Doctor visit, and golf at 7 weeks
Well my original goal was to be golfing by August 1st, but since I was back in shoes at 6 weeks and hitting golf balls on the range, I decided to play a round on July 2nd. I took a cart and my golf buddy was nice enough to drive up near my ball, so I didn’t have to do a lot of walking. Everything felt great. I can’t say that my score was real good, after 8 weeks away, but I was willing to live with a less than acceptable score, just to be out playing. I golfed again on July 4th, and played much better. At the end of each round, my Achilles felt tired, and a little bit sore, but I was expecting a lot more aggravation from it. I used all the clubs in my bag, and never felt any pain or twinges when I was swinging the club.
Then, today, I had my doctor visit to get a real status update on my condition. He did a quick check of my ankle, saw that there was no swelling, and declared that I was “officially approved” to start wearing a shoe. Of course, I got the usual guidance to be very careful, especially with exercise that involves quick starts and stops. I do intend to follow that guidance, so I doubt I will be back to tennis any time soon. I did add eliptical to my workout routine. So at a little over 7 weeks, I am able to do weight lifting, rowing and eliptical. I would like to get more cardio/aerobic work to improve my stamina, but that will have to wait.
I know that I am not the first to promote early weight bearing on this site, but I am very happy to have been able to take that route. It has paid off, both with the boot, and then in shoes. I listened to my body the whole time, but I was willing to push it a little more each day. As long as there was not a strange feeling in my ankle, I kept going. If my leg gets tired, or my heel gets aggravated, I sit down and rest for a few minutes. This has worked every time and then I am able to get up and go again. Thanks to others out there that have provided blogs that described their process. Seeing that others were able to make a short recovery, gave me the confidence, that I could do it too.
Not every one will feel the same, and all recoveries will be different, so if it takes you longer, don’t worry about it. We are all different, and our ATR’s were different too, so some may be faster than me, and some may take more time. The important thing is that we all recover, without further incident. As for me, I am staying extra careful, but so glad to be getting back to a normal routine of recreation, work and exercise! God Bless.
July 6th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Super happy for you, Chuck. I’m not a golfer but know enough that if you take a golfer’s game away from him, it’s close to chopping off a limb. I know for me, just being outdoors in somewhat of an active fashion does wonders for my spirits. Keep it up, but do be cautious with the shoes!
July 7th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Thanks Jeff. I am being careful with two shoes, and I am working on getting my gait back to normal again. I do like your scooter. I had a knee scooter for the first few weeks, but I really wanted something with a motor on it.
July 7th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Hi Chuck, tremendous progress. I am in my fifth week, PWB. (i’ve had the cast off for two days). I have been trying to put weight on my booted foot. The tendon just feels super tight. Do you feel any tightness in your tendon? I feel if I push a little too much, it’ll snap again. Not saying it will, just that is how it feels. Were you wearing the boot at all? It seems you went from cast to 2 shoes! again, congrats on the progress, very happy for you that you are golfing again.
July 8th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Hi Polly: Rest Assured, I had the boot on for four weeks, before going to a shoe. The first couple of weeks with the boot, I was on crutches exclusively, and then I tried putting partial weight with the boot on, and with crutches. After about a week doing that, I put the crutches down and starting walking with the boot on. Yes, the tendon felt (and still feels) very tight. Since I have been in shoes a couple of weeks, the tendon is starting to loosen up a bit. I do a lot of flexing exercises to try and stretch the tendon every chance that I get.
July 9th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Yay Chuck! So inspired by your progress. Can you tell us more about any pains or aggravations you had when you first started walking in shoes? That’s where I’m at now (just walking slowly and carefully around the main floor of the house. I haven’t ventured outside or tried stairs), I get nervous about every twinge or pain. What has your timeline been like from putting shoes on for the first time, to driving, walking further distances or more quickly etc?
As for doing more cardio, how about an exercise bike? My physio has already suggested I can do that without the boot (as well as swimming) even though I’m not officially cleared for two shoes.
Happy healing!
July 9th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Hi Deana: Thanks! I didn’t have any real pain when I put shoes on and started walking, but my achilles was really tight. When I had decided to put shoes back on, the first thing I did was go to the store and get some really good running/athletic shoes that didn’t feel too tight around the back heel, and had a good arch. I have worn those shoes mostly, as dress shoes don’t have much padding in the heel. Sometimes, I feel a little aggravation around the back heel, and bottom of my heal.
For a while, my first 10 steps were always with a limp, and then things seemed to loosen up and I could walk more normal. I have to keep reminding myself to walk correctly. It seems, the more I think about the AT, the more I want to favor it. When I walk and I am not thinking about it, I walk with a more normal gait. Going up stairs is pretty easy. Going down, took a while to improve. At first, I was taking the down steps one at a time.
I am at 8 weeks since surgery, and the last two weeks have been in shoes. No fast walking yet, just slow, steady and methodical. I used to walk pretty fast, so taking my time, has been one of my larger challenges.
I would think that exercise bike would be fine. You can always jump on a bike at the gym, see how it feels, go slow at first, and if it doesn’t feel right, stop pedaling. I know I have done a lot of this by trial. (no error yet, thank goodness)
My wife is an exercise physiologist in a PT office and she is supposed to do ultrasound on my scar tissue tomorrow. I will post about how that goes. She has done a lot of scar tissue work on my ankle with vitamin E cream, and that has made a lot of difference. When I wake up the next day, after that, the ankle almost always feels great. I highly recommend the scar tissue massage and vitamin E cream to everyone.
Happy Healing!!!
July 21st, 2011 at 12:17 am
Just added you to my favorite blogs. Keep these posts coming!