Feb 21 2010
Funny feelings
I think the incision is nearly healed because i’m starting to feel the need to scratch and scratch. I will be so happy when the staples come out on Wednesday, although I will be right back in the cast.
I have since noticed something else and hope all is well. As is to be expected, my legs are very stiff, especially my right leg. I have been trying to stretch and extend them to help keep loose. Last night my right calf contracted and I could actually feel the AT contract as well. The Dr. said I should wiggle my toes but I don’t recall him saying anything about calf muscles and what I should feel in the leg at 10 days post op.
Hello Fellow Minnesotan,
I would say go with it, keep working your calf a little. I started twitching my calf (barely) the day after surgery, and kept increasing the load as felt comfortable. It will take a lot of time off the end of your rehab, when calf strength can take a long time to come back, if you can limit the atrophy now.
It is too bad your doc won’t let you out of the cast. That really slows things down. Perhaps you could get the cast “bivalved,” that is, cut in half down both sides. A wrap around it keeps it on for protection when you need it, but you can also take it off at times for cleaning, massaging, and a little exercise. Same for a boot or a wrapped-on brace. You can get a lot done with your protection off only when lying on your back, hardly a danger. Selling such ideas to a doctor who is stuck in a limited comfort zone can be difficult or impossible, though.
Good luck,
Doug
(from the other Twin Cities, Salem Corners and Rock Dell)
When you say ” Last night my right calf contracted and I could actually feel the AT contract as well,” do you mean you pushed down on your foot and felt everything move? Or do you mean you had a muscle twinge or spasm in your calf?
If it’s the former, I’d say “what Doug said”. If it’s the latter, and you’re in danger of having some strong calf-muscle spasms, that might be scary. Your body weight and your calf muscle are about the only two things that threaten your AT now. Some (rare) people have to get muscle relaxant pills to stop spasms.
Boots are better than casts, period. New school, old school. And “walking casts” are especially silly, because by then you could (should) be washing your leg, letting it air out, putting lotion on it if it itches, doing physio and daily exercise, etc., all of which are hard or impossible in a cast.
When I was in cast, I had some calf and tendon spasms but not often, maybe 10 times per week. Doctor seemed to be aware of these, he asked me if I had any, before I say it myself first and he wasn’t worry at all. I believe these were the first signs that the job has been done correctly and the tendon has been plugged in again. He told me not to try move my tendon or calf at all while in cast, but I never asked him ‘why’..(I had so many questions, I didn’t know what to ask first!)
Calf atrophy happens because you are not ‘walking’ that foot, but I think, even if you did, the cast /boot itself would result into atrophy also in some degree.
I am now entering my third week of 2-shoes status, if you see my photos of both legs, you’ll notice that calf starts to raise again, even only by walking. This week I’m starting strengthening with my physio and hope that by the end of the week, it will look a lot better!
Marina thanks for the information. It was more of I tensed my quad muscle then the without thinking the calf muscle and felt achilles pull a little. I’m prepared for the atrophy as once many moons ago I was in a cast for a broken leg. How I would trade that for this journey! I can only hope my calf returns as quickly as it did when I was 17.
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Normofthenorth: I was lying down with the leg resting on top of the pillows. Was more of a flex of the calf muscle. I was experiencing slight spasms while lying there. No weight bearing yet as I’m only at 11 days post op. I agree with both you and Doug about the cast, but the Dr. says 4 weeks, then onto the boot. Once in the boot it appears he has pretty aggressive timelines. Either way I’m having flashbacks to that broken leg when I was 17. I hate the cast!
Rick From The Twin Cities.
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I know it’s a long journey to healing, but you change line (cast to boot, boot to 2-shoes, PT etc) frequently until you finally reach desired destination and that makes it easier (for me at least), as you can feel the progress. I’m now almost 3 months post-op. Couldn’t imagine how fast time goes by…
That is my thought exactly. I have my milestones written out and just plan on working hard to make each transition. 3 months post-op are you wearing shoes yet?
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