Re-ruptured after 2 weeks in a boot

Comment by bigred

October 3, 2009 @ 5:55 pm

Emily, I know how you must be feeling and my sincerest sympathies to you. I can’t answer to why the rereputure happened or treatment methods, but definitely those doctors will need to give you some answers.

But know this: just as the road to recovery seemed so long and far away at the first injury, no matter what happens, you WILL GET THROUGH THIS. Patience and take it 1 day at a time will help you get through it.

I have stairs at my place too and I’ve just tried to reduce the number of times i have to go up and down stairs each day. A female friend of mine who also ruptured her tendon went on her bum. So yes, it’s not elegant, but we survive and get through this.

Take care, I wish you all the best on your full recovery this time around.
B

Comment by assumptiondenied

October 3, 2009 @ 6:06 pm

Emza, you’ll do okay.

Look at the site layout you’ve selected, somewhere in you is a person willing to be happy and to search out what makes life pretty.

Your life sucks right now there isn’t any way to sugar coat that and not lie, but your life sucks right now, not forever, not even necessarily tomorrow, but just for the moment.

Life is like that.

If you’ve spent as much time reading this site as you indicate you’ve run across some of the best advice you could heed right now: accept this challenge!

You’re in a situation so far apparently unique on this site, you’re exceptionally young for this kind of injury, you’re doing this on your own and you have a young daughter. It seems that you’ve fallen into a place where you have a duty to provide others like yourself but who aren’t willing to communicate or seek counsel, keep blogging, be honest (but not honest enough to be tracked - always be careful to protect your identity online!!) and let everyone know how you’re getting along, physically and emotionally.

Accept this challenge and look for the new things you need to learn, you’ll be overcoming challenges every day for months to come and every single one of them is a reason to celebrate and a lesson learned.

You’ll survive this, and you’ll teach your daughter lessons on strength.

Comment by bryony

October 3, 2009 @ 7:40 pm

Emza, I really feel for you - I ruptured my tendon last Tuesday and have been in plaster since then - have 3 kids and am so grateful they are old enough to look after themselves (teenagers!) - it must be so very much harder with a little one. Just reading round this forum gives me hope and encouragement though -thinking of you.

Comment by emily

October 3, 2009 @ 9:31 pm

thankyou soo much guys! its really nice to see others in the same situation, i had never heard of this type of injury before now and don’t know anyone whos done it, therefore dont know anyone who knows what im going through!

i will update you all soon on what is going to happen to me next.
thanks again! x

Comment by Doug

October 3, 2009 @ 9:47 pm

Hi Emily,

You have a little one to care for, so the device at iwalk-free.com might be worth a look.

Good luck,

Doug

Comment by darren

October 4, 2009 @ 8:19 pm

Hi Emily

I too have re-ruptured and know how you are feeling as I was totally gutted. After 9 weeks in various casts I re-ruptured 4 weeks ago and had surgery. I have just gone into an air cast with 4 heel wedges and have taken 1 out after 3 days. I totally sympathise how you are feeling now but you will make a full recovery and everything will be ok. Good luck with your appointment, as bad as everything seems now, you must try to stay positive. This is a really good site and I have learnt more from being on here than I have learnt from the hospital. Do keep posting your progress.

Comment by 2ndtimer

October 4, 2009 @ 9:15 pm

Emily,
What happened to you is terribly unfortunate. Being on your own with a young child to take care of, and moving into a new city, with such an injury is the ultimate challenge. Do not be ashamed, take every opportunity to accept and ask for help.
And do question the doctors if you feel the treatment is not right for you. They are often rushed, and do make mistakes. You are the one who ultimately feels the signals your body sends you. Do what feels right to you.
People who did not have this sort of injury have a hard time to understand the frustration that comes with it. So air it on this site and there is a great community here that will advise you and cheer you on.
Keep us posted.
Wishing you all the best,
2nd timer

Comment by smoley

October 5, 2009 @ 3:36 pm

Emily,
What a horrible series of events, you poor thing, no wonder you are feeling so down. But you will mend - you have 20 years advantage over old lags like me! As you will have learnt by now, tendon injuries need loads of time to heal. The treatment you got after the first accident doesn’t sound great - pain is the body’s way of telling you something is wrong after all - and what you describe with the ‘pop’ and being unable to put your foot down is all to familiar to the rest of us here. But you will find out today. Don’t be too horrified at the thought of surgery - it isn’t too bad and most doctors seem to think it has a better long term outcome. PLEASE don’t give up your plans to go to uni, because this is just a short term ‘blip’ in your life and it will give you something more interesting to talk about than “Where are you from?” and “What A levels did you do?” Let us know how you get on today, fingers crossed for you!
Smoley

Comment by fitterguy73

October 6, 2009 @ 12:38 am

Emily,
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. I can’t even imagine dealing with what you’ve gone through. My thoughts definately go out to you.
Ryan

Comment by chukeer

October 6, 2009 @ 11:15 pm

You’re definitely not alone in this!

I ruptured back in May, was in a cast / splint for 2 weeks then went into the boot. After 3 weeks in the boot, I re-ruptured.

I’m now almost 14 weeks re-rupture post-op.

The recovery timeline for my first rupture was 2 weeks in a splint, 4 weeks in boot, then back to shoes. Once I was in the boot my Doc set me free start walking in the boot FWB as tolerable.

