June1309

Was toatlly stuck until I read this, now back up and running.

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Eat 5 times a dayStart with baeakfrst. The more you eat for baeakfrst, the less food you will want to eat at night. Please, don’t skip this meal as you’ll end up devouring everything in sight for the rest of the day. You don’t need to gobble up 5 large meals, just 3 meals of a sensible size and 2 delicious yet low calorie snacks. Eat sensibly so your body doesn’t crave for food. If you treat your body right it won’t demand for more attention!

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I don’t think it is ever too late. It may be more difficult now as in huritng more and take longer. You could start some physical therapy and get suggestions of things that you could do at home. Also, I think you should have a therapist to tell you the things that you should do, after an evaluation. Anything that anyone could tell you on here could be the wrong therapy Good luck

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Hope it went well for you. My year is looking beettr than 2009, so far. Barely making rent and expenses, but looking up and ahead gives me hope.You’ll do fine.

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While you may have missed the opatmil time where your body would respond best to treatment it is never too late to go to physical therapy. I would ask for a referral from your doctor that did the surgery. If they will not give you one you can go to your primary care doc and ask for one or you may have direct access in your state meaning you can go to a Physical Therapist without needing a referral from a doctor.

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I’m a couple of weeks ahead of you and just started some jumping physio and using a trampette. All very tentative but coming slowly. Off for my first VERY slow jog thismorning. As running was how I did this I thing it’ll be short and tantative. Keep up the good work.

Hi Pamela,

Your progress sounds great, but as Norm say take it easy.

Have you tried driving yet?

My physio called me today, after our first session yesterday, telling me that she had spoken to my Dcotor and that I should be in the boot at all times, which is not what she said yesterday. She said that she felt that the ankle etc etc was reasonable strong and that I only had to wear the boot if i went our for more than half an hour. Never mind another week wont kill me, but i am just like you I like to be moving forward………

Heather

Sounds positive, but Watch Your Step!

Hi Pamela,

As you know today was my first Physio session and I am very pleased to say that it went well. I am out of my boot and in to 2 shoes, with the exception of when I leave the house and I know that I will be on my leg for more than half an hour, then have to wear the boot.
I still have to elevate my leg as much as possible and I was given a set of exercises to do 4 times a day. The physio, Louise, was generally happy with my ankle/foot/leg/achilles. She said that i had a good range of movement and that we just had to work on getting the stiffness out of the achilles and start building up the calf so as I can walk better. Very pleased to say the least!!

So how about you, whats your news this week?

Heather

Interesting stuff. After the very early times when you’re ankle is vulnerable everywhere including in bed, I think the ONLY reason to sleep in a boot (or brace) is to make sure you lose any calf-and-AT length overnight. Some people find it a “stretch” to get into the boot in the AM, for example. If you have to get up NOW to go to the bathroom, things could easily go wrong.

You guys both seem to have drifted in the direction of the UWO schedule, either on purpose or accidentally. Heck, you’ll never see ME recommending that anybody go slower!

Hi Pamela,

Thanks for the additional info. I am not following my doctors advise when it comes to sleeping, he tells me that I should stillm be in the big boot at night and about 2 weeks ago I bought one of those night splints that have a solid back slab and velcro fastening. but I have been know to fall asleep on the sofa with nothing on my leg and have had no issues so I think that I will try sleeping at night with out it, might try your pillow idea. Also I am definatly going to go swimming this week, need to get my heart rate up and start buring some of this extra weight that I have put on whilst sitting on the sofa.

As for the swelling, I am the same now that I am using the leg more there is swelling by the end of the day but it goes down with a quick ice beofre i go to bed and a bit of a rug with some bio-oil , good for the scar and for the leg in general. Do you use any oitment or oils? I di find them very good in deed, would recommend them.

Will let you how I get on at the physio and with swimming this week.

Take care,

Heather

Hi Heather,

No, I don’t sleep with anything at night, but I am also a very peaceful sleeper (though I do turn over several times a night). What I have been doing is trying to keep my leg propped on a ‘husband’ pillow (the reading pillow with arms) also with a pillow under my knee so it doesn’t hyperextend the knee or get stressed. I am mainly doing this to try to keep the swelling down, of which there is a bit more with the increased activity. Probably don’t really need to at this point but am used to it now.

