Hello everyone!
Long time no write! Well my achilles and I are doing fine now. Just got back from my honeymoon and i had a great time at my wedding. My leg held up well while I was cutting a rug at my reception. Lol. Question: Does anyone elses achilles feel real stiff first thing in the morning? When i get up i do stretching and leg lifts to get it feeling normal before I hop in the shower. Thoughts?
Sigh. My leg is always sore when i move. Is this typical? Will the soreness go away? Its sore when i walk, jog, stretch, or stand. I’m still able to do all of my exercises and I don’t walk with a limp. My Achilles is just always sore.
Well I’m able to do a several calf raises and hold them. I can do a little jump standing on one foot. Technically I’m cleared to start running by my doctor. My PT said that’s probably what we are going to be doing next and she told me to cut back on seeing her to once a week. I’m wondering if i should go ahead and try to jog a little bit on the treadmill today…
Yep. After much trial and tribulation I finally manage do a calf raise on my repaired foot alone. Yeah, I’m the man.
Well when i first went to PT, the therapist told me that I had a hugh lump of scar tissue. Great. I also found out that I already have excellent range of motion in my ankle. Its a little better than my good one. Whatever that may mean. Unfortunately, my leg is still sooo weak. All the exercises she has me doing is punishing. She also said since my scar tissued is so layered it will take a while for it to break up.
Its been rough but I am glad that am finally walking. I start my PT sessions next week. I’m excited and can’t wait for the torture!
I go back to my doctor on Wednesday next week. He said if everything looks ok I can go to wearing shoes with lifts. I can’t wait! I’ve read on some blogs here that 9 weeks may be too soon to wear anything but an air cast. Is this true? I don’t want to be set up for failure.
I just finished my first week back at work and it sucked. I enjoyed being off more than I did sitting in my office. The walking boot is a pain but its far better than not walking at all. I don’t wear it at all home and just shift around on my foot instead. I can’t wait until im fully recovered.
I had my cast removed on Wednesday and boy it feels good! The cut where the operation happened doesn’t look that pretty yet I hope it heals ok and does not look to scarred. I have no muscle tone in my calf and its about half the size of the other. Its swollen a little bit and i hope the shape of my tendon turns out ok and looks like the other one eventually. I’m just happy that i get to walk albeit in a walking boot.
Today I managed to do some errands. I picked up my suit from the cleaners and got my disability placards for driving. My fiance and I have decided (she decided) to do vintage photos for our engagement photos. We managed to find a suit for me from a consignment store for real cheap. It actually looks pretty good considering its in perfect condition and a brooks brothers suit. Hopefully, the photographer knows how to make it look like I am standing on two feet. the photo shoot is on 4/3.
While I was getting my disability placard from the DMV, they told me that DC does not recognize outside temporary disabled signs from other states. Great. I live in Maryland and I am minutes away from downtown dc and work in the area. These guys are crooks
I was having the same problem and I PT told me to rock back and forth on both feet before trying to walk. Helped alot.
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Sounds great!
I’ve heard about that morning stiffness very often here. After my first ATR and surgery (and months of healing), my day always started with a 2-leg heel raise, which would make my recovered ankle “snap”. It still usually does that, 8.5 years later.
My second-ATR ankle, non-op, doesn’t snap, but it still feels looser and better after it moves around some — not unlike the rest of my (65-yr-old) body!
After my main PT finished with me this time, at 4-ish months(?), he handed me over to a gym-routine colleague for the rest of rehab. I didn’t stick with it, but she gave me one trick that I still like: before doing heel lifts or other strenuous leg exercises, do some “prancing” to warm up. By “prancing” I mean just walking around with an exaggerated knee lift and an exaggerated ankle plantarflexion, like a horse doing a show walk. It feels like a very nice loosener-up!
FWIW.
I did not have soreness in the tendon after surgery. I had pain in the forefoot or heel if I spent too much time standing. Make sure you wear soft comfy shoes. Maybe you should take it easy on the jogging if your Achilles is sore. I had pain in the tendon only before the re-rupture - it was probably not healing properly.
btsilver. I am just into 2 shoes. The only soreness i have in my achilles is some irritation from a stubborn internal stitch. Other than that, the achilles is not sore at all despite fairly rigorous exercises, stationery cycling and some treadmill incline walking. Other parts of my ankle are sore as they come back to use after long periods of immobilisation - but not the achilles.
I would suggest doc / physiotherapist discussion.
daviduk
btsilver, Have you tried icing after using your legs? I still occasionally do this when I feel anything back there. Ice is the best pain reliever I have ever found. Another thing I have done that made a HUGE difference for me was night splints. Apparently I was running marathons in my sleep and I would wake up a little sore. The splints keep things calm and my ankles dorsiflexed all night. My legs are refreshed when I wake up in the morning. Another thing I would wonder is if there is a problem with the shoes you are in. I now wear Fivefingers all day but before I found them I would switch my shoes out every 4 to 5 hours. For some reason it helped me to have different shoes on every few hours. If your soreness doesn’t significantly reduce once you are at around 1 year post-op, I would suggest that you go back to your doc and ask for further eval.
