So it’s been about a month since my ATR. I immediately started searching the internet to find blogs from people who had undergone an ATR and surgery, much like I did before going in for Shoulder Surgery. I can’t tell you how great it was to read about other people’s experiences as I sat on my couch and pouted. It was helpful to see that people were just as devastated as I was, and that those same people had all pulled through and are back (or almost back) to the sports that they love.
As for me, I just wasn’t ready to start writing about it right away. You see, I was just getting back to what I considered “full” strength from Shoulder Surgery in August of 07. I had “healed” according to the doctors from that Shoulder sx the following spring of 08, but it wasn’t until late 08-early 09 that I was able to return to the Workout and Sport levels that I was accustomed to. Finally, in February/March of this year, I was able to begin training with the CROSSFIT method, following the website and doing high intensity Olympic Lifts and running each day. By early April I had brought my 3 Lift Total (Squat, Clean, Deadlift) to over 800lbs for the first time since my College Baseball days and I was looking forward to the start of my Semi-Pro summer (old man) baseball season, where I would be healthy for the first time in 2 years.
The first game was on April 26th and I was 2-5 with a HR and 2 runs scored. We won, and the guys that we had drafted in the Tryout draft were looking to be big additions to a 3rd Place Team from last year. (The San Jose MSBL is one of the more competetive “old-man” leagues in the Nation, with Tourny teams regularly taking home titles in the AZ and FLA world series) On April 27th, feeling good about my team, my job and my fitness level, I went to the gym in the evening to get in a little Basketball for some conditioning. BIG MISTAKE! On the 3rd game of the night, I was running down the court to the offensive end and was backpedaling into the Post to get position. I decided to flash to the middle of the key, so I planted off my backpedal and pushed-off to go. POP!!!!! There it went. My Bachelors is in Exercise Physiology and I had spent two years as a Student Trainer and X-Ray Clerk in college, so I knew what happened before I hit the floor.
Surprisingly the Pain wasn’t so bad. My ankle hung at an odd angle, but I was lucky enough not to have the Achilles detatch from my foot, but rather rupture just above the ankle. As a result, my calf did not “curl up” into my leg, like the classic tears you hear about. I limped off to the car, and so begins my adventure. Luckily I work for Stanford University Medical School and we have great insurance and a bevy of Doctors to choose from. I was in surgery two days later and off to my ATR recovery adventure.
JUST A FEW THOUGHTS: I had worked out earlier on the day of the ATR and was feeling “sore” in my lower legs. Nothing that would have stopped me from playing or working out more, but it did lead me to put on a neoprene knee brace on my right knee (the side that was injured) and I wonder if that contributed to the injury by limiting ROM in the knee and transfering stress to the Achilles. Any Thoughts? Also: I had tried to leave the basketball games after the second run, but was goaded into staying by my teammates (guys I didn’t know, just pick-up ballers) Let that be a lesson kids, Say NO to Peer Pressure! Finally, I had trained the entire winter in Nike Free shoes, that are supposed to strengthen foot muscles, but for that night playing B-Ball, I put on High Tops for the first time in months. Also, curious if this contributed to the Injury Any Thoughts?
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