Kevin’s AchillesBlog

Last Thursday May 23, was my year anniversary from my ATR while playing a faculty student basketball game at work. AS some of you know I’m only about 9 months since surgery, but a year since my injury (long and boring story) make sure to check out my page on “HOW my ATR happened”.

I’m still slowly working through this COuch to 10K program and I’m up to 5 minutes intervals. Although, I think if I slowed my pace I could run a solid 5K…. Slow and steady baby. I’ve also put in more crosstraining days and rest days so I’m running a week behind, but that’s ok with me. Yesterday I manage 3.1 miles in 35.35, which is not bad for me, its close to what I was doing shortly before my injury for this distance.

ON another note, I gradually started introducing some plometric exercises, although just a few (box jumps, jump rope, etc….) Ans althouhg my ankle still reminds me what I did to it, I’m not experiencing any pain. I also feel like I’m getting ever closer to the doing a decent single-leg calf raise, but I’m still dealing with a ton of atrophy. The muscle is building back, but still looks much smaller in size than the other.

Memorial Day weekend my girlfriend and I went to a local music, and arts festival and I got to take my shoes off, dance, and hike around the farm for three days. It was a blast, but the uneven ground left my ankle stiff and sore and my shins hurting for a days or two afterwards. I guess I will consider myself fully recovered when this kind of walking/hiking doesn’t leave me as fatigue, but the improvement so far is enormous. I would be lying if I didn’t say that stiffness isn’t a (Small) issue. So anyone else out there at 9 months or so, don’t feel down if you still have some of these issues and I’ll report back after awhile.

I’m hope this doesn’t sound too cheesy……. but it probably will.

Since, I joined this site 4.5 months after my untreated ATR, and a few weeks before my surgery, I’ve been posting on (at least) a weekly basis. I hope that my blog will help anyone else who may stumble upon it suffering from the same injury (Hopefully, not as stale an ATR as mine). But if that may be the case I hope they might find useful information or support through these page (and other blog(s) on this site). A big thank you Dennis for creating this site. I still wear my Achillesblog shirt to the gy, on a regular basis, while still rehabbing my leg. A big shout out to those “big shots” around here (Norm, Ryanb, Andrew1971 and others……) who were very informative, especially during the first 4 months of my recovery. Thank you to all the others who have been supportive and also informative around here also (Darryn, Jack, BrokenBride, Alton2012UK, Hungtheviet, Lisa, Soccergotme, RupturedNurse, and many others). Also to those who I’ve been talking to recently like RRR, Kellygirl, Momto4peas, Micah, and others). And if I forgot you…… my bad, there are too many good people on this blog to name.  I wish luck and happy healing to all of you. And a big thanks from Kkirk.

As far as my recovery, my ATR leg is still weaker, sore, and generally lets me know what happened to it almost a year ago. I still can only interval run, because a soild 5K makes my knee and ankle get too sore. But my calf is starting to get more and more strength back every week. I’m in Week 3 of my Couch to 10K program, which consits of 2 sets of 90 sec walk/run, 3 minute walk/run with a warmup and cooldown. I could feel the 3 minutes of running today, but also completed 2.7 miles in 35 minutes. I hope to start trying some more difficult hikes in the near future, I just haven’t had the chance in the last month or so.

AS you all know our recoveries are slow and steady and hopefully incremental. I would like to stress to anyone reading this who is new to  the club to familiarize yourself with aggressive modern recovery protyocols like UWO. I was on a veryconservative one (6 weeks NWB and not to 2-shoes until 12 weeks) which led to an uphill atrophy battle I’m now starting to win at almost 8 months. Know that with your recovery you will get back what you put into to it also, so try to stay focused, and not be lazy with your rehab. And know that your greatest weapon is staying postive. This will be more use to you than anything else, because I believe so much of this is about perspective. Anyway, this isn’t goodbye, I’m just done psoting every week. So when I feel like updating everyone I will and I’ll still be creeping around.:)

Happy Healing

Kevin

So this last week, I picked up a new gym membership and hit it hard. The first couple of days I could still feel the stiffness and some pain in my knee, but now that is all gone. I’ve started some lifting, some cross-training (Elliptical, Row Machine, and Spin bike), and finished my first week of my Couch to 10K program. I’ve realized that if I have to take 10 days instead of seven to do all of each weeks workouts, then I might add a couple of week onto the end of the program (But I’m ok with that). This program has me running/powerwalking intervals, so I  complete around 2 miles in a 30 minute workout. I should be up to a 5K in 2 more weeks (I think). I  also participated in my first Spin class (A personal trainer I know from the gym who I go to church with and my girlfriend talked me into it) and it KICKED my BUTT! I was sore that night from all the standing and peddling (MY At still reminds me what I did to it), but I was able to keep up for about 75 minutes or so. I think these class will be great for increasing my endurance and plan on attending one a week. The rest of the week I spent my time weight training my calf, legs,  upper body, and even throwing some core exercises in there, but never more than 2 days in a row for any muscle group.

The biggest issues I’m having still relate to the atrophy I’m dealing with. MY calf muscle is getting tighter and slightly larger, but at a very slow rate. I’m still can’t do more than a wimpy single-leg calf raise and can’t hold my weight up on the toes for more than a couple of seconds (This is the same place I was 3 weeks ago). What I’m realizing now, is even if I can’t ever do a single-leg calf raise, I’m getting my strength and endurance back, which is exactly what I want. With these workout I still have to use RICE sometimes in the evenings and my NSAIDs occasionally. MY doctor still wants me to wait until the summer sometime before I start plyometrics, but I’m ok with that to (for now). That being said for those of you out there just starting, everything begins to pick up after a few weeks of FWB and remember this recovery is 6 months to a year.

Happy healing fellow ATR bloggers!