I highly recommend the swimming. I guess in my rewrite of lost comments I failed to mention that I was doing a little balancing(one leg) in the water and a few other exercises (toe lifts, but hardly any weight from recovering leg - just along for the ride). No pain at all and have seen a bit of improvement but it is so much harder than it seems it should be (or compared to the good foot). Standing in waist high water takes so much weight/ pressure off the body that it is just a great way to start slowly. My Dr commented at 4 weeks about swimming with the buoy between legs - I told him I don’t swim with buoy and why would

Hi Duke 88,

Nice to get an update from you. It would seem that we are both very similar in that we do things that our Doctors tell us we can not. I am only using my big boot when I go outside and no crutches even though my doctor tells me that I should still be inthe boot at all times and that I can not start physio until the 13th Dec, that will be just after week 8. I have been doing home physio for over two weeks now and all seems fine to me. I am going to try shoes next week and move my physio appointment forward to next week. I am also going to go swimming, again against doctor advice, he keep telling me that this is the last thing that I should do.

Question, do you still sleep with a splint at night?

Happy healing,

Heather

Hi Duke 88,

I was wondering how you are doing?

Heather

I think your experience - contra rupture first time back at original rupture activity - is why it can be incredibly tough to get the courage up for that first time back.

And I ruptured mine on Oct 11th so I will also be very interested to monitor progress. Had my op on Oct 14th.
My doctor is adamant I will be in a cast for 8 weeks after the op.
Changed every 2 weeks to alter ankle angle.
With one change left I’m at about 90degrees.
But I ain’t doing any rehab with a cast on for another 3 weeks. Thats for sure..
I’m really impressed with Duke88 progress.

Hi Duke88,

I see from your blog that we both ruptures our achilles tendons on the 10th Oct 2010 and I also see that we where both born in the same great year 1966 and that we are both female. It will be interesting to see how our recoveries compair! I see from your blog that your doctor lets you go swimming, mine will not even consider it, you are lucky on this front.

Hi Duke, I wish I could say that I ruptured them while doing a superstar move, but that wasn’t the case. I was just trapping the ball in our end and I did actually get kicked in my left Achilles and boom just snapped. Now I had no idea of what just happened. I was trying to get my balance and then the other one snapped. You are right that my surgeon had never seen it before. In fact anyone I have spoken to hasn’t either. I know I can’t use you as a direct comparison but because I can use you as a benchmark or a goal if you will. I know I take longer than you to recover but I have done some ‘cheating’ as well albeit being cautious for example FWB (because there just is no other way) on my heels while transferring from chair to bed. So in my own way I am being somewhat aggressive as well. I’m looking forward to your future posts. If you are interested mine is canadagoose.

Oh Cheryl! I am SO SO SO Sorry to hear that. I cannot even imagine both. I am really curious how you did both -it just seems like you would have gone down with one and not had any issue with the other. Both times when I did it I had intense pressure on the rupturing leg and none on my other. Did you jump and land at the same time, or lean hard on one after the first went? I bet your Dr. had never seen such a case before.

Honestly, I don’t think you can use me (or maybe anybody) for too much of a comparison. When I am walking without crutches (a week before Doc approval) I really am putting loads of weight on my good leg because I still can’t really flex the right one and shouldn’t be bearing full weight. So I don’t know how you can compensate if you have had surgery and recovering on both. I think in your case you should be conservative and listen to the doctor in terms of when to bear weight and start Physical Therapy. I would also expect that your PT would take longer than it would with just one because, again, I remember pushing off the good leg and bearing more weight to ‘aid’ the recovering leg (for example, when you do

Sorry to hear about the other tendon. I am looking at you for comparative (if you could call it that) support. I ruptured both achillies on October 12th while playing soccer. I lasted just short of 30 minutes and they both went within seconds of each other. I am just 4 weeks post-op and just trying to figure out where I should be and how much weight is too much. Keep updating and good luck with your recovery!

Hi Norm,

Well the 75% is really trying to reflect that I am walking a bit off-kilter on purpose - peg leg more or less, and, for example, as I am walking down stairs I am not going 100% on the recovering (we won’t say ‘bad’) leg but leaning on the railing, leg at an angle etc.. And, yes, still some using the knee walker and crutches here and there. So didn’t feel like 100% weight bearing was accurate but, really not sure what is. Thanks!

Sounds like calculated risks, informed, eyes open — all Good Things in my book. You may well be extrapolating on the trend, ahead of your time — let’s check back here in 5 years and see!

Meanwhile, do Watch Your Step!

BTW, I don’t think I understand when you say you’re 75% FWB while you’re walking around without crutches. Does the 75% mean you’re 100% FWB 75% of the TIME? If so, I do understand!

