Nov
10
4 Months post-op - continued slow improvement
November 10, 2009 | |
As foreshadowed in my last post my motivation for regular targeted PT/exercise has waned. In the last month I have probably only been to the pool twice, and many days I forget to do any specific exercises.
That said, I haven’t been lazy either, just not doing achilles specific rehab. On the road bike I’m riding at least once a week for rides of 80-100km, riding my mountain bike on 3-4 hour hilly singletrack rides, and oin the days I don’t ride to work, I’m walking instead.
I have recently decided to start doing some proper rehab again as I aimed to be back to normal by 1 Dec so I have no time to lose.
Milestones?
I can finally do heel-raises! First managed to get my heel off the ground only about 2 weeks ago by amillimetre or so. Today I surprised myself by getting up about 2 inches when showing the cleaner at work how limited I still was.
I’m also almost able to ride normally on the road bike - obviously still not sprinting quickly, but I can climb pretty comfortaby standing on the pedals.
That’s all for now, not enough water to drink today and only a red wine with dinner and I’m getting migraine-like visual disturbance…better get some aspirin going before the headache sets in!!
Comments
3 Comments so far
- dsut4392 has completed the grueling 26.2 ATR miles to full recovery!
Goal: 152 days from the surgery date.
Click here for the Group Marathon Tracker
- dsut4392 has completed the grueling 26.2 ATR miles to full recovery!
Glad things are still improving for you.
I too am finding life is getting in the way of physio, but trying to do as many bits of exercise as I can. Doing lots of walking too which must help - aiming to be walking “normally” by Christmas
Hello, This is my first time being on this blog. I am getting frustrated with my slow recovery and thought I would see how others are handling their recovery.
I injured my right foot on September 25. The tendon pulled completely off the heel bone, plus I broke the ankle bone on the inside of my foot. (I can’t remember the name of the bone.) I needed surgery The tendon was screwed onto the heel bone on both sides of the heel. I have been non-weight bearing up until five days ago. I can now put weight on the foot as tolerated. I have a very awkward knee high boot that has a prosthetic three inch wedge in it so the right leg is presently longer than the left. Plus, I have bone on bone in both of my knees which exacerbates my walking attempts. I am using a walker as i can’t begin to walk without it.
My home is almost 100 years old and I only have one bath on the second floor. I am concerned about the steps as well as using the shower as I cannot put weight on my foot without being in the boot. I have to wear it to bed also. (I am still in a rehab facility but am hoping to go home in a week or two.) Plus. I will have to go back to work in a month or so.
I am feeling anxious about the type of injury I sustained, because it isn’t the usual type of rupture. My biggest fear is that the tendon will pull off the bone again.
I would greatly appreciate some suggestions.
Hi Angelbaby,
Apart from living in a 100 year old house with a staircase, my situation sounds quite different to yours. I had a straightforward complete tendon rupture, had day-case surgery, and as a fit 36yo was quite mobile on crutches or hopping. I do have a bad knee, but it’s the same leg as my ruptured tendon so didn’t interfere too much with basic mobility.
Suggestions I can offer:
-Stairs: I found using the handrailing on one side and a crutch on the other was much safer than using two crutches. This may depend on how solid your railings are, your arm strength, and whether the railing is a good height for you. Fluffy wool socks on a polished wooden staircase are a bad idea.
-there is lots of advice on this website about things to help with showering/toileting, ranging from waterproof bags to put over a cast or boot, to shower chairs, hand railings, knee-walkers etc. Many of these things can be purchased quite economically over the web using sites such as Amazon.
- Getting your boot wet is not out of the question. I wore mine into the showers at the local pool where I did rehab. Getting a spare liner for it would make things more comfortable - I used an old towel instead of the proper liner.
- For the first 4 weeks or so post-op I had baths instead of showers, just hanging the bad leg out the side of the tub. If your surgical wound is nicely healed up then getting it wet should be fine, in which case the only issue will be getting in and out of the bath (we have a claw foot tub which isn’t fixed to the floor other than by the drain, so climbing out when empty would lead to it nearly tipping over - beware!)
- Check how long you will continue to need to wear the boot to bed. I can imagine this playing havoc with your knee unless you sort out a ‘tent’ to keep the covers off. I was allowed to sleep without the boot at 2 wks post op.
Others on the site have had similar injuries to yours and made a good recovery. IANAD, and you didn’t mention how your injury occurred, but I suspect that your knee condition will be more limiting than the risk of re-injury of the tendon.
The more you work on your recovery (within the limits proscribed by your surgeon), the faster you will regain independence and function. I think the fear is present for all of us, but you mustn’t let it get in the way of your recovery.
All the best,
Dylan
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