So I had my 4 month follow up with my doctor last week, and he is very happy with the state of the tendon. He says I’m ahead of schedule on the recovery (I don’t think so, I think that’s him reassuring me) and that I shouldn’t be concerned about the pain I feel on the ankle bone when dorsiflexing hard. He’s unsure of what might be causing it, as he notes that the area is only skin and bone. It continues to improve, but is still very noticeable and prevalent to me. I hope he’s right about this going away over time.
I continue to regain strength at a slower pace than I would like, as single heel raises are still very difficult and when I work on strengthening, I have to use assistance to get through sets of 15 reps. My calf does look a lot better compared to its worst state, so I’m encouraged by that.
Lastly, I tried running tonight while a friend filmed. First I was at 6mph for 10 seconds, then increased to 8mph for 10 seconds, and around the 35 second mark of the video below, I ran at 10 mph for 10 seconds. I think it looks a lot better than it felt to me - I’m normally not a heel striker, but I’m definitely heel striking on my left foot because of the lack of calf strength.
4 responses so far ↓
Manny // Mar 29th 2016 at 7:40 am
Way to go, jayli! Love the form and I saw no limp and the rhythm sounded perfect!
I can already do minimal 2 feet heel raises, and the PT is very happy with my progress, though just like you I feel I’m going too slow.
I hope I can be jogging like that in a couple of months.
Take care, and Happy Healing!…….. Manny
s40love // Mar 29th 2016 at 9:09 am
Wow, you are brave, 10mph!!! I watched your video in slow motion in youtube (I clicked on the settings gear button, then selected speed 0.25), and I noticed you are striking with the heel first. According to what I have read, I do think it’s better to strike with the ball of your feet first, because that will avoid other complications (knees, etc) later on. So I think you should work on that. I wouldn’t worry about speed for now, I would worry more about form. Take care.
s40love // Mar 29th 2016 at 9:24 am
Btw, I think you should ask your therapist about your running strike. I myself am a midfoot striker, and I think that reduces pressure on my knees. I never had any knee problems. But I would ask your PT about it first because each person is different. Happy healing!!!
jayli // Mar 29th 2016 at 1:58 pm
Thanks everyone.
My heel striking is why I mentioned that it looks a lot better than it feels. I’m normally a sprint-type athlete so I prefer to land on the balls of my feet, but can’t do that yet with sufficient push off. I don’t plan on doing much running as part of my normal rehab, so I don’t expect to get used to heel striking. This was more just a test of how fast I could move if for some reason I needed to.
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