John’s AchillesBlog

Hi John,

Per you question above, my experience was to go FWB in boot when it felt right to me… and that worked out great - but I wasn’t given any instruction about it either way. Listening to the docs is of course recommended, but listening to your body is, I think, equally important. For what its worth - even though I went FWB in boot at about 18 days post surgery, it didn’t do a thing for slowing muscle atrophy… Still had no calf muscle once I got out of the thing.

re: the pool–if you are in waist deep water, you are only 50% weightbearing…so, if you can get into & out of the water with no boot (I sat at the edge of the pool, took off my boot & then slipped into the water, reversed the process for getting out) you should be OK to be in the water.

My surgeon’s advice was to get into the pool for swimming & walking (waist deep water or higher) as soon as the scabbing was completely gone from the incision. The first time or two you may want to have a friend or the lifeguard give you a hand managing boot/towel, etc.

Hi John,
First, I am truly sorry you have joined this club.
Hopefully you will recover fully and quickly. It seems to me that healing is a highly individual process, and many factors such as age, health and fitness level prior to injury, your surgeon’s ability and even your support system play a role.
In looking at your timeline, I am surprised you are planning a trip to Spain so soon after your injury.
To explain, I live in L.A and travel to Europe often (business). My doctor told me I would not be able to travel for five months after surgery because there is a high risk for blood clots which a long flight will aggravate. In fact, I am going to Spain on March 17, and that is exactly six months after surgery. Did your surgeon gave you the OK to travel?

re: pablomoses - it is amazing how little time the surgeons have to discuss these things with us, isn’t it. FWB seems to be ok for my foot, but I’ll take it easy for the first few days to be sure. Were you told to sleep in your boot - I’ve been sleeping without for the last couple of nights, but not sure if there are issues I should consider?

re: kathyw: thanks for the pool advice. I’ve been nice to the lifeguards, so I’m sure they will help me out my first few times. I still have the white tape strips over my scar, so can’t tell if the scar scabs are still there, but my doctor is allowing me to shower and get the area wet - I’ll double check with him to be sure.

re: housemusic: Hmmm….I’ve mentioned the trip both of my recent visits to the surgeon, and he didn’t say anything about it except making sure that I get up every hour and walk around. My focus with him had been on being more aggressive on getting to FWB as soon as possible, so that I can be more mobile when in Spain (to visit sites like the Alhambra). I’ll check again and see what additional precautions he recommends. Thanks for the heads up!

I can offer one other datapoint re: blood clots and air travel.

My surgeon gave me the OK for a short (~2 hours) flight, 5 weeks post surgery. I don’t recall his exact words/timing, but recall that he recommended against longer flights for the first couple of months.

Immediately after surgery, I was put on a regimen of low-dose aspirin. I was given the OK to stop that at around 6 weeks- told that the blood clot risk had subsided. I imagine, that’s about the time unrestricted air travel would have been OK’d too.

Being nice to the lifeguards is a very good policy in general

On my second visit to the pool with my boot, I noticed a folding chair off to one side & asked the lifeguard if I could use it for re-booting post-swim. After that, every time I came to the pool with my boot, they got it for me before I could even ask….and, a couple weeks later, when another swimmer showed up with a boot, they got the folding chair for her, too.

Good luck, I hope you can get in the water soon! It was a life saver for me…

HI John-
I never slept in the boot… I had a splint and ace bandages from my trip to the emergency room that I put on for a couple of days after getting out of the post-surgery splint… But I slept with bare foot from about week 3 on with no problems.

My sleep experience was similar to Pablomoses. I got out of the post surgical cast around day 5; and went into a splint with Ace bandages. I slept with that splint- but started weaning myself off of it (sleeping) at around 2 weeks. At day 17, I started sleeping bare-foot, and didn’t have any problems.

Doc put me in a boot at day 19; but I never slept in it.

Great, no worries about sleeping without the boot then, thanks pablomoses and ryanb.

And kathyw, I’m going to try the pool tomorrow and get started walking down the lanes. I had been going to aqua aerobics classes prior to my injury which were great, but I need to be able to push off with my injured foot first and jump so I can not do that right away. It will be nice to see my buddies again at the class after missing 7 weeks due to my ATR.

My move to FWB in the boot was very easy and quick after getting my cast off last Tuesday. It feels very normal to walk in the boot, so I think the crutches are gone for at least another 3 weeks until two shoes begins! What a difference not having to use crutches makes!

One last question I had was related to a little numbness in my little toe from time to time, especially when the ankle gets swollen. Is that normal, or could it represent some nerve issues?

Thanks again all for the responses!

I’m also an sfbay area person…Full rupture on Feb 2, now 1 week in boot. The main reason I see for staying in the boot is for the unexpected… Like the recent 4.0 earthquake at 3am, for example?-)
Sure that is extreme but I still feel more comfortable with the boot protection but I’m just starting to test out pwb on my own.. Dr said not until another week when I start PT.

But I should get a vacocast I ordered on my own on Monday and plan on hitting the water. The above is the first i’ve heard of getting in the water without a boot is “ok”.
I too still have times when the foot or toes feel numb.

Peter

First, sorry about the ATR…

I would check with your PT about what you can do with the new boot, and without, in the water, especially as you are just starting PWB. You are fortunate to be getting PT now…I still have to wait 2 more weeks until I move to 2 shoes before I can see a PT.

The ROM exercises my surgeon gave me to perform daily at week 5, plus 2 a week sessions with my trainer at the gym since my ATR, are really helping my left leg and calf to feel stronger. I’ve also been using the spin bike for 30 minutes with my boot on, which really feels good as it is the only aerobic workout I am allowed to do so far.

Good luck swimming with the vacocast - that should be great exercise!