jla2010’s AchillesBlog

Well, it’s been 16 weeks since my surgery and I haven’t posted for a while so here’s an update.  ROM is generally very good but my dorsiflexion in my bad leg has a ways to go to match the good leg.  I must admit that I’ve worked very hard on strength and proprioception but have taken it easy with dorsiflexion to minimize the chance of healing too long.  I’m past that point now so I’ll will be ramping up the stretching.

As I said, I’ve worked hard on strength and it’s coming along very well.  I’m doing lots of exercises up on my toes now in addition to lots of heel raises and various other exercises.  I’m very close to a single leg heel raise but not quite there.  When I’m doing two legged heel raises, I transfer my weight as much as possible to my bad leg to make it work harder.  It seems to be helping.  I’ve  been going on long walks as well and my gait is pretty much normal.  For the past few days, I’ve also added short stints of jogging to the walks.  It feels really good even though it’s slow.  For those of you just starting this adventure, hang in there.  The beginning is the hardest part.

That’s it for now.  Keep healing.

My PT and I have worked hard on calf strength and proprioception.  Like most of you, I spend time on the speed ladder at every session.  Today, for the first time, I did every pass up and down the speed ladder on my toes.  With the different exercises, this was nine passes both directions on the speed ladder.  Although I’ve been getting stronger each day, this for me is a milestone and very exciting.  Hang in there.  Each of us is getting better every day.

That’s it for now.

Keep healing.

This week I went to my 12 weeks post-op visit with the surgeon. (Six weeks in casts and six weeks in a boot) He wanted me to wear my boot whenever I was outside for 12 weeks but I could wear shoes inside. I walked into his office in two shoes as there was no way I wanted to walk into the appointment in my boot. Seems silly but it was important to me. It was an uneventful, short visit and the surgeon seemed pleased with my recovery. He said that the fact that I am highly motivated to get back to “normal” was very important and had clearly speeded up my recovery, especially from the calf atrophy.

I’ve been wearing 2 shoes indoors for about five weeks now and have been doing PT for 4 weeks. My physical therapist is great and I’m so much stronger now than when I first started. He really makes me work and I also do the exercises at home as well. Calf strength and coordination are improving quickly and I’m feeling very positive.

The first six weeks in the casts were the hardest. Once I got into the boot and became FWB, everything was so much easier and better. Now that I’ve been in two shoes for a few days, it’s better yet. It sounds funny but as much as I hated the first six weeks in casts and on crutches, they are but a distant memory now.

Not much to report really, just steady improvement. I’m headed out for a nice long (careful) walk.

That’s it for now.

Keep healing.