davidk’s AchillesBlog

Today is exactly 6 months since my ATR surgery and I feel like I’m nearly back to full strength and function. I’m not 100%, but close enough that I feel like I can now remove “Achilles recovery” from the number 1, 2, and 3 spots on my ongoing to-do list. At my weekly PT appointment yesterday my therapist gave me the Y-Balance Test (return to sport readiness) for the 2nd time. If interested, you can read more about this test on my blog entry from week 17 on July 10th, 2014. At that time (the 4-month mark) my results pinpointed a limitation in my active (bent knee) dorsiflexion and I’ve been focusing on that aspect of my recovery ever since. My test results today improved across the board, but most importantly in the area of weakness (anterior stretch) from my previous test. My injured leg continues to score higher (better) than my uninjured leg overall, but the difference is less (that’s good) and the between-the-legs differences in the different directions of the test are closer in alignment (also good) than before. All of this merely confirms what I already know and feel–that I’m fully ready to go back to sports and my PT concurs.

*The asterisk on my “all clear” refers to the fact that I don’t see my OS next until 3 weeks from now and will wait for the official word from him. But, at this point, I think it’s a formality. My activity is unhindered and my strength is nearing 100%. I rode my bike for 45 miles this past Sunday without any issues during or afterwards. I’ve been playing tennis now for the past month (limiting myself to doubles), but feeling like I could play singles. I continue to do stretching and heel raises (I can do reps of 30 single-leg heel raises at about 80% the height of my uninjured leg), but have otherwise significantly cut-back on my at-home PT. At my appointments, I feel as if my PT is running-out of things for me to do. Yesterday they had me do single-leg long jumps across a gym floor with the instruction to “stick the landing” each time. I did this on each leg–forwards and backwards. There’s only a slight difference noticeable between my legs and part of this is mental as I still have a little more confidence in my uninjured leg. My PT also places cones on the gym floor and has me run forwards, backwards, diagonally, and sideways with quick cuts at each cone–sometimes throwing a ball to me to catch and return at the same time. It’s a good agility workout for anyone, not just ATR patients, and I really don’t feel any difference between my two legs.

While my strength and function (including ROM) have been regained, I still experience some tightness in my Achilles and there remain telltale signs of my injury that will likely never completely go away. I still have a “fat tire” at the back of my ankle when compared to my uninjured leg–with a visible 3 inch “battle” scar from my open surgery. My affected leg’s calf girth remains 2 cm less than my other leg–although both have increased 3 cm since last measured at week 16 (now 38 and 40 cm, respectively). In all, it’s been a long road to recovery, but I’m very pleased with my progress and overall condition at this time. I’m also grateful for all the help I’ve received from my family, my OS, my PTs, my friends, and this blog community–I couldn’t have gotten to this point without all of it. The lessons I’ll take with me from PT going forward are to continue daily stretching and strength exercises and practice dynamic warm-up before sport and cool-down and stretch afterwards. There’s no guarantee this will prevent future injury, but I consider it an insurance premium worth paying to remain as active as possible as long as possible. The life lessons I’ll take with me are to be more patient, to not take my good health and mobility for granted and to be more understanding towards those less fortunate. I’ll post a follow-up note after my next OS visit and, hopefully, officially remove the asterisk from my preliminary “all clear” assessment. In the meantime, good luck and good healing to all of you!

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