Hang in there. I know the frustration you are feeling. I remember wondering if this would ever end.
-Smish
Not typical for me, either time, either kind of repair (”op” or “non-op”).
Any possibility that you’re overdoing? Ever tried giving it a few days’ rest? Discussed it with your Doc or PT? Some people here have gotten excellent solutions to “mechanical” problems from a good PT.
Yep congratulations are in order.
If your doctor has cleared you to run, go for it. And congratulations on getting to that point. But if you run on a treadmill, be sure to raise it so you’re running on a slight incline. But, I would hit the street instead of a treadmill.
I never made it into the water during either ATR rehab, but I have no hesitation in echoing the raves and “good vibes” and recommendations for in-water exercise coming from Gunner and the others who’ve done it.
It sounds like a brilliant way — probably the best way unless you can visit the Moon or Mars! — to do partial-weight exercises, measure your progress in rebuilding strength, and psychologically simulate “normal”, all at the same time.
I can do about 2. I didnt measure it though. It was about halfway up. I didnt have any side effects. It just felt like the final set from weight lifting if that is an accurate way to describe it. I wanna use the pool for exercises but I hasn’t opened yet.
any pain or side effects?
how many rises?
full raise or how high?
But maybe DON’T hurry to “do as many 1-leg heel raises as you can” because that’s what got me in trouble (8 yrs ago, first ATR) and set my rehab back a month.
Way to go, that is impressive! Don’t stop there though, keep working hard.
Well she explained as in I need better ROM in my good ankle.
Greater ROM in your involved ankle just means that the total angle through which you can flex it is greater. Usually the “greater” is all (or mostly) on one side, either greater dorsiflexion or greater plantarflexion. Either way, I think it’s unusual at 11 weeks.
If it seems that your dorsiflexion is already greater on the involved/healing ankle, I think I’d avoid doing any stretches in that direction. After re-rupture, one of the worst “detours” is having your AT heal up much longer than it used to be.
One simple test is how far from a wall you can plant your foot flat on the floor, and still (gently!) touch your knee to the wall. Don’t force anything, there aren’t any prizes for “excelling” at this!
I think it’s because they are flat and not cushioned. On my airmax my heel is much more supported and comfortable. I didn’t feel any tendon pain, but my foot got really tired underneath on a very very short period of time wearing them. Now, my foot has already started to get used to me standing and running again, so I guess I’ll try them again and see how it goes.
I’ve read somewhere in here in the past that flip flops may be the most innapropriate shoes to wear regularly and that may cause tendon tear..? How valid is that anyway, because summer is here and I cannot live without my flip-flops..
you may be surprised…not many of us find that PT is torture. I’d say that most of seem to report a bit of disappointment that PT wasn’t rougher on us.
I’ve been back into my volleyball shoes once since my ATR. They’re quite old (and irreplaceable, and I love them!), and it’s quite possible that I was wearing them when I tore my FIRST AT, 8 years ago! (I never use them for anything but volleyball — and not for beach volleyball either, obviously!)
I just felt that it was harder to walk with. I had plenty of support and walk with a less noticeable limp. My dress shoes were rockports and my current sneaker are Jordan True Flights… the same shoe in which i broke myself. lol
Marina, how did the All-Stars “kill” you, just not enough padding underfoot?
Starting a few wks ago (maybe 16-ish weeks?) I’m wearing all my “old” (normal) shoes when I go out — though I’ve added “foamier” footbeds to them, for extra comfort. I suspect I’d be fine with the old, firmer molded footbeds (Superfeet?), since I’m pretty comfy barefoot now on hard floors.
When I’m home, I still wear the Crocs, which are super cushy-comfy. I used to wear cheap Chinese “massage sandals” around the house — flip-flops with ~100 rubber “fingers” underfoot. With socks they’re not bad now, and barefoot they’re still a touch uncomfy.
But Crocs are so cushy, though, I doubt that I’ll switch!
I’m on sneakers the whole time, wherever I go, whatever I do. I’ve tried my allstars few weeks ago but killed me. Need cushion underneath and comfort at all times.
Sensitive bottom of your foot, or chafing at the back? Esp. at the incision?
I am completely transferred to shoes. I’m wearing sneakers at work because the dress shoes I wore yesterday we killing me.
congratulations with this milestone 
are you completely transferred to shoes?
or have to use shoes just for exercises / training walks and the rest in boot?
when I in public area / shopping / at works I use my boot for a while.
The rehab protocol used in several recent studies — for surgical and non-surgical rehab both — calls for making the move at 8 weeks. To be sure, you’re still at some risk of re-rupture, until at least 12 weeks in, so do be careful and “watch your step”.
My own impression (no MD degrees here, just two ATRs!) is that owners of hinged boots can profitably linger in the boot longer than owners of fixed boots like the AirCast. I still had my hinged boot from my first ATR, and I used it for my transition to 2 shoes.
