Hello Achilles World!
Its taken me forever to create my blog but with my first post I just wanted to thank everyone on this website. The links, information, and blogs have really helped me with my recovery from an unexpected ATR. I especially want to thank normofthenorth, ryanb, kkirk, and alton2012uk for sharing their experiences, pictures, and even videos.
I’m a 32 year old fairly conditioned “weekend warrior” and suffered my ATR while playing football on February 17, 2013 . I was lined up as wide receiver and when I started to sprint, I heard the dreaded “pop” and immediately turned out to see who kicked me. Then it was RICE until seeing the orthopedic surgeon after the weekend. I actually ended up getting an MRI which demonstrated a complete tear and a 3.5 cm gap. I’m really glad I got the MRI because seeing it myself made the decision to have surgical repair a littler easier to swallow.
This injury hit me pretty hard. We were out of town when it happened and have a two year old and a three month old so its made things very challenging very quickly for my wife. I felt so helpless at first and the loss of independence made me frustrated. Its my right leg so not being able to drive has been depressing. But this injury has brought me closer to my family, friends, religion and taught me slow down and appreciate the small things in life. It took a second for me to realize that this is only a temporary setback and like hitting the “pause” button on life. I’m going to work harder than ever to come back stronger.
One of the most frustrating things about this injury and rehab is the wide variety of protocols. By reading about various studies and protocols as well as the experiences others have had, I have learned so much so quickly. My doctor is in the more conservative group although I reviewed the UWO protocol with him. Based on my specific surgical repair and injury, he recommended 6 weeks of NWB. I am now on post op week five and doing active ROM, gentle massaging, and really looking forward to PWB next week. I just went from 20 to 15 degrees of plantar flexion in the vacocast. The vacocast has been incredible and the best purchase I ever made even thought I have a love/hate relationship with it especially at night.
Once again, a big thank you to everyone on this blog and I look forward to being an active member of this community! Happy healing everyone!
Welcome to the blogsite! This site is a big help as I go through my ATR journey. It helped me understand what I cannot believe has happened to me without much warning and gave me hope that I can be back to my old self again. And so I write to inspire the same hope and pay back what the site has given me.
Thanks Eyechilles-
This blog community was a really great resource for me- and it’s really nice to know that my contributions here have been helpful - even in some tiny way - to folks who have followed (so to speak) in my footsteps. WIth a little luck, you’ll have a successful recovery, and be share your experience with those who follow you.
Ya, what ryan said. Thanks for the thanks, and good healing. Even if you’re doc’s wrong and going too slow (as I suspect), that doesn’t seem to do significant harm to surgical patients, on average. I’m always curious to know how much a doctor’s schedule really is “Based on my specific surgical repair and injury. . .”. I think most patients seriously over-estimate that factor in their doctor’s decision-making. Have you asked him about his history of giving patients faster rehab, like what the range is? I think a lot of OSs (including my first, in 2001-02) just use “When in doubt, wait another few weeks” as a general rule of thumb, thinking that it’s “conservative”, i.e., less likely to produce a rerupture. The studies we’ve got don’t support that logic at all, though the curve seems pretty flat for post-op patients like you.
Welcome!
I have a 4 month old! I feel your pain. Stay focused and positive. You’ll spend more time with your kids being IMMOBILE
Blessings.
Thanks EyeAchilles
If I had found this site sooner, I would of recovery much quicker, so I chose to write about my experience so other can read And make better decisions during their recovery. So I wish you a good recovery and keep posting.
I so understand your confusion about so many different protocols!! It can be overwhelming. I was fortunate enough to already have a good relationship with an ortho surgeon. My surgery was followed by lengthy “Old School” recovery. I had ELEVEN weeks of casted, zero weight bearing. But as soon as I came out of the cast, I was full weight bearing (in a boot) with a flat foot in 2 days and FWB in shoes in a week. So I have NO complaints about the path my surgeon took. I am out of the boot indoors and out (level ground) for 9 days now, no pain and my gait improves each day. HANG IN THERE! The down time on the couch was just short of hell for me.