Comments for jflyfish's AchillesBlog http://AchillesBlog.com/jflyfish Just another AchillesBlog.com weblog Sun, 19 May 2013 10:42:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 Comment on Re-Rupture….have UWO protocol questions by jflyfish http://AchillesBlog.com/jflyfish/2011/08/20/re-rupturehave-uwo-protocol-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-3 jflyfish Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:31:19 +0000 http://AchillesBlog.com/jflyfish/?p=3#comment-3 Hi Norm - thanks for the guidance, makes sense. I was hoping you would respond as your other posts sound as if you are the UWO champ and resident expert! So I go into the boot next week and am trying to plan whether to sleep in it or switch to the splint for comfort. The boot will have heel lifts and the splint is angled toe down (approx 20 deg) - so should it matter? Hi Norm - thanks for the guidance, makes sense.
I was hoping you would respond as your other posts sound as if you are the UWO champ and resident expert!

So I go into the boot next week and am trying to plan whether to sleep in it or switch to the splint for comfort. The boot will have heel lifts and the splint is angled toe down (approx 20 deg) - so should it matter?

]]> Comment on Re-Rupture….have UWO protocol questions by normofthenorth http://AchillesBlog.com/jflyfish/2011/08/20/re-rupturehave-uwo-protocol-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-2 normofthenorth Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:54:38 +0000 http://AchillesBlog.com/jflyfish/?p=3#comment-2 Good luck, Jeremy. I like your approach (this time), FWIW. Some subjective answers from a UWO fan non-pro patient: "In the 2-4 week period: PWB - what body wt% is typ?" Some people give % numbers, but then patients can't figure out what they mean and get more confused than without numbers. I think that period is kind of "Gentle and progressive partial (or "protected") WB on crutches". The %, for me, started at "virtually 0" (just resting the boot on the floor as I crutch-walked over it) and progressed seamlessly through the 4-wk milestone into "FWB As Tolerated". One day, you realize you can stand balanced on both feet (=50%), and on one later day, you realize you can stand on your boot, or walk on it without crutches or cane (=100%). Everything in-between is in-between, and I'm not convinced it's usually helpful to dictate the speed. Most people have no AT problems with WB; the problems are mostly from sole and (esp.) heel tenderness, which can usually be resolved with foam or gel footbeds, etc. The only late-boot-period strength training I did -- besides walking FWB, faster and faster -- involved therabands and a towel or strap (against hand-held resistance). And at ~7 weeks this time (non-op), I dug out my old hinged boot, and set it to hinge from neutral down (and walked even faster!). That's NOT part of the UWO protocol, but AirCast sponsored the study (and God bless them for doing so!) and they don't make a hinged boot, so maybe. . . (I only got into trouble when I briefly switched from fast walking to BACKWARDS fast walking, which is/was an inappropriate and much more strenuous test for a healing AT. I stopped immediately and was fine, apart from my life flashing past my eyes!) And Yes, the exercises pre-week 8 are with boot on, AFAIK. Last Q: I don't see why treadmill walking couldn't start very soon after normal FWB walking, as long as the pitch (level or close?) and pace and duration were appropriate. Good luck, Jeremy. I like your approach (this time), FWIW. Some subjective answers from a UWO fan non-pro patient:

“In the 2-4 week period: PWB - what body wt% is typ?”
Some people give % numbers, but then patients can’t figure out what they mean and get more confused than without numbers. I think that period is kind of “Gentle and progressive partial (or “protected”) WB on crutches”. The %, for me, started at “virtually 0″ (just resting the boot on the floor as I crutch-walked over it) and progressed seamlessly through the 4-wk milestone into “FWB As Tolerated”.

One day, you realize you can stand balanced on both feet (=50%), and on one later day, you realize you can stand on your boot, or walk on it without crutches or cane (=100%). Everything in-between is in-between, and I’m not convinced it’s usually helpful to dictate the speed. Most people have no AT problems with WB; the problems are mostly from sole and (esp.) heel tenderness, which can usually be resolved with foam or gel footbeds, etc.

The only late-boot-period strength training I did — besides walking FWB, faster and faster — involved therabands and a towel or strap (against hand-held resistance). And at ~7 weeks this time (non-op), I dug out my old hinged boot, and set it to hinge from neutral down (and walked even faster!). That’s NOT part of the UWO protocol, but AirCast sponsored the study (and God bless them for doing so!) and they don’t make a hinged boot, so maybe. . . (I only got into trouble when I briefly switched from fast walking to BACKWARDS fast walking, which is/was an inappropriate and much more strenuous test for a healing AT. I stopped immediately and was fine, apart from my life flashing past my eyes!)

And Yes, the exercises pre-week 8 are with boot on, AFAIK.

Last Q: I don’t see why treadmill walking couldn’t start very soon after normal FWB walking, as long as the pitch (level or close?) and pace and duration were appropriate.

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