20 weeks and all is well
Although I haven’t posted or commented for a while, I always read the new blogs and comments on the site. As I read, I am often reminded of where I was physically and how I felt at the beginning of this journey. I’m constantly reminded of how important this site has been for me, especially early on and am very thankful to Dennis for creating it and to my fellow achillesblog members for the information, advice, support and inspiration. As I see new people come to the site, I continue to see a level of support for others that is amazing. For those of you who are new, this site can be an invaluable part of your recovery.
Yesterday, was my 20 week post-op anniversary. I had a great and caring surgeon and my PT was amazing. I’m happy to say that I virtually never think about my AT anymore except when doing my exercises. My calf strength has come back very well and I’ve been doing single leg heel raises for a little over two weeks. They are not as high as the good leg but getting better. However, I really only do them as a test to see where I stand in terms of strength as I feel that doing two leg heel raises with most of my weight shifted to the bad leg gives me full range of motion and proper form throughout the exercise. I’ve been running for a few weeks and hopped on my mountain bike and hit some trails last weekend. No drops or big challenges, just nice single track. It felt great. I get winded very quickly but that will come back in time. I’m really excited about ski season and will be ready to go when the snow begins to fall. :-) I even see myself playing softball again next summer. (For those of you who don’t know, I did my ATR playing softball.)
This lengthy post is partially an update on my current recovery status but more importantly, it’s intended to let those of you who are beginning your recovery that returning to your normal activities as well as beginning new, exciting challenges is not as far away as you may feel right now. I know that the first few weeks can be very difficult but hang in there, listen to your AT and be diligent in your physical therapy. Once you start physical therapy, you’ll literally feel better every day.
And don’t forget to give support and advice to others on this site. We all have a unique experience and valuable insight when it comes to ATRs, and I can tell you from experience that sometimes, even the smallest bit of advice or encouragement can make someone’s day. It did for me — many times.
That’s it for now. Keep healing!
October 28th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Great! Couldn’t agree more about the 1-leg vs. 2-leg raises! “Keeping form” — including raising up all the way — is probably just as important as loading up the muscle heavily. By splitting your weight carefully between the two legs, you can do both!
(Mind you, I have no “cred”, since my 1-leg raise is still wimpy this time, after way too long!)
December 21st, 2010 at 3:54 pm
JLA’s2010
Great to read your blog which certainly gives me hope that all will eventually turn out ok.
Have just had caste removed after 6 weeks and generally apart from swelling and stiffness in the foot all seems ok. The leg however has lost 2 inches in muscle!!
I go for my first PT in 3 weeks when I hope I will be given info on the exercises I can do to start the healing process. Currently I’m scared to do anything until the tendon has properly healed, then the exercises to which you refer seem vital to regain the strength in the tendon.
Again many thanks for the encouragement your blog has given me.
Birdie boy
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Hi birdieboy, I’m glad my post gave you encouragement. If you’re diligent in your PT without being reckless, you’ll gain strength back pretty quickly. I was very aggressive in my PT. If the therapist said to do three sets of ten, I’d do three sets of 15 to 20. I basically doubled everything. I’m not recommending that approach for you but it worked well for me. Prior to going to PT, I read a lot of posts about PT. I read about stim, ultrasound, massage, etc. It sounded nice and relaxing. But my therapist went straight to ROM, proprioception and strengthening exercises. So you can see that although the initial treatments may vary, once you’re on to strengthening exercises, with hard work, you can progress pretty quickly. Just be careful and listen to your AT. You’ll also find that you will have pain throughout your foot at the beginning of PT because all of the tendons and muscles in your foot are weak as well. This is normal.
Hang in there and keep healing.