The recovery timeline for my re-rupture was 2 weeks in splint, 4 weeks in a cast, 6 weeks in boot.

Biggest thing now is to take it easy. I kept walking in the boot minimal at first because it hurt as well. Let pain be your guide. If it hurts, don’t do it. Unfortunately some pain is part of dealing with this injury.

Comment by smoley

October 7, 2009 @ 10:05 am

Emily, How are you doing? Wondering how you got on back at the hospital. Hope it wasn’t bad news, do let us know.
Smoley

Comment by emzalicious

October 8, 2009 @ 3:40 pm

Update!! - Oct 8th 2009

WOOHOOO

one thing i would like to ask everyone is this… … did anyone experience a tight tugging/pulling feeling in their calf muscles sometimes when they were walking in the boot? it hurts and feels a bit painful sometimes, im just wondering what it is..?

anyways i may not reply for a little while but i do read your comments because they are sent to my inbox when u post! but i am moving this saturday (10th) to london, so very busy packing boxes etc! thanks guys, hope to hear from you soon! x

Comment by smoley

October 9, 2009 @ 10:53 am

Emily - that’s brilliant news. From the ‘pop’ and the pain I’d have put money on a re-rupture, so I am so relieved for you. Good luck with the move, a bit different to Devon! You are only 19 and off to London so I don’t expect you to take any notice of me, but TAKE IT EASY! Don’t go putting yourself through all that again. Plenty of time to shake your tail feathers when leg is better. And I’m a mum so I know best. Anyway, good luck - go have a ball!
Smoley

Comment by cathyz

May 15, 2010 @ 4:58 pm

Emily,

I completely severed my achilles tendon in an accident 2 weeks ago…then surgery…now in cast for 3 more weeks. Reading your story made me realize how fragile our bodies can be in the healing process. I will definitely be listening to my body as things progress. Am anxious to hear how you’re doing now?

Cathy

Comment by normofthenorth

May 15, 2010 @ 5:39 pm

Good work, Cathy! I hope Emily is still monitoring this site, or getting e-mails when people post, because her initial accident was a lot like yours.

I’m all for rapid state-of-the-art rehab protocols, but the schedule Emily followed was quite a bit quicker in removing plantarflexion (stretching the tendon) than the one I’m following, or the one used in the other 3 modern studies I cite on my blog.

Actually (as discussed there) there’s some confusion on this issue in the reporting of the latest study, from U. Western Ontario. Their online listings of their protocol says they withdrew all heel lifts after TWO weeks, even for patients who had no surgery! (Both groups, surgical and non-op, were treated the same in rehab.) But the printout my sports-med surgeon got from the authors said SIX weeks, with full plantarflexion (heel lifts) until then. (There were a few other differences, too, but nothing as drastic as that.)

When I discovered the difference, Mike357 here was asking me for a copy of my protocol, to give to his surgeon. (After lots of difficult thinking, Mike decided to go the non-op route in the boot, a first for his Doctor.) I gave him both, plus my own impression that the online version was WAY too quick in stretching the AT. (He’s been following “my” version of the protocol, pretty close, as has Gunner in Georgia.)

I’ve since asked my surgeon what he thinks about the two versions, and he reacted just as I had, and I also e-mailed one of the authors of the study, who also couldn’t believe that they’d withdrawn the heel lifts and gone to “neutral” position after only 2 weeks. So it looks like either a typo, or a bad idea perpetuated online after it was corrected in “reality”.

Interestingly, Emily’s near-rerupture and discomfort/pain apparently came from fairly early (arguably too early) withdrawal of plantarflexion.

Going quickly is an inherent benefit for the patient in a NON-clinical sense, but it’s obviously vital that it have clinical benefits too, or at least no clinical DISbenefits. Rapid mobilization, boots not casts, early physio, and early WeightBearing all seem to meet those tests, according to good scientific evidence. Early dorsiflexion to neutral would also be nice if it worked well, but (except for what seems to be an error in reporting one study) maybe it doesn’t, and it has to be filed in the “too much too soon” file!

(This is why we need EVIDENCE-Based Medicine!)

Comment by mikek753

May 15, 2010 @ 10:50 pm

in my case and I agreed with my doctor
at 2 weeks I started in boot with 3!!! inserts - total about 4+ cm. Just to be on safe side.
Then after I can do PWB without much pain and Doc and PT told me to remove 1 insert out. So I did, but I managed to do it over night, took it out then sleep in boot for 8 hours, no any WB for 10 hours after insert was taken out. Then another insert was out and last one was gone. But, all were taken at night time and the next day I was adapting to more normal position.
This wasn’t part of protocol - I did it in “my” way. As I thought that will reduce risk while AT is adapting to new foot position.
Then from boot back to 1 insert in shoes.
PT and Doc told me to use 1 insert (8 mm) for a while - I’m at 11 weeks with 8 mm inserts.
And, yes I’m barefoot at home all the time from around 8 weeks.
No, we (my doc and I) didn’t follow so aggressive “no inserts” in boot while waking in boot is allowed as tolerated.
No one would give me or my doc any medal or etc. why to push to extreme?

May be some one just made mechanical error in protocol paper? who knows.
Also some people could be just fine with no inserts, while other would get re rupture right a way - as it different from person to person. Meaning extreme case for sure would work for some one.
Do you want to be Guinea Pig for this case? I don’t.
Wish you fast recovery anyway