I have been in Hawaii since Saturday and have done loads of walking since I’ve been here. Yesterday I did over 8000 steps and overall it’s quite good. My shoe is rubbing though on my heel as my ankle is still swollen but not massively. I can walk about 75% normally bare foot but walk worse in shoes.
My question is did people find the back of the ankle gets sore to the touch? The tendon itself is not sore, it’s the outside and it could be to do with the shoes but I was wondering if anyone else had encountered the same issues when going to 2 shoes.
8 responses so far ↓
1 cpo // Aug 19, 2015 at 1:09 pm
I am in a different situation, 22 weeks post-op, so not sure how helpful my perspective can be…but will offer it anyway.
I haven’t had any tenderness at all on the achilles itself, but have had soreness on the pad of my heel (presumably because it wasn’t used at all while in a cast and boot for 12 weeks). I had that tenderness even when walking in the boot some time ago, but it is getting better each week.
Sounds like you are doing well! Good luck in your recovery!
2 Mattycee // Aug 19, 2015 at 2:14 pm
Thanks for that, it is helpful as both operative and non operative cross over and become the same healing at one point or another.
I know what you are talking about when it comes to heel pain, it really is quite uncomfortable and I can only imagine what it felt like after 12 weeks of not using it as my 4 weeks was painful enough.
I am doing quite well and worked out that I walked over 6km’s yesterday (Not all 2 shoes though as I had the boot on in the evening to give the leg a rest)
I think it is quite normal to have the ankle soreness as long as the tendon doesn’t hurt it should be ok. I was also informed by the specialist that I should expect aches in the tendon but sharp pain is the time to pull back and rest or risk re-rupture.
3 oscillot // Aug 19, 2015 at 4:13 pm
Heck yeah on back of ankle pain, especially when swollen or rubbing. Good footwear helps (I’m partial to Nike’s Kobe X Elite), and I sometimes fold a compression sock back over my ankle for extra support.
4 Megan Walsh // Aug 19, 2015 at 7:11 pm
Hi, I am almost 12 weeks post op and see my OS next week. He said to bring a shoe/runner this time around and I will have a heel lift inserted and transition to two shoes. My recovery has been really good, protocols very conservative when looking at others on this site, but I have no swelling and no pain, just some discomfort through my heel now on FWB but I guess that’s pretty normal. I am nervous about losing the boot, it’s like my security blanket, does anyone use any other kind of support or brace to start with? This website has been gold for me, thanks to everyone for their input. I live in Australia and I was wallking to my car and saw a guy in a boot on crutches. Of course I was drawn to him and he had ruptured his AT three days before. Poor bastard looked like a rabbit in the headlights. Like most of us he is really active and ruptured his AT playing soccer and can’t conceive what like will be like not being active. I told him about this website because it gives ideas, answers questions and also makes you feel like you aren’t alone.
5 Mattycee // Aug 19, 2015 at 7:22 pm
Hi Megan, I wanted to know the same thing when transitioning from a boot to shoes and to be honest the ankle guard I got to make me feel safer actually irritates my ankle and I do not wear it because of it.
I was also scared about losing the boot and now to be honest I am now finding the boot annoying, it literally takes no time to feel confident enough to feel safe without the boot. As you are 12 weeks you should be pretty fine as most of the issues are earlier than 12 weeks - Not all obviously but a large majority of them, think of it as the first trimester of the rupture! (Like pregnancy things go wrong after 12 weeks but the averages go up in your favour!)
People always cringe when I tell them I ruptured my achilles, funny thing is that it doesn’t hurt (Even when it happened it didn’t hurt, just felt numb then strange!) It really is a crazy injury and one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
6 Megan // Aug 19, 2015 at 7:33 pm
Thanks, I will just go easy to start with, it seems like gaining your confidence is a big thing. I agree, people always cringe when I say I ruptured my achilles but it didn’t hurt, it was just numb, it felt like someone had stomped really hard on the back of my heel but I did hear the pop. Afterwards I knew what had happened when my heel felt strangely disconnected to my calf. Crutches have been a nightmare, so many near misses! Anyway, thanks for your input.
7 Mattycee // Aug 20, 2015 at 6:33 am
Thanks @oscillot I missed your answer. I am glad I am not alone in this. I wasn’t that painful and the tendon was fine so I thought it was ok, just interested in what happened to others and it looks like it is quite normal.
8 Sneaker // Sep 8, 2015 at 4:56 am
Absolutely about the upper heel area irritated for touch….
It’s so annoying, since there is no pain in the tendon, scar or muscles - just that back and side of the heel.
Usually happens at the end of the day, the skin that surrounds the heel from all sides does not hurt, unless touched or rubs off the boot.
Feeling is not pain… Rather irritation - as if you got a blister.
No swelling/redness or any other visible abnormalities, though.
Leave a Comment