeks, he will do no physio until he is 100% certain that it has healed. Even after this he doesnt expect I will be walking without the aid of crutches much before October.
    Take care with your new re-covery

  • Ed Forman | July 17th, 2008 | 6:23 am

    I had a similar experience - I did mine going 2d to 3rd (also safe) and that afternoon I was hobbling around working in my kid’s little league canteen selling hot dogs and ice cream. The next morning, I barely had any pain and figured I had just strained or partially torn my calf muscle (done that before). I went to the orthopedist out of an abundance of caution and lo and behold, an ATR. It was explained to me that what often happens is that some strands of the tendon casing remain intact and actually can allow you to flex a bit despite the “meaty” part of the tendon being fully ruptured. What you did in Costa Rica probably tore whatever was left…

    Hang in there - you and I will back on the diamond next spring (just being a little less aggressive on the basepaths…)

    Ed

  • chowderlad | July 17th, 2008 | 5:51 am

    I have to agree with the other guys, I can’t believe you were able to function with this kind of injury! Although I was in the same state of denial when it first happened. It was only because my friend offered to take me to the doctor that night to ensure that it wasn’t anything more serious than a twisted ankle, otherwise I might still be walking with a limp, hahah. When I first learned of my injury, I was hoping for an aggressive rehab too so I could go back to work sooner, but after reading about other people’s horror stories (about re-rupture) and the general feeling of uselessness I’ve had the past 2 weeks, I’ve decided I never want to go through this again so I’m going to try to play it as safe as possible.

  • tennisjunkie | July 17th, 2008 | 4:55 am

    Sorry to welcome you to the club. I find it amazing that you were able to do all that prior to surgery, but I suppose it was good you got the chance to have some fun. (is the costa rica jungle fun? Hmmm)

    What you are going through sounds all too familiar. But, you will heal and your PT should help you.

    What I find as I return to “normal” activities, is when I am in doubt, don’t do it. It has worked pretty well. I am driving again, walking, swimming - so I feel I have reengaged with my former life.

    Good luck, it takes time, but it does heal.

  • sanfrantourguide | July 16th, 2008 | 11:09 pm

    Incredible that you managed to keep going, even working down in Costa Rica! Gee whiz! You and I share the glory of having done this on Friday June 13th; I was able after a day or so to limp here and there, upstairs and so on, and so I did a lot of things ahead of the surgery to be sure that I could do them, such as cleaning things up a bit. But wait until I had done travelling and let the ankle get as big as a grapefruit?? HOOOOOLLLY MOLLEEE… Aggressive about rehab?

    I would be scared, but my doctor is doing the same with me over here in Oakland, CA. 15 days post-op he has me in a walking cast.

    Let’s keep an eye on each other’s aggressive fast-walking doctors!

    Mary

  • Mr WordPress | July 11th, 2008 | 7:49 pm

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