Duke, I couldn’t agree more. I got up on my feet in my shoes as soon as I could, and would have done it sooner, if I had been smart enough to think of putting a wedge under my heel. I hit the calf strengthening early, too. I think the trick is to be aggressive and be careful at the same time. I remember going out and shoveling snow, in my shoes, 23 days postop. That sounds crazy, and it probably was, but I kept my injured foot out in front of me all the time, so I couldn’t fall forward over it and overstretch the tendon, even if I slipped on the ice. That’s not a good example of what is advisable early in a rehab, (”Don’t try this at home!”), but it illustrates the combination of being aggressive, yet with caution thrown in. Overall, rehab protocols seem to be getting more aggressive over time. How far will it go? Like you, I think it is better to prevent the atrophy with a fast rehab, but there is risk when going faster than the well-tested protocols.

Doug

Normofthenorth, I do not brake with my left foot. I, too, was told not to drive that way when I learned. Everything works just great with my right. When I am accelerating I can have my heel on floor and all is as usual. When I brake with my right I actually do so in a planterflexion (point) with ball of foot and also lifting my thigh a bit off the seat - no strain at all on tendon so I can brake hard with no worries if necessary. When I come to a stop I usually hold down the brake petal with left foot to rest my right leg. My braking was a bit jerky for the first few stops but adjusted quickly. I would never drive my kids around if I had any concern at all it might not be safe.

Going to look for Scott’s blog now. Very curious.

Duke, as usual I saw the first post after the submitting my Q? Yes the retear was complete with 2 cm gap. I really need to catch up my page. I an not the average ATR recovery by any means.

I was I believe a “test case for my OS. I had given him the UWO info and a few links. He was a bit aloof about conservative care but he is smart enough to realize that the studies show good results. His fall back was well if it doesn’t work out for you “I can always fix it later for you”. My tendon has reconnected well, I’ m 5 mo’s in and have gotten to the point of a struggling 1 leg calf raise. My big concern isn’t mucle strength but tendon strength and the area where the stitches pulled out when it rerore in june. I’ve read about the internal stitches on the blog and wonder if I’ll actually need mine removed in the future since they were pulled out of the tendon and re healed somewhere in there??? I’ve been told the 6 mo window is a good milestone, I m close to that, then its the 1 yr.

Good luck in the healing process, I know mine wasn’t like yours but when you have insight to the healing process from your previous time, I bel

Duke, you can check out Scott’s progress — with his unusual (unique?) non-op approach to a post-op rerupture — on his blog. Touch wood, it seems to be working remarkably well.

Your story all sounds clear and successful, but one part puzzles me. Do you brake with your left foot? Where I come from, the driving instructors all teach using your right foot on both gas and brake. I think it’s partly to avoid that panicked gas-plus-brake thing that seems to have caused a lot of Toyota’s problems.

Hi Scott -

I did the opposite side (Right). 15 months ago was left (you can look at old blog). What you might be interested in are the comments left on my first entry of second blog a month ago - someone sites a study that showed a 6% rupture rate of contralateral (other side) achilles for those who continued their sports. And they only tracked them for 4 years, so am sure it is higher than 6% (which still isn’t high but relatively…)

I am REALLY sorry to hear about the re-rupture. That is tough to take on many levels. Was it a full rerupture? I don’t know how such a thing would heal itself without surgery. Good luck to you and stay safe. Do checkout my prior entry and comments left.

Duke, was the 2nd ATR same foot or other side? I did my 2nd 13 wks into recovery. I’m now 5 months post 2nd, had surgery first and non op 2nd time. But I did the same one, the stitches all tore and partially healed scar let loose. After seeing all the posts here about 2nd timers, I get a little paranoid. Not for the healed one but the good one going bad.

Sounds like you’re doing well. Congratulations! Be very careful if you are going to drive. An emergency stop could put people at risk.

Sorry to hear that you joined that special club. I think your experience - contra rupture first time back at original rupture activity - is why it can be incredibly tough to get the courage up for that first time back. Hope you heal quickly!

Thanks for the support and info guys. Especially the stats - I was looking for something like that but didn’t know to call it contralateral rather than bi. Very interesting stuff. As for the 3rd leg, I did say in the operation room as I was going under (because not only did I have same surgeon, but also same anesthesiologists!) “I am glad I am not an octopus!” The last thing I remember before going under is hearing them laugh.
Thanks again and will keep you posted. I did have a very active and quick recovery and hope to do at least as well this time!

