6 week progress - still NWB, Melbourne Marathon drama!
Had my second post-op on Friday with the surgeon just after hitting 6 weeks since the injury. Took my boot off, surgeon proded, poked and ran his hands down the length of the achilles for about 10 seconds before saying that all is going well and recovery seems to be on track. Anyone got referred for a second ultrasound to confirm recovery?? I am sure the surgeon knows what he is talking about but I sometimes get paranoid about how the AT is going!
A couple of pointers and pretty much reiterated what was said at the last appointment at 2 weeks since surgery:
- Still NWB until 7 week mark then start to PWB to 10-20% body weight - basically still using crutches as support and maybe put some weight on the toes but only for a couple of minutes a day. My eyes glazed over by this point, and I couldn’t wipe the smile of my face! Luckily boyfriend was taking notes and paying attention!
- Continue with the one basic exercise of moving to foot left to right gently while holding the ankle
- Continue to sleep with boot on until 7 week mark and then slowly wean off boot at bedtime - anyone have issues with sharing a bed with someone else and any risks that come with being kicked or moving around while asleep??
- No physio, swimming etc. My boyfriend also took the initiative to ask about our upcoming trip to Tasmania for 3 weeks in January and whether there’d be any issue with hiking and the surgeon seemed to think I will be ok as long as it’s not to strenuous with the up/downhills and not for a long period of time. The one hike I really want to do is to go up Cradle Mountain which is an 8 hour return trip…
Surgeon concluded with “be patient, we want to ensure the tendon is properly healed to allow the best chance for recovery.” - looking around at other recovery protocols it seems that mine is a slow/conservative route but am hoping it doesn’t lessen my chance to make a full, functioning recovery to competitive squash. The next appointment is at the week 8 mark, fingers is crossed for more PWB, a green light for PT and a chance to ditch the crutches!!!
I had also planned to do the 3km walk at the Melbourne Marathon 2 days after the appointment but the surgeon flat out said no to the idea - he was worried that I may damage my shoulders; I was disappointed to not be able to participate as the rest of the family were doing the marathon, half-marathon and 10k. I was able to sit at the finish line at the MCG, soak up the atmosphere and Melbourne did the usual thing and brought out shocking weather towards the end of the morning so was pretty happy to stay dry and watch all the nutters out there finish their race! It was exciting to watch the winners of the marathon cross the finish line with very impressive times. My sister ran her first half-marathon and got within her goal time and my mum took my place in the 10k and finished quicker than expected 7 weeks after knee surgery! I am looking forward to being able to train for the 10k next year!
normofthenorth Said,
October 16, 2013 @ 3:35 am
Did you get surgery or not? (I wish Dennis could add that line to the ATR Timeline Widget!)
If so, your slow rehab is mostly a nuisance. But if not, your slow rehab is increasing the chamces of a rerupture and probably doing harm for strength, too. On average, according to the evidence.
josee Said,
October 16, 2013 @ 7:33 am
Hi Norm, yes I got surgery - but unsure of which method or what type of sutures. I live in Melbourne so maybe there is a “preferred” method here. I will try to get the operation report off the surgeon at the next appointment.
I am just a little impatient, and reading everyone’s recovery stories is making me look forward to undergoing PT that much more!
normofthenorth Said,
October 16, 2013 @ 3:55 pm
Even post-op, there’s no excuse for going slower than (say) bit.ly/UWOProtocol , and certainly no therapeutic benefit — but at least it doesn’t put you in a high-rerupture-risk group the way slow rehab does with non-op treatment. The details of your surgery will be of interest to some here, but don’t change those basic facts, AFAIK.
Ron Said,
October 16, 2013 @ 5:30 pm
Hi Josee,
I will be 6 weeks post surgery this Friday and went NWB at 4 weeks and FWB at 5. I am doing a lot of exercises and my PF will be at 0 by Friday. I also sleep with the boot off, which is great.
I have learned a lot from Norm and agree that if you had surgery, your protocol is really slow. Here is a link to a variety of protocols out there and exercises, etc.
LINK: http://achillesblog.com/pgat2013/2013/10/06/a-capsule-of-my-first-4-5-weeks-with-tips-and-linksneeds-tips-and-input-from-the-atr-vets/
Good luck.
Ron
rev246 Said,
October 17, 2013 @ 2:06 am
Hello hope your recovery goes smooth! Slower recovery is awful compared to some people that recover miraculously, but I’d say just trust your doctor. You should be fine