jobie3997’s AchillesBlog

Congratulations! i am really happy that you’re progressing! When I no longer notice my foot I know I’m close to full recovery.

Glad you’re progressing! Yes do be careful! And take smaller steps so you can walk without a limp. Until you get the strength and flexibility back you can’t walk a full stride without limping and those 2 things just take time. I’m at 33+ weeks and still have to think about my foot as I go downstairs. When I no longer notice my foot I know I’m close to full recovery. And I’m still icing as well. As my doctor reminds me on every visit. It’s 1 year for full recovery ….

Interestingly coincidental. Mine occurred first time I played pickleball too! 5 weeks in, no surgery, still in boot, foot swells, heel sore at times, using crutches still, some range of motion exercise and resistance push with foot against towel. Really would love to see more progress…

A provocative thought about the surgical versus nonoperative approaches, if I may. I suspect there is no difference in the outcomes of those two approaches because people who have surgery usually go through a rehab that assumes the surgically repaired tendon is just as weak as a nonop tendon. I had surgery, started very lightweight calf strength work less than 48 hours after surgery, and gradually increased the resistance from there. I was putting the limited, but not zero, strength of the surgical repair to work, starting soon after the postop pain had subsided. Because of this early strength work, and perhaps because of using a vibrating massager, my calf atrophy was not that bad. I was able to do a minimal single leg calf raise nine weeks postop. By three months postop, I was doing multiple sets of 30 single leg calf raises every other day. This is just one person’s experience, and maybe I was lucky to get away with this accelerated rehab, but I do wonder if this approach could work for others who take the surgical path.

dan914 - thanks for dropping a line & letting me know how far you’ve come. I MAY play tennis again in 9-12 months from injury. We’ll see. I agree about the variability about when ppl choose non-op vs op. No right answer I guess. others are surprised to hear that I didn’t choose the procedure, nor didn’t need surgery to heal. I work in the medical field so may be a little biased in weighing in the benefits, risks, & alternatives to either route.

I used 2 shoes a bit more at work today & it was reassuring:)

Hey Jobie, I was just checking in on the site, when I came across your blog. Like you I went non-op. Frankly, I am surprised more folks still seem to opt for the operation, despite the outcomes being essentially identical if you go early weight bearing. My surgeon definitely encouraged me to let him cut, but after 3 1/2 months post-injury he seemed to agree that I’d made the right choice. It’s an emotionally devastating injury when faced with the long road to recovery, and disruption to lifestyle, especially for active athletic people (who are the most likely to suffer it). I’m 7 months out, and am still not completely “over” it, but I can walk, play golf, and generally have my life back. I did mine playing pickleball (for the first time) and have chosen to give up racket sports. I’m 65 years old, and I just don’t trust myself. Good luck, and this too shall pass.

I am also a “non-op”. I’m 7 months out. 9 weeks was just about exactly when I went to two shoes, and also when I started formal PT. Ice is your friend. I was very weak when I started in 2 shoes, but you’ll progress.

You’re still early in the healing process so icing and elevating are still a good idea when you’re feeling aches/pains. I’m 33 weeks out and I’m still icing. And, yes, you’ll have ups/downs in the healing process. Generally the downs come when you overdue it - LOL!

What boot are you using? I get discomfort with my boot, around the top side of my ankle, never the surgical site. Im thinking of getting the Vacoped advertized here.

Thanks everyone! I ordered an evenup on Amazon and am waiting for it to arrive. I went into a shoe store today and they gave me a handful of shoe inserts to put under the actual insert for a pair of Sorel boots I have. She said they could go in any shoe that has a removable insert. I’m hoping that with the inserts and the evenup I can get close to the same length as the side with the boot.

I ordered 1 evenup and was sent 2. For my first foot using all the padding for the even up was sufficient. For my 2nd foot they changed the boot and this one had a thicker sole compared to the first so I had to use all use one of the even up layers from the 2nd one to get the even up high enough. I have some clogs that have a pretty thick sole and those got me just about even as well if I felt like clogs instead of shoes.

Shan,

I’m still trying to figure out the PWB -> progress to FWB as tolerated. I’m 4 wks out from injury, non-op.

When I use the “Evenup” on the good side, there is still a slight height discrepancy, but I’m hoping it’ll be trivial in the scheme of things. I’m putting some (but not full) wt on the affected side while crutching, since it’s not super comfortable to put more wt than I can tolerate. Today, I crutched along on a sidewalk on the way to lunch & I was getting some discomfort in my hip from holding the bad leg above the ground so much to avoid FWB (i.e. flexing my hip front-wards to help to “walk” while PWB). Putting the “Evenup” helped offset this somewhat, despite my legs NOT being an exact equal height.

