Wear and tear
October 5th, 2015
5OCT15- R+17 weeks, non-op, early weight bearing protocol
The good: my AT seems to be doing great. I walked >24,000 steps {~9 miles?) on a long day that included a 6+ mile hike this weekend with son’s Boy Scout troop, and the AT was not even sore.
The bad: my joy at how well the AT was doing was somewhat overshadowed by the prominent pain in the heel and ankle of the “bad” foot. I have come to realize that the foot and ankle are not quite ready for prime time yet, and I need to pace myself to prevent damaging anything in there. The heel pain has been a byproduct of my heel-centric weight distribution in the boot and early two-shoes walking, but has lessened lately as my weight distribution has evened out. However, this was by far my most ambitious day of walking since the injury and “rang the bell”. I took it a bit easier Sunday and today to recover. Starting this Saturday, we are taking a week long vacation that will involve a lot of walking… I will have to try to behave myself so that I can enjoy the entire trip!
Best to all.
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See also:
- R+33 Weeks - nearly normal again (January 24th, 2016)
- R+20 weeks: video progress update (October 30th, 2015)
- R+20 weeks, starting to run again (October 25th, 2015)
- Flirting with normalcy @ 19 weeks (October 17th, 2015)
- First treadmill jog! (September 16th, 2015)
October 7th, 2015 at 7:08 pm
Hey Evan! Every time I try to emulate you raise the bar higher and higher
I’, walking some days around 13000 steps and I think I over did it. The tendon feels great for the most part, no swelling or discomfort there, but the bottom of my foot still have some pain when walking, thinking is the immobility and still adjusting. It’s great to hear you are doing good and living life tho, keep it up, you are almost there! 
October 10th, 2015 at 3:04 am
Glad to hear your recovery’s going well, Evan. So great, in fact, that hearing your story makes me wonder there was any benefit to my surgery at all. I’ve had a very smooth experience as far as the injury, surgery, and recovery has gone. Incredibly, it sounds like you’re more functional at 17 weeks that I am at 22. Keep it up, Evan!
October 10th, 2015 at 5:19 am
Thanks a lot, guys! I have really appreciated having you two, Bob and Matt as my closest “peers” in this adventure. The AT is doing quite well. My current wonder is how long it will take for the other bits of my foot and ankle to be ready for full activity without any internal crunches or pain. It feels like the assembly was out of whack long enough that the overall system is still somewhat delicate. Compared to where I was in June, though, I can’t complain. Heel raises for everyone!
October 24th, 2015 at 8:40 am
Hi Evan. I’m new to this blog, I seen all your videos from youtube…Must say you give me hope!!!! It’s been only two weeks for me, I fully rutured my AT, wearing a boot now. Did this with kickboxing. I got myself a balancer for my other foot so I could walk even and it helps big time! I also wanted to thank you, I purchased the Elasto band, this is a life saver, works much better than the ice packs. I deliver mail for a living, I do alot of walking.I wonder over and over again if I will or could go back doing that normally again??? I think I more depress that I won’t beable to go back into kickboxing anymore, it’s heartbreaking for me cause this was the one sport I really enjoyed. Please keep writing, I think of you everyday while recovering and keep telling myself, if your doing it, and I know I can!!!!! Thank you!!!!
October 25th, 2015 at 4:38 am
Thanks, Alicia. I’m glad to know that the info has been helpful to you. Did you have surgery, or are you non-op? I’m at 20 weeks now, and back to doing just about everything I did pre-injury. I think returning to your work pace is completely do-able, but you will be wise to not log too many miles before you are ready. My personal experience has been that foot has stayed somewhat out of whack after the AT was fully healed. I fully ruptured my AT playing tennis, and I’ve concluded that I will avoid playing for at least a year. Kickboxing may still be ok for you, but whatever condition predisposed you to your initial rupture will probably still be a concern to factor in going forward. Best of luck with your recovery, and drop a line if you have any questions!
October 31st, 2015 at 9:10 am
Hello Again,
I went to my Dr. last Tuesday, couldn’t do anything with my foot cause it was too soon (2 weeks). I chose the have non-op. Dr. told me he wants to start walking around with the boot to get my blood circulation going in my foot/leg. I’ve doing much walking as I can till I get tired, then I rest and go again. I complain alot about my calf, I get pain, guess from not using it??? I have problems sleeping, not comfortable! My next appointment is Nov 17th, during that time, do you have any suggestions for me on what to do to heal better during this stage? Any help will much be appreciated!!!
October 31st, 2015 at 10:05 am
Alicia,
During those initial weeks while I was stuck at the house, I tried to stay disciplined about doing the exercises I could to retain as much leg strength as I could, and kept the foot elevated whenever I was not on my feet. It seemed that the foot and ankle would readily swell if I didn’t keep it elevated. I made some videos to capture some of the exercises and put them into a Youtube playlist. Hopefully they might be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu1nHtWBBf8YfYz6JCH4z_vrVBF592gHI
The early weeks are the most patience-trying. Keep your chin up, don’t rush anything, and you’ll be picking up momentum soon!