Yup, what Kaston said. Sorry you’ve joined our elite little club, Pamela.

The good news — in addition to your impressive “fully functional at 5 months” experience from the first time! — is that you should be pretty safe from ATRs on BOTH sides after you recover from this one. As one of the other “contralateral guys” here said a while ago, “Unless I grow a third leg. . .”

I don’t know where your Doc got his impression, but this bi-lateral thing is actually not all that rare, especially for people like us who return to the explosive sport that claimed our first AT. There’s a link to a study quantifying the risk in the “ATR Rehab Protocols, Publications, Studies” section (linked from the Main Page). The link is entitled “Contralateral (your other) Tendon Rupture study”.

They only followed ATR patients for an average of around 4 years — long enough to catch your contralateral ATR but not mine or Kaston’s. They found that the risk of “doing” the other side within that period was roughly 200x as high as the background “normal-person” risk of an ATR.

That’s still a relatively low absolute risk (~6%), but obviously way

hey there,

sorry to hear about your 2nd ATR but rest assured you are definitely not alone. i did my first one when i was 25 playing soccer, and the 2nd one 11 weeks ago at the age of 31 also playing soccer. i also knew exactly what had happened. didn’t scream but swore to myself instead. i think i’m probably the youngest person on here to have done both. i know that larrylove and normofthenorth are also in the double ATR club. it sucks but the way i see it, it was probably going to happen at some point so might as well get it over with ASAP. the younger you are when it happens the faster and better it probably heals. you know what to expect this time so use that to your advantage. keep your chin up! you’ll be back to soccer before you know it

Thanks, for all the advice. I jsut went to my second post op appoitment and staples were removed. Doc made it a point to tell me 4 times that it is imperative tht I do not put weight on my foot. I didn’t ask him if I could—he must have seen it in my eyes! Still doing nothing but sitting around because I am getting some wierd sensations in the side of my foot(it is numb to touch), kind of like pin pricks, and it feels better when elevated and with ice. Haven’t driven yet, mostly due to the fact that I have a lot of swelling when my foot is down. Apparently the tendon was shredded and the doc had to go “fishing” for it in my calf.

I’m getting around pretty well on the crutches. No issues yet except for really dry skin on my hands. My only problem is the boot–it weighs a TON, and I can’t walk that far while holding it up because it puts too much pressure on my knee, just dangling in the air. I did make it to the beach last weekend where I scored two wheelchairs–one specifically for the beach and another for the boardwalk. I was very happy just to get out of the house.

I’m learning to be a patient patient. It’s diffi

Hi Jane! Sorry to hear about it. It is a total bummer but in the grand scheme of things that is really all it is. We will get back to it. Do take it easy the first week for sure. Sometimes we need to be forced to slow down and that’s OK. I was very surprised when I got the casts off (first one after 2 weeks then 2 weeks more after second) and I still had swelling in both cases. When you have the boot you can (check with doc) sleep without it so it was much easier to prop up on a pillow and in the morning looked very normal. But after activity and walking around stilled swelled up. I continued to ice it some too.

You should totally be able to drive since it is your left, as was mine. I drove 5 days after surgery just to go out and see a movie since I was stir crazy. No issues with driving. The more dangerous part is using the crutches. I fell 3 times, once enough to give me some good bruising on my arms and legs. Tried not to put weight on bad leg and managed to avoid it for the most part but during the falls there was some pressure. Never really afraid I had damaged it more, but it was painful. And depressing. I had a pretty

I’m so glad I read your post. I injured my AT playing softball and I am currently 4 days post op. I had terrible pain the day after surgery, but not so bad since. I’m glad that you mentioned remaining active. I am very active and had been working out at home everyday–with weights, treadmill, pilates, etc, and I am anxious to continue, Doc wants me to keep the leg elevated all week until my 1st post op appointment on the 28th,
I too did not really absorb what the doctor was telling me about rehab. He said something about 8 weeks, but I don’t know if that means 8 weeks in the boot, non weight bearing, or 8 weeks and I will be able to wear 2 shoes. I also noticed on this site that there are big differences in the amount of time between surgery and weight bearing. Some doctors say to begin right away and others seem to be more conservative.
How did you get to the gym? Were you able to drive? That’s what is making me really crazy–not being able to drive, even though it’s my left AT that’s injured. Did you have a plaster cast in the beginning? I thought that was what I was getting but I ended up with a boot. It’s very heavy