It’s been nearly 5 months since my achilles surgery, and I am trotting along on this marathon of a recovery. According to the marathon tracker, I am still in Brooklyn around the Clinton Hill area. Still 7 miles to go until I cross the Queensboro Bridge into Mahattan.
Here’s what my legs look like now:
My calf muscle on my recovering leg seem to have regained most of its form. It’s still not as strong as my other leg, but it appears to be about the same size. When I flex my calf muscles and feel around them, my healthy side is still more defined, larger, and stronger. Strangely, you can’t tell from the picture above.
Here’s a little closer look at my heel. You can definitely tell that my recovering achilles is thicker, and my scars haven’t been healing as nicely as I would like. I haven’t been very good about using Mederma, and my scar hasn’t really improved since the last time I took the picture. (That reminds me, I am applying some Mederma on my scar now.. 
Here’s me doing the two-legged toe raise. You can really tell that my recovering achilles is thicker, and you can see that my healthy leg’s calf muscle is a bit more defined.
It’s a bit of a strain, but I can now do a few one-legged toe raise with my recovering foot. I feel like I am putting more stress on my achilles than I’d like, so I don’t do them regularly.
Improvement has been less noticeable the past couple of months, so it has been somewhat frustrating. I still feel this constant tightness around my heel, and it comes and goes. As I commute and do a lot of walking in the city, my legs get a steady “walk workout” just about every day.
It’s tougher in the mornings as my leg feels stiff, and I tend to limp a little more. Part of that is probably more mental than any inherent weakness in my achilles, but I can definitely feel the subtle stiffness/irritation when I walk. It’s probably the scar tissue, and it succeeds in holding me back from walking with a normal gait.
Not everything has been ho-hum, however. I’ve been going to the gym fairly regularly, and I ran on the treadmill again today. I started with a brisk walk until I was warmed up, and I ran at about 10 - 11 minute mile pace. Total, I walk/ran for 25 minutes, 2 miles.
I don’t think I could have done that comfortably a month ago.
So all in all, I am progressing fairly well with my recovery. I’ve been careful not to rush it, since I don’t feel like I need to be fully recovered by tomorrow. I’ve set my goal to be a conservative 1 year for full recovery, and I feel like am on track. I am jogging a couple of miles on the treadmill. I lift weights. I go to the basketball courts and shoot around. I don’t really jump when I shoot now. I probably get an inch off the ground, and my shot is still pretty good. I can’t believe how good it felt dribbling the basketball. It felt like.. aaaaHHHH.. dribbling between the legs, behind the back, a little in-out dribble, left-right.
I am left handed, so I am going to really improve on my right handed dribbling during this recovery time.
I now have this sharp pain in my knee (sometimes) when I put weight on it, so I am a little disturbed by this. The pain isn’t consistent, and it really catches me off-guard when it happens. A sharp-shooting pain that just comes and goes. I sometimes feel it when I am on the elliptical and I push down on the pedals in a certain way. I can’t really figure out what the problem is.
I guess my biomechanics has changed because of the injury, so I should go out and get some quality orthotics. (If anyone knows of a good place to go where they’ll analyze your walking form, etc.. in nyc area, please let me know. )
Well, if you’ve just started on this recovery process, just be patient and hang in there. It gets better.
I look back, and I remember the times that I spent in bed elevating my cast foot so that it doesn’t swell up. I remember spilling coffee everywhere trying to carry the mug while walking on crutches. It really would have been much, much more difficult going through this without everyone here who could relate to this injury and recovery. I don’t know what it would have been like going through this alone, and I am glad I don’t have to find out! So thank you!
22 responses so far ↓
1 summi // Jun 26, 2008 at 1:48 am
hey Dennis
good to see you are steadily, but cautiously progressing. I am actually suprised at how well your calf muscles have evened out. Unless those photos are decieving, you have regained a helluva lot of your muscle on the ATR leg!
I couldnt help but notice the small lump at the base of your scar that appears to be a pressure point. I have developed a lump very similar to yours at the base of my scar, and it is quite uncomfortable. have you always had that lump? and is it improving?
anyway, hope you keep on improving.
Summi
2 johnk // Jun 26, 2008 at 7:43 am
Dennis,
Looking good fella. The hard work seems to be paying off.
