I have an appointment tomorrow with the physio and will check with her then but I have always been able to get accurate and timely answers from people here who have gone through it themselves.
My rupture point has always had a lump on it and I asked about that at the time and was advised it was normal and probably scar tissue or similar.
I have started full weight bearing this week and am also not wearing my boot when I am at home for the last 3 days and I have also slept without the boot for the first time last night.
I feel no pain when walking (Some tightness in the ankle) but I noticed that the lump on the rupture point seems larger than it was.
Even though I am in no pain when walking I do get the odd twinge when I am stationary funnily enough and was wondering if that is normal.
I actually feel better now when I am bootless as the boot seems to irritate my leg more than it used to.
What were some of the issues and challenges others went through when they started using the injured leg without the boot?
6 responses so far ↓
1 cpo // Aug 9, 2015 at 12:47 pm
This is consistent with my experience (I am closing in on 21 weeks, post-op). I have a huge lump of scar tissue, but my OS says that it’s likely helping me as it’s giving more strength to the tendon while it’s still forming type 3 collagen (type 1 is what forms first, apparently, and the type 3 collagen takes quite some time).
Good luck with your recovery! I’ve seemed to turn a corner in the last few weeks and I sometimes even forget about the injury (but only for a few steps!). It does get better.
2 BobFV // Aug 9, 2015 at 11:41 pm
Matt my main issue is with balance. I have gotten my strength and ROM back pretty well, but balance exercises in PT are really bedeviling me. I am doing one leg stands and stability pad work day to day, and the old “foot to toe” sobriety test to enhance my balance. Lucky to have no appreciable scar tissue, I attribute that to daily massages. My wife came to PT with me at week 3 and the therapist showed her how to do scar tissue mobilization massage and she has been doing it on me every day for months now, just for 10 minutes.
3 donna // Aug 10, 2015 at 4:26 am
Yes I had a lump at the top of the repair site and a smaller one at the bottom. It got larger with more movement and decreased over time.
I’d recommend massage as others have for the scar tissue. I started gentle massage via my PT at 6 weeks right up until now in which I get vigorous treatments at 9 month. OS/PT say it can’t be avoided and some of it is genetic, some people will get more, some less.
Massage doesn’t eliminate all scar tissue but it does keep it under control and seems a very standard treatment in the US.
I did develop a bump at the top part of the repair site that has changed over time…like yours mine did get larger when I went into two shoes at 8 weeks and at 12 was very noticeable.
Around 7 months it had turned into an adhesion despite all the treatment to keep the scar tissue down…adhesion’s form when the tendon sheath is stuck via scar tissue and the tendon can’t slide freely during movement.
The lump itself is very small now and the adhesion is only noticeable if I plantarflex, when I do you can see my skin bunch up where the lump used to be at the top of the repair site.
I had lots of Zips, Zaps, and Zings right up until 6 even 7 months while sitting, seemingly coming out of nowhere…however, when I looked more closely they were days where I was real active or did some new movement. OS/PT said all part of nerves healing.
I no longer have Zips, Zaps, or Zings.
We hope the the adhesion will release on it’s own as the tendon continues to remodel itself, however, if it’ doesn’t by 12 months my OS will do a procedure to release it. He inserts a needle between the sheath and scar tissue using ultra sound and pushed a fluid in there to get it to “pop”. I’m not really worried about it.
I never once slept with the boot I got at 3 weeks and suffered no ill effects.
When I started walking without the boot I found other muscles would compensate for the lack of calf muscle and ROM and that caused discomfort. The peroneals tendons for example became inflamed.
At 9 months I’d say I am 90% in terms of daily living. I am starting to go sort periods during the day when I am not aware of it, though most often I’m very aware it’s still not “right”.
4 Mattycee // Aug 10, 2015 at 8:12 am
The above answers are why I love this site, people who have gone through it themselves can give a first-hand account of their experiences and can often put my mind at ease before I have had a chance to see my physio or surgeon.
@cpo Thanks for the info, I am glad that it sounds all very normal and I am going to be less paranoid as the achilles is perhaps not as ready to pop as I think it is!
@BobFV I have actually improved my balance in the few days I have been doing exercises I was given last week. It is still not perfect and yesterday whilst in the pool I actually hopped on my bad leg to adjust my balance, I did it out of habit and did not mean to do it, but it was ok and didn’t actually strain by tendon due to the water taking the brunt of it. I have to do 4×20 seconds of standing only on my bad leg and for half of the 80 seconds I am quite steady, the other half I wobble quite a bit but overall I am happy with where I am at the moment.
@donna Thanks for the info, it totally mirrors what I am feeling and shows that as long as I am sensible, these aches are ok and to expect them.
My pool exercises are 5 minutes of walking in waist high water, 2 x 10 reps of heel lifts (1 legged when I can do them, but I’m not able at present) and 4 x 20 seconds on balancing on my bad leg. I did this yesterday but then walked after I did it all, for another 15 minutes or so, while my 3 year old daughter had her swimming lesson so that could explain why I was aching!
My other ligaments and tendons in my ankle are still not happy with the extra work load after their holiday but the most annoying part is my calf muscle, despite all the wastage, has a really tight painful muscle that gives me grief. It can be massaged out for some relief and it also loosens up the tightness at the back of the ankle for a short time, but after a couple of hours it is back annoying me. It’s not super painful, just irritating but I guess this will work it’s way out as I build my calf muscles up.
5 oscillot // Aug 12, 2015 at 5:14 pm
@Donna - Your zips / zaps / zings description made me laugh.
@Mattycee - Do you by any chance notice a correlation between your twinges and breathing? The few aches I’ve had occurred and quickly passed when yawning or sighing, which makes me think mine have something to do with blood and/or oxygen going to the area.
6 Mattycee // Aug 12, 2015 at 5:22 pm
@oscillot To be honest I’m not sure, it could have been but I wasn’t taking notice of my breathing at the time. I’ll check it out if I get more aches as they seem to have tapered off somewhat as I am more used to the activity I am doing currently.
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