The first time (8 yrs ago), I stayed in the hinged boot until I could walk perfectly. When I came out into 2 shoes, my gait was great, but my ankle stability was low because all of those muscles and tendons (etc.?) had been loafing and atrophying while the boot was doing the stabilizing.
So it’s a bit of a tradeoff, safety vs. more exercise and quicker rehab. (Heck, some people use the word “crutch” as a derogatory term!)
FWIW, I don’t think any of those recent studies use any heel lifts when they go to 2 shoes. I think they all withdraw them from the boot at around 6 weeks, and never go back on that. Whatever
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I started / tried at 7 weeks.
However, when I’m at work or outside my “safe” area I use my boot.
I started at 1st balancing on injured foot between walls or other objects that can support me very well.
There is no problem that you can “drag” your foot, but to be able balance.
I’m not telling you what you should do and what you should not.
Trust your doctor and hear what’s your body tells you.
When I 1st time tried FWB I got pain in foot / heel and though that I’m not ready, but it went away the next time.
Try not to over do. No one wants to get re rapture here.
Some started with crutches when went in to shoes to get PWB and then transition to FWB.
Just don’t run …
I started in shoes at 7 weeks. I’m now about 10 weeks and walking pretty well. I’m not very fast and I am very aware of my surroundings- but I’m feeling fairly confident. It will be weird/scary at first but I’ve come a long way in just a few weeks and I’m sure you will also!
For what it’s worth, I was walking around in my shoes full time at 3 1/2 weeks postop. I even shoveled snow at that point, taking care to keep my injured foot out in front, so if I slipped, I wouldn’t fall forward and stretch the tendon.
Be very careful when out of your boot, as Norm has been discussing lately.
Doug
It’s hard for me to check now(!), but I’m pretty sure my ATs looked pretty identical after I’d finished healing from my first ATR. That’s a long grind, even longer than the 1-leg heel raise and the return to high-risk sports. I think by maybe 12-18 months, my surgical scar was hard to find and my ATs looked essentially identical — or at least close enough for a straight guy!
I thought my calf muscles became essentially identical looking, too, but my “good” calf muscle now looks almost as wimpy as my “bad” one, after 18 weeks, so I’m starting to doubt!
Congrats, must feel good to get that freedom back. I have been out of a cast for around 4 and a half weeks now. I couldn’t believe how tiny my calf became either, it was a full 4cm smaller in diameter than the other and it looked ridiculous. But in those 4.5 weeks I’ve gained quite a bit back. It’s still not even close to the size of the good one but it looks much more shapely and healthy than before.
Also, not to be a major downer, but my personal PT has warned me that I won’t have pretty matching tendons anymore. Basically he said that it won’t become the nice narrow beautiful thing it used to be, that it will probably be thicker and the shape won’t be the quite the same. But who knows, maybe it will be close enough.
However I was told by he surgeon that the scar should eventually (in a year or two) be next to invisible.Good luck!
The last time I went through this (other foot), the PT said to figure 1 week of rehab for every day off your feet. Yeah - your calf will look like a toothpick befor it’s all said & done.
Enjoy your new found freedon with the cast off!
Linda
I don’t know how common this is, but Toronto lets cars with disability permits park in many No Parking areas. There’s a long complicated list — no hydrants or crosswalks or blocking driveways or Snow Zones or No-Stopping Tow-Away Zones or such, just “ordinary” No Parking Zones. I’ve found that it often means that The World has been saving me a convenient spot!
I was worried (and hoping) that I’d be conflicted about using it while it’s still valid (’til end of April) but I’m mostly recovered and not really disabled. As luck would have it, that problem has largely been solving itself because I’ve started bicycling to most of the places (like Physio!) where I used to drive! This is an enviable “problem” — my fave kind to have!
Thanks everyone for the replies!
Hi, btsilver!
Don’t worry, you’ll be back in shape by that time
Torn and surgery already the past for you and from now on you’ll get better.
I opted out from surgery - was hard to make such decision.
I’m on 3rd week and just moved to 1st boot.
You may check for my story if you like.
Congrats on the wedding plans!
No need to worry about the Sept wedding date…you’ll be walking with your new bride for sure. The dancing could be just as good, unless you have two left feet like me, just don’t make it a really fast, jumping around song.
Keep us posted on how you’re doing.
“Slow and Steady Wins THIS Race”
Hi, btsilver! You have 6 months before your wedding and I’m sure you can dance well in 2 shoes at your wedding banquet! Take things easy and try to keep your foot high to help its blood circulation (i.e. healing)!!
I ruptured my Achilles about 5 weeks ago and am on the non-surgical treatment. I’m getting my boot next week and I can’t wait! Once in the boot, I can put some weight on the bad foot and this means that I can carry a cup of coffee in my hand. 
Please keep posting, and take care!
Hang in there BT! A September 10 wedding? Congratulations - you’ll be chasing your bride by then! Everyone here has a different story, but I was pretty much back to normal at 6 months. The strength and calve size is the only thing I can’t quite get back to where it was. Take it easy and work hard at your rehab … barring infection, it’s not really THAT bad. Not nearly as bad as I feared it would be.
Now tell us your story, BT!
