2 Days into the CAM boot

So, doing much better than I was on Weds. I think my foot and leg got a major shock being out of the cast for the 1st time. Weds night was pretty horrible with a lot of swelling and pain. Luckily though some elevation, ice, Advil, and getting one of my staff therapists to massage some of the swelling out helped a ton.

I have been practicing my weight shifts in the boot (with my 2 lifts) and working on a normal ankle rocker with walking using the curve on the boot. I am guessing I am only at 25-30% BW right now since I still put a lot of weight into my crutches. Feels good though to do the motion of walking. However, when I try to "push it" a little, I get a massive burn/pain right along my incision site. I have a feeling it is due to the technique my surgeon used. Instead of the traditional long cut along the side of the Achilles from the heel and up, my surgeon used a new technique where he just makes a small incision perpendicular to the tendon where it tore (I will try and post a link to a picture I took). Good thing is minimal scarring after surgery. Bad thing is my scar runs horizontal so I am sure it stretches/burns like crazy when I stretch it a little.

I confirmed it in that if me knee is bent and my leg is resting (i.e. cross my legs), I can put my ankle into a neutral position (or zero degrees or dorsiflexion) with almost no discomfort. However, with my leg straight, it is very difficult to even come close to neutral positioning and all the burning/pain is at the incision site. Hopefully my steri strips will fall off soon and I can start some scar tissue mobilization to get my skin to move better.

3 Responses to “2 Days into the CAM boot”

  1. Greg, glad to hear you’re doing better. Being totally immobilized in a cast for weeks will do a number on your foot and leg, that’s for sure! For me, the time from starting PWB to FWB was 2 weeks, but I didn’t start the weight-shift balancing exercises until about a week and a half after going PWB–those were key for me to move to FWB. As to steri-strips, I’m starting to wonder if mine will ever fall off! -David

  2. I’d continue to take “a massive burn/pain right along my incision site” as a sign to back off. Apply “tincture of time” and lots of what you’re doing.

  3. Greg, here’s an unsolicited tip for sleeping in a boot–at least this works for me: loosen the straps a little at night. This still protects your foot, but (I’ve found) having a little wiggle room makes sleeping much more comfortable. Then, in the morning when I get up, I tighten the straps down for the rigors of the day. -David

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