I’ve hit the 6-month recovery mark!
I hadn’t played tennis in over a year, and I ventured out to play this past weekend on a dry, warm summer day.
A good college friend of mine happened to be in the city, and he brought his tennis racquet with him. I got to the courts first, so I took some tentative practice serves. It felt a little strange, and I could “feel” my achilles. So much for putting my legs into my serves, but I slowly warmed up enough to feel comfortable with taking practice serves with decent power. I don’t have the most consistent serve, so I wasn’t serving any worse than I did before the injury.
It really felt great to have the racquet in my hands, going through the serving motion, hitting the ball, and jogging to the opposite end of the court to pick up the balls.
By the time my friend showed up, I had warmed up enough to break into a light sweat. I carefully stretched my achilles on both legs, and we started to hit the ball back and forth. I made sure to not stress my achilles by making any sudden stops or abruptly changing direction. I didn’t chase down any really difficult shots, but I was fairly quick on my feet enough to get to most of them.
Another good thing about playing tennis with my friend is that we usually just focus on being consistent and keeping the ball in play within reason. So that allowed me to ease into getting back to where I was before the injury.
My friend was surprised by my mobility as he’s gotten used to seeing me limping around these past few months. I could tell that he was really glad, as he’s got his tennis buddy back.
I do feel a slight soreness in my achilles today, but I suppose that’s to be expected. I’ll take it easy for the next few days and see how I feel.
One step closer to full recovery!
12 responses so far ↓
1 Bri // Aug 11, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Way to go Dennis! That is awesome. Congratulations-
2 Tom // Aug 11, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Excellent Dennis! I’m sure it felt wonderful to be roaming the courts again. Keep up the great work.
3 dennis // Aug 11, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Bri & Tom - Thanks! It felt great to be out and running around. I am really looking forward to getting on the basketball court too. That’ll take a few more months though, and I’ll need to get in better shape.
4 daveleft // Aug 12, 2008 at 2:13 am
Big time congrats!
5 johnk // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:44 am
Dennis, good progress dude.
I hope to be back playing soccer fairly soon, okay in nets at 5 a side but it’s a start.
Johnk
6 dennis // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:51 am
johnk - thanks! Looking forward to reading about your day stepping onto the field.. but don’t rush it to soon!
7 marianne // Sep 3, 2008 at 11:57 am
Dennis,
I have a question about my Achilles Profile. I am not FWB, but am in two shoes with crutches. Should I put the date I started two shoes even though I am not FWB….a little confused since I am doing things a little backwards.
Marianne
8 fourleaf // Sep 3, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I too thought I filled profile but can’t seem to get to it. I am somewhat computer challanged how I got here I am amazed. Any quick tips?
I tell everyone about this blog and how it helps with the sanity or craziness of this injury
9 dennis // Sep 3, 2008 at 9:17 pm
marianne -
It’s really up to you on what you decide to do, but
I would consider it to be a PWB state, as you are partially bearing weight.
Once you are able to walk without crutches, in normal shoes, you can put the date that you start to do this in the 2-shoes date column.
I hope this helps.
10 dennis // Sep 3, 2008 at 9:40 pm
fourleaf - yep, you’ve filled out your profile. You can see your entry in the Marathon Tracker.
http://achillesblog.com/atrpt.php
11 anonymous // Oct 3, 2008 at 4:54 am
What a great milestone. It must have felt great to get back out there and have some mobility on the court. Tennis is an intense sport and I’m glad you are able to enjoy it again.
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