Frustrated
16 weeks post op and have not had much luck with my heel raises. I know that i have written about this before but have really been feeling down. It is mostly due to my physio nagging about how important it is that i should have been able to do this by now. I have even told her that she should check this site and see the responses i have received. My tendon seems to still need much strengthening, i am doing half and as far as i can go squats, calf stretches, sitting heel raises and using the resistance band. I am walking up and down stairs where i can. I am not sure what else this lady wants me to do, i am just grateful i am no longer using crutches or wheelchair. Not to mention that the work/rehab leaves one very tired and my mood/energy levels wont always be the same. Anyway, i just hope she gets off my case pretty soon. Its like me being able to heel raise at a certain time will secure her job or something..
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Everything will come together in good time - sounds like your physio is good because they keep pushing, but also bad because from what you have written, the bedside mannor needs work.
Exercise that worked best for me was doing a full lift on both legs and (using the kitchen worktop for some support) then removing the non-atr leg and trying to control the natural lowering of the ATR heel, repeated this for as many time as I was able to twice a day.
NOTE: I am not sure if I was doing that at 16weeks though, might of been later….but I was a little behind in progressive rehab.
Keep doing what you can and never give up trying, sooner or later it will come - I am at 40weeks now, healed a little long and stuggle to do a full single legged lift even now - I think I was at 20wks and could only do half a lift, people recover in different ways and at different times, just keep calm and carry on
Happy healing
Lynne-
PT’s have all sorts of different approaches- some are like a drill seargent. Others are like a spa. Different approaches work for different people; my guess is that your PT is just trying to push/encourage you… but may be having the opposite effect. Perhaps you need to find a PT more compatible with your approach.
Regardless, my advice is to stay focused on the things you CAN do, the improvements that you make. Can you do an eccentric, controlled heel drop? Can you lift up with two feet, and then hold it on one foot? How about light weight calf presses on a leg press machine? Are you making progress there? The heel raise is essentially the finish line. If you worry only about the end, it’s easy to lose sight of the progress along the way. There are lots of accomplishments you should be aiming for and checking of along the way- which gives you some positive feedback and a way to gauge your progress (or lack thereof, if that’s the case).
One other thing: you wrote:
> My tendon seems to still need much strengthening
At 16+ weeks, your should be close to healed. Your inability to do a heel raise is not due to the tendon; it’s due to a weak, atrophied calf muscle. It has to physically regain the strength, and you have to re-learn how to control and activate it. Don’t do anything dumb of course, but with careful controlled movements, you should good confidence that your wimpy calf won’t have the strength to re-injure the now healed tendon. Confidence IS often a big part of it (heel drops and isometrics are good for that).
Personally I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m at 21 weeks (today) and still not near doing a one-leg heel raise. I work a lot with the weighted leg press machine and double heel raises. I just started doing controlled heel drops, which I can’t do very well, but I just started this a few days ago. Take it slow, stay focus on the little gains, and Ryan is right, maybe a new PT would do you good.
If the patient/ therapist relationship is frustrating you, I would consider find a PT that fits your needs better. YOu should be asking yourself, what do I want from my recovery? Where do I want to improve? What kind of functionality do I want/need? I hope you find these answer and continue well with your recovery.
What those folks said. Also, if you want to monitor your progress with calf strength, just pushing down on a bathroom scale is one easy way, unless you’re already too strong. I.e., if you put the ball of your foot on the scale, and push as hard as you can, you can read your strength off the scale — UNLESS you can lift your body weight, in which case you’ll just read that. Then the solution is to add some weights in your arm (or a backpack), or hold yourself down by grabbing a counter etc., and read your max force.
Another nice trick if you have easy access to deep water like a pool, is to see how shallow you can go and still do perfect 1-leg heel raises. And it’s useful and fun for exercise to, to do multiple heel raises in the water, maybe siding toward the shallow end as you maybe continue to get stronger.
That “damned heel raise” is the “standard standard” for calf strength, so it’s logical that PTs and the crowd here should fixate on it. I used to myself, until I realized how good life can be — including competitive athletic life — without it. (My fingers are smirking as I’m entering “competitive athletic”, because my whole 4-on-4 “competitive” beach-volleyball team STANK last night, DEFINITELY including ME! It happens. . .
)
im on my 12th week post op and still not able to walk properly..went to the pool today and that felt great…while in the water i was able to do one leg heel rises!!! actually while in the water you feel like you are not injured..until you get out of it..;-)…so go to a pool and work on your heel rises!!!
Thanks very much, i have been doing that as much as i can..
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Thanks very much for this..i am not even sure what an eccentric heel drop is..lol. I will research it now. I am in South Africa so not sure what it is called here. Maybe im just being silly. I will keep trying and keep posting..
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Thanks,
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Yes, i want to have a long, hard think about all of this. Her attitude about the heel raises seems to indicate that she has a “personal” goal on me being able to do this..
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Thanks Norm, much appreciated..take care
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Will do as soon as i can..
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Hello Lynne,
I logged in after not visiting the site for a year… when one gets there it is a sure good sign! I ruptured mine 4 years ago.
Looking at your story I can tell you I had lots of pain in my hip - that has been sensitive before when I worked out too hard - and I suspect all the limping and trying hard to walk but not being able to walk normally etc is causing it. As I got better it disappeared.
As for the difficulty with the heel raises maybe it is your weight that makes it harder than average: you mentioned you were over weight so it is more work for your muscles - and they are weakened.
I would recommend the pool exercising: (I had a long recovery as I re-ruptured mine so I was very weak) even if you can not swim trying to walk and do heel raises in the pool first (you are lighter - so it is more gradual) would be more enjoyable and eventually you can even try to hop in the water. I found that very helpful. Maybe you will be able to try some “aquafit” classes - those were the first things I could do during my recovery.
This injury takes very long to recover from, it is depressing, but do not give up. It will happen if you keep at it. You do have to exercise your muscles so they get strong again.
Thanks very much, i have not been on for a few weeks as i have been feeling very depressed about all of this. I am trying to find a cost effective way to heal properly, my physio funds are nearly run out so i have to think of alternative options..thanks for your thoughts. I need to try and get more motivated as i find exercise so hard as well.. I am managing heel raises a bit better as well as balancing on both legs. I am 20weeks and doing calf stretches and a bit of squats. My hip pain subsided around the time i started walking down the stairs properly, you see i was walking down one step at a time without bending ATR leg when walking down. I do also find that i still limp from time to time, especially when walking for long periods of time, in a mall or in the park.
I am very motivated by your positive attitude and never giving up… thanks
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