Oh, Physio. How I love thee.
I kind of like the idea of updating my blog with past information rather than present. I’ve found that there’s more than enough information on this site to help with the usual FAQ’s that pop up throughout the healing process, so I’ve never really felt the need to ask around. I’m more interested in sharing my experiences and the things that I feel are more relevant to newcomers.
One thing I want to put up front is that I’m so humbled and grateful to live in Canada. Thanks to health-care, my surgery was covered. So were two of my casts. Thanks to company benefits, my walking cast and pain killers were covered. With the costs of living, it would have been tremendously difficulty to absorb these costs had it not been for these blessings. I’m just so thankful. What else can I say?
As of today, I am 3 months post surgery. At this point of the process I’ve become increasingly aware at how stubborn we as humans inherently are. In the three weeks before I began physiotherapy, I was walking ridiculous distances, and pushing fairly heavy weight at the gym. My goal at the gym was to regain leg strength so that relearning walking would feel easier. For example, I’d do leg extensions at roughly 20 lbs. and push out 25 reps. Three sets. Over a few weeks I managed to move the weight up to 70 lbs.. I would listen very carefully to my tendon, adjoined muscles and ligaments and I’d stop at even the slightest hint of a twinge or pinch. When I stood up, there was noticeable soreness in in the heel which never lasted more than a few seconds. I never knew exactly how trivial or not this sensation was. I mentioned it to my physiotherapist and she never expressed concern. However, looking back at all of this - I can’t help but ask. Did this improve leg strength and make walking easier? Definitely. Was it absolutely necessary to do so much so soon? Definitely NOT. Throwing in the odd 5KM, even 9KM walk in the mix from day to day wasn’t so smart either. Bodybuilding philosophy teaches you that pain equals gain. It’s not an easy truth to simply toss to the side. But I’m feeling content that I’ve managed to retrain my beliefs for the benefit of this particular season of my life.
Three weeks past from the time my walking cast was removed to the day I received my first physiotherapy session. In that time frame, I was essentially on my own, but oh-so-eager to become normal again. My advice to anyone reading this that’s currently waiting for their 1st PT session: hold off and be patient. You can throw every exercise and stretch at your tendon, but healing and waiting really is the top ingredients that are going to speed your progress up.
I’ve had 3 physiotherapy sessions to date. Since I began I’ve really pulled back on the reigns of my therapy. I no longer attempt to walk every day (4 or 5 km average), but every other day, rather. My allowed exercises are very few and light. My therapist’s initial concern was the great amount of swelling at the ankle due to the shellacking I was putting it through prior. What a difference a week’s worth of easing off has made! Swelling and dis-coloration has been greatly reduced and walking is so much easier as I am much more aware and sensitive to the form of the involved muscles and tendon. At this phase, swelling is quite the enemy! Don’t let yourself think it’s just a natural byproduct of your injury that can be ignored! I’m sure that to many reading this, these tips sound more like common sense. But, if you’re overly determined (most athletes are), it can be seriously challenging to hold back. So, heed my words - exercising every SECOND day and icing the ankle twice daily are key and were the big clinchers in getting my swelling down and the healing sped up.
The big challenge for me now - regain a proper sense of walking form after having doing "the limp" for so many weeks. It’s a current work in progress and I’m almost there. It’s just amazing how much concentration it takes for something I’ve done so many years prior! Crazy!
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Nicely said and it’s gratifying to see this from a male. I think a lot of us competitive males tend to overdo things at times, some much more so than others. I cringe every time I read about someone claiming they “have” to drive because they’re bored and they have their driving leg in a cast or a boot. I personally don’t care if they endanger themselves, what bothers me is their selfishness in endangering other people. It is just too easy for a cast or boot to get caught on the brake pedal or accelerator and someone can be seriously injured or even killed. It’s good you understood the need to pull back and become a bit less obsessive about regaining calf strength. I’ve had to throttle back my own run training because I’ve re-discovered the “zone”. I can just get into a good tempo and sort of forget about everything else and suddenly my left calf is screaming at me and I realize there’s quite a bit of pain there. Fortunately it goes away very quickly after I stop so I know I’m not doing any damage and my PT doesn’t think I am either. It sounds like you have a good PT. Keep on keeping on and you will get back to where you were, maybe even better.
If you can attain a normal gait — including that “push-off” at the end of your stride — soon after 3 months post-op, Jonathan, you’ll go pretty near the head of the class! That accomplishment is usually just a little while before the first 1-leg heel raise, which many of us got tired of waiting for.
Actually, THIS time I waited and waited, and it’s finally coming (now at 8 months). The first time (2001-2, first ATR), I did NOT wait, and I wish I had. Details elsewhere, but I was talked into doing a few 1-leg heel raises at ~17 wks, on the first day when I could walk “perfectly” in bare feet — and doing so set me back a whole month! I had no pain while I was overdoing, but it set in soon afterwards, so be warned!
HI Jonathan,
I have just started to walk again without the boot (9 weeks post surgery, been in 2-shoes for 3 days). I did not even dare to take my boot out before I saw my physio (only 2 days after the surgeon said I’d be ready to lose the boot, so lucky for me, I had fought hard to get that referral 3 weeks before I needed it). I also found the physio very useful. Good to hear your advice re: taking it easy. I think Gerry is right, but it’s not just males who are competitive, I am 31 (now since in cast *sigh*) and have run a marathon, played tennis for over 10 years and consider myself pretty game for most sports too, so I am just as bad as the guys out there. But I am learning to love my achilles and to respect its needs. Thanks for sharing your story.
Andreea
I will second my love for Canada and having healthcare covered (I’m from the US) with that said, as anxious as we get to be ‘ourselves’ again we have to find patience. I appreciate you sharing your story with others and encouraging post-op patients to not take physio into their own hands - leave it to the therapists ;o) Sounds like you have a great physio so stick with your program.