It may not be crucial to have something like the Evenup for moving small distances. I haven’t been using it around the house as much.

Sorry about the sleeping woes. Seems like everyone is having that issue while in the boot. I did have the orthopedics technician save the front slab of my cast for me, so I can sleep in it, rather than the boot. I wrap the cast & leg in ACE wrap for sleep.

Hi Jobie,

Thanks for this post! I had surgery 10 days ago and had my cast/splint removed today. This was supposed to happen at the 2 week mark but there was something poking me in my cast so I went in today. I’m in an air boot for 2 months.

I was just wondering how to put weight on the injured side when the boot adds so much length. Right now I have 3 heel lifts.

I don’t start PT for another week or so and appreciate the evenup attachment suggestion.

I’ve been having back/hip pain from sleeping in weird positions but am going to start doing more stretching to see if that helps.

Good luck with your recovery!

Hi Jobie3997,

prior to my surgery, to deal with the leg length difference, I wore a hiking boot on the good leg with the boot on the injured leg. It was less than 2 weeks, hence I only felt a slight strain but not back/hip pain. Another friend of mine ( who had surgery to remove a bone spur at the heel) wore a steel toe shoe, to match the leg length with the boot.

I never had terrible back or hip pain due to the leg length descrepency, but I definitely noticed it effected when I transitioned to shoes. I caught myself hiking my hip and being very stiff overall in my surgical leg.

I never ended up buying the even up shoe, but I regretted I never got one in the beginning. I think it would have made things a lot easier and more comfortable.

Yes, east coast. We are not in a race for recovery with each other! I tell myself that because I’m pretty competitive, which is why I got the ATR in the first place.

oakmanii - I guess there was something in the air that day! bad luck for us both. I’m in southern california. orthopedics tells me that recovery (surgery vs non) would have a similar timeline, but I wonder if you’ll recover faster than non-op. everyone’s rehab course is different no matter what I imagine. are you in the US as well?

Wow, I was injured the same day, but I went with the operation, I will be following your progress, Are you in the US?

You definitely need an even up when you’re walking in the boot unless you have a pair of shoes that have the same amount of elevation. Without the even up you’ll end up with an unhappy hip on the good side.

I went back to teaching a week after surgery. I was in a splint for three days, then he put me in the boot, NWB. I did tear my Achilles at work, so it’s a Work Comp case and my surgeon’s goal was to get me back quickly. Also, the work comp pay was less than my salary, so I wanted to get back to work as well without using a lot of my sick days. I was on restricted duty–only standing for 15 minutes at a time– and I had a scooter to get around. A colleague who lives nearby drove me to school, lugging the scooter into her trunk every day. I teach high school, so it was easier to just sit at my desk with my foot propped up on it for several weeks. If I taught elementary, I probably would have taken more sick leave and waited until I was more mobile. The teenagers were fine with me sitting all the time. Little kids are a whole different ballgame!

Hey! I’m 3 weeks post-op, so a little bit different. I’m 39 also! I’m 4 weeks NWB, casted right now. I think the decision to take off work is a very hard one. I teach, and have massive teacher guilt for being gone so long. Although I have moments in my work day where I can sit, I have A LOT of movement during the day, which ultimately led to to decide to take off for the NWB stage and then get used to walking the boot and a little PT under my belt before I go back. I know that I have made the best decision for the healing in the long run.

I use the scooter just around home, navigating the kitchen. The length of the cast does cut into my leg when I rest on the knee portion but getting around the kitchen it’s fine. I don’t think I could do it at work but have known others who have no problem.

Only time will tell when I get to ditch the crutches! Certainly not during the NWB stage! lol

I got around for 6 weeks with a scooter since I was 6 weeks NWB. I was getting around in a 2 story house and then on errands to the store and going to the gym. I had a splint on part of the time and a boot the rest of the time on the scooter. The only discomfort I had on the scooter was with the splint when it went too far up my leg. I just got some shears and cut it back. If the boot is uncomfortable adding a pad to the scooter should help. I only had to add a cover since my knee got tired of the plastic cover after a while. I had no discomfort, at all, with the scooter the first time around with my right foot in 2017. The left leg/foot seems to be more sensitive

I don’t recall exactly who but one guy who tried using crutches at work finally switched to the scooter since it was so much easier.

Good luck on this long journey!

Good luck with the recovery! As you know - you have a long road to full recovery. And don’t expect that you’ll recover the same way as someone else. My own 2 feet didn’t recover the same - LOL!