Posted on May 10th, 2012 by joss1799
PT session number was no joke. Started on the recumbent bike which was a workout in itself. I have only been out of the boot for a few days so I really haven’t worked out the calf in months. On level zero, started cramping up at two minutes in. After ten minutes of what felt like riding the tour de France we moved on to what the therapist called “the plate.” A giant vibrating plate that is used to torture those who have trouble balancing without standing on a giant, tilting, vibrating plate. A little stretching then some stim and ice and I was done. I feel ok now, but I feel like I could be sore tomorrow. But again, I walked out and had better ROM than when I went in. Weekend off, absent home exercises of course then back at it on Monday. Have a good weekend all and to all the moms, happy mothers day.
No Comments »
Posted on May 8th, 2012 by joss1799
So PT started today. It was my initial eval so not too much happened. The therapist was glad to see my ROM was pretty good and she said what I thought was a lot of swelling, was really very light and reasonable. The calf massage, no fun. I had knots in that muscle that I though had gone by the wayside due to non-use. After stretching and some more ROM exercises, ice. I felt better leaving than I did walking in there. The key is I walked in and out and any improvement is a (forgive the pun) step in the right direction. So happy to get this thing moving.
2 Comments »
Posted on May 7th, 2012 by joss1799
Well, I had my 8 week post op appointment today. And just as the doc said at my last exam, I walked out in two shoes! It has been two months since I put a shoe on my left foot and I have to tell you, it was strange. I am much slower now than in the boot, but I am out of the boot. I asked the doc how I should weane out of the boot and he basically told me to throw it away. I am not used to a surgeon being so aggressive. Not sure if it is my young age (30, no spring chicken but not old by any means) or if he is just that confident in his work. So far, after 6 hours with no boot, all is well. I even got a script for PT and my initial eval is tomorrow. Pumped to get the real healing going. I know it will still be a long, tough road but I am now well on my way. I’ll keep you posted on my PT progress.
1 Comment »
Posted on April 11th, 2012 by joss1799
Leading up to my second post op, which was 5 weeks post surgery, my job was to get my injured ankle to 90 degrees. How I was casted, which was essentially 45-50 degrees, I had my work cut out for me. My Achilles felt so tight, I didn’t see how I could reach that goal in only 3 weeks of work. It was slow, but I was able to reach the goal. Don’t get me wrong, there was some soreness, but I did it. All this time, unless I was stretching or bathing, I was to be in the boot. Always in the boot. Ambulating, with crutches of course, sleeping, blah blah blah. The boot, the boot, the boot. Good news, doc said I could try to put weight on the foot 2-3 days before my exam. If I walked into the appointment, great, if not, all is well as long as my ROM was good. I was feeling so good however, about a week before my exam, I started some partial weight bearing. I used my injured leg as a light anchor while on the crutches. This allowed me to get used to placing pressure on the foot. Every time for a while there, any pressure sent tingles through my foot. In addition, the extra work caused some ongoing swelling. My nights consisted of stretching then keeping the foot elevated to get the swelling down. As the week went on though, the tingles decreased and my fear of full weight bearing did as well. Thursday before my Monday exam, I was able to ditch one crutch for a full day. By Easter Sunday, no crutches. How liberating! So much easier to get around. Now mind you, it is much slower than on the crutches but I did not appear to be injured, until you saw the limp or the boot. So, I walked into my second post op with pride. Doc says I am right where I need to be. I will see him in another 4 weeks. During that time, stay in the boot (it’s now a part of me), work further on the ROM (by the next exam I should be able to bring my toes to my knee, equal to my uninjured leg). Now, that seems like a feat in itself, but that’s not all. Doc said, bring your other shoe with you to the next exam because you’ll be walking out of here…
2 Comments »
Posted on April 10th, 2012 by joss1799
Ok, I found this blog a little late so I am going backwards right now and posting what I readily remember of the process. I will catch up soon enough. Leading up to my first post op was rough. Due to the fact that I also tore my calf along with a rupture of my achilles, the pain was severe. I was on a regular routine of two Percocet every 4 hours without fail. I was even woken up on a few occasions with a spasm or a twitch that warranted a refil. I did not like where this was going. Leading up to my first post op, I was able to wean down to one Percocet every 6 hours and this was a huge step. As I recovered, the pain lessened which was a godsend. Don’t get me wrong, I like to be taken care of on occasion but where I was at with the meds made me almost an invalid and that helpless feeling was not something I wanted to continue. So, we are now at my first post op. first words out of the doctors mouth were that of pride. He took a look at the incision site, had a big smile and said we are on our way. Cast was removed, I was placed in my boot. No weight bearing for three weeks. Being so bored at home, I was even able to get the doc to release me to work from home. Very soon, but I needed it. So then began my ROM progression. I was instructed to get to 90 degrees by the next time I saw the doc. It was a slow process, but I made it. Like the doc said, we are on our way!
1 Comment »
Posted on April 10th, 2012 by joss1799
This is my first post so bear with me while I figure this whole thing out. I am new to the blogosphere as I never had anything that I was passionate enough about to share or even post on. Then I tore my left Achilles. Such a life altering event changed my opinion so here I am. Here is my story. On 3/04/12 I was playing basketball in my usual Sunday league. This was not my first venture. I usually play ball about two days a week and we had been playing Sundays now for about 6-8 months. I always arrive early to warm up and shoot around and since we had the first game, I was there 30 minutes before game time to take advantage of the open gym. By the time of tip-off, I was very warm, sweaty even, and was ready to go. 2 minutes into the game, I was defending my guy off the ball and I planted my left leg to close out and felt/heard a pop in my left ankle. I looked behind me to see who stepped on me and no one was around. Then I went to the floor. The pain was immediate but not too bad yet so I was able to hobble to my car and drive to the ER. Luckily it was my left ankle or there is no way I would have been able to drive. After sitting in the ER waiting room for an hour or so, the pain settled in, not just in my ankle, but also in my lower calf. I could no longer hobble anywhere and required a wheelchair to get into the waiting room. Then the MD came in and confirmed what I already new, the Achilles was torn. I was referred to my surgeon the following Tuesday (3/06/12) and was able to undergo surgery that Thursday (3/08/12). What I didn’t know until after the surgery was over is that I also tore my lower calf at the same time. Surgery went 40 minutes longer than it should have as the ortho needed to clean out the damaged muscle tissue. He also indicated this explained the extreme amount of pain I was in after the injury. I came across achillesblog when a friend of mine was searching on-line to see when I would be able to get back to golfing. The support is amazing so I signed up to share my story. If it helps anyone going forward, good, I am happy to share. Mostly right now it is for me to know I am not alone in the long recovery process
4 Comments »
