derek’s AchillesBlog

Eight weeks down and I feel like I am making steady progress, with a minor setback here and there. I’ve been in two shoes for almost two weeks now. Sometime in week six I decided that it might be a good idea to try some one-footed indoor rock climbing at my local gym. I used the boot to protect my affected leg and managed to make it up the 50 foot wall by locking off with my arms and hopping my good foot from hold to hold. This felt terrible and nothing like normal climbing, so I stopped after one route. Two days later I had very bad pain and swelling near the base of my big toe on my good foot. The pain was worse than the Achilles rupture. I managed to give myself a minor turf toe type injury from that one climbing session. Two days later the pain and swelling subsided.

Last week I took a walk that was a little too far. I really struggled with my gait towards the end and was very sore for a day or two afterwards. I have been continuing with my self-directed PT at home, consisting mostly of active ROM exercises and various heel raises.

I had a follow-up with my OS a few days ago. I was officially declared boot-free and given the OK to start PT. I had my first session yesterday, which consisted mostly of ROM assessment, various stretches that were slightly more aggressive than what I had previously been performing and squats and lunges with different foot orientations. This work noticeably loosened up my ankle and tendon and I felt a positive difference in my gait without having to consciously change anything. I have 20 sessions left for this calendar year, so it looks like I’ll be going twice a week until Christmas. Happy Heeling