Johnk
3 matts // Jun 26, 2008 at 9:57 am
Looks great Dennis! I am so jealous right now. Wish I could walk in two shoes. let alone run. Guess I will just have to wait..Darn
4 Tom // Jun 26, 2008 at 10:01 am
Dennis - Great progress! Your calf has definitely regained its form. I’m jealous of your progress with the single leg heel raise. I’m still not there yet. But, like you mentioned, I don’t HAVE to do it tomorrow. I’ll get there sooner or later. Keep up the good work!
5 zurichfan // Jun 26, 2008 at 11:48 am
Excellent progress! Wow; very inspiring! Keep up the good work and thanks for giving us a GREAT platform to learn from one another.
6 Doc Ross // Jun 26, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Dennis..
Looks great. glad to see you’re off and running. You definitely need orthotics, your gait and biomechanics will be very different now. Look into a running shoe store, podiatrist or chiropractor for the orthotics.
Keep up the great work.
Doc Ross
7 damacar // Jun 26, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Congrats on the run! I’m actually looking forward to “re-training” myself to run.
Thanks for such a great site.
damacar
8 mbargo // Jun 26, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Dennis-
looks like you are doing well I just did a one minute jog the other day only a minute but it felt great.
Do certain shoes still bother you or are you pretty open to any and all kinds now?
Great post gives me something to works towards.
9 walshie // Jun 26, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Looks good, Dennis!
10 kkdub // Jun 26, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Dennis - looks great. And thanks for this site - who else to thank? Tom? This is incredible for me. I just had surgery just this week, so I’m WAY at the begining, but this site has helped mentally MORE than you know.
Keep up the good (conservative) work. Great job!
11 dennis // Jun 26, 2008 at 11:59 pm
kkdub - thanks, and I am glad to hear that the site has helped. Thanks for being a part of this recovery club!
12 dennis // Jun 27, 2008 at 7:55 pm
mbargo -
I haven’t attempted wearing my dress shoes again. Since the appearance of my scar hasn’t really changed, I have a feeling that it’ll still irritate my heel. I’ve been sticking to my sneakers, and it hasn’t been a problem. I need to go shoe shopping for comfortable dress shoes.
13 Bernardo // Aug 22, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Hi Dennis,
Back here again, and if possible would like to ask you a question.
I have been walking (or limping actually) for the past 2 weeks without crutches (8 weeks after surgery today) and I CAN’T flex my calf. IT is a very weird feeling, as if my brain was no longer talking to the muscle.
I tried reading previous posts about it and could not find how this process went for you. I see you are standing on your ATR leg, so I am assuming you regained full muscle control.
Any feedback regarding this? Did you also had this period of walking and not actually being able to flex the calf? How long did it last?
Thanks again!
BB
14 jonboy1968 // Aug 24, 2011 at 8:04 am
Bernardo.
When you say you cannot flex your calf are you saying you cannot point your foot down? This is what happens when the calf flexes.
Have you done a thompson test?
If you get a response IE foot flexes, all is ok. If you do not get a response (positive result) then you have not healed or have healed too long.
That may be the reason you cannot flex calf.
15 Bernardo // Aug 24, 2011 at 11:13 am
Hi Jon,
I can see how my last post could be confusing. What I actually meant was that I can’t flex the calf muscle, as if my brain didn’t recognized the muscle.
My Thompson test is fine, and I can move my foot in all directions, BUT I am not using my calf but other smaller muscles around it.
According to my therapist, this is normal. He says my brain need to reconnect to the nerves around the tendon, and once this happens, that I would be able to use my calf.
So I was wondering how this process went for Dennis, hence the question here. I am not sure if you also had ATR issues or not, so maybe it is hard for you to visualize what I am going thru.
Thanks!
16 jonboy1968 // Aug 24, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Hi Bernardo
I have had ATR issues. Full rupture April 2010. Difficult recovery. My tendon has healed long, hence my knowledge on the issues.
I do understand what you mean by the brain and the calf “ignoring” each other. However with me this was for different reasons. The calf was contracting, and just taking up slack tendon.
Even to this day I get only a very little thompson response.
I found the best way to get a calf contraction was to sit, put weight on the bad leg, and then do heel raises. If you then feel the calf as you do this you can feel the contraction.
Aggressive physio has got the calf working better and I can do single heal raises on bad leg but only very restricted.
Sorry to butt in on your question to Dennis, but it sounded as though you may have been in a similar position to me.
Glad your recovery is going fine.
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