14 weeks post-op
It has been 14 long weeks since surgery. I am now walking in 2 shoes, albeit slowly, but walking nonetheless. I seem to start limping when my foot swells up or if I have been on it for too long. Talking smaller steps seems to help when this happens. Tonight I also returned to the studio where I take Zumba classes. I had no intentions of participating, just there to see some friends. However, the instructor set a chair up for me and had me take her class sitting down. Of course, I didn’t get a workout like I normally would during an hour class but I did break a sweat and got a great upper body workout. The best part was feeling “normal” again. I know I have a long way to go before being able to do Zumba the way I had been prior to the ATR but I am hopeful that eventually I will be back at it even stronger than before since I always suffered after a class with terrible achilles pain. The OS had told me it would be a year from surgery before I will be able to go back to it at full force. I hope it won’t be that long. Has anybody done Zumba or something similar after recovering from an ATR?
June 27th, 2015 at 2:43 am
What you have said about limping is spot on. It happens to nearly all of us and you have worked out why and what to do. A bit of R.I.C.E. will help as well. Can’t help on the Zumba but I am sure you will be back into.
June 27th, 2015 at 8:17 am
It is good to hear that you have returned to your Zumba class. My surgery was March 25th so you are about a week ahead of me not that it makes any difference since every injury and recovery is different. I returned to my martial arts class 3 days after I was given permission to wear 2 shoes/9 weeks. I did the class sitting and was very tired and sore later. I tried too hard and did too much not realizing how out of shape I was and still am. My regular PT went on vacation and her substitute is a hard driver. I don’t really care for it but she challenges my pride which is dumb on my part. Yesterday my whole body and back ached. I am able to decend the steps on my home now with both legs using a cane but was careless yesterday and went down too quickly and pulled something in my lower leg. It is taking much longer than I expected for the strength to return. I keep forgetting to be patient. Today I will be going to a massage therapist in hopes of getting some relief to the aches and pains. We really have to be carefull and aware with each step. I don’t need a cane at home but use it when I go out. I really use it to keep people away from me as it seems that most people are distracted and could get too close or bump into me. Best wishes and good healing to you.
June 27th, 2015 at 5:48 pm
Stuart, yes, RICE has been my best friend! I sure hope to be back to where I was pre-ATR with Zumba. It is hard on the legs, knees and feet in general so I know it will be quite awhile before I am at that point. I am just extremely happy to be up and about!!
Michael, I feel the same way as you do. My lower body is extremely weak and out of shape. My hamstrings and quads cramp up quite a bit making walking difficult. And my lower back and hips constantly hurt. I have been doing leg and core exercises but it is not easy since my lower back hurts when doing them. I don’t get much of a workout doing Zumba sitting, however it gets me moving and it is a start. Good for you doing martial arts seated! Our strength will return, although it is a long, slow process. Wishing you well as you continue to recover.
June 27th, 2015 at 8:13 pm
Congrat’s on getting back to Zumba- and yes it is certainly a good start to getting back to “normal”. I am not sure how long it will take, but I am sure you will start to see progress. I started supplementing my PT with massage therapy last two weeks, and it seems to be helping. Maybe something to consider.
June 28th, 2015 at 6:23 pm
Congratulations on the Zumba! It must be nice to participate and get some feeling of normality, even if you had to do it sitting down.
June 29th, 2015 at 1:14 am
Thanks, guys. Not much of a workout doing Zumba in a chair but it sure feels good getting back to doing some of the things I did pre-ATR.
July 9th, 2015 at 11:21 am
Hey Guys,
I have been working out since I got my cast off and I even got in some workouts while I was in the cast. If the muscle is not injured you should be working it out. Work the upper body and for my legs I have been doing spinning with my boot on and it helps a lot. I recommend this for any of you that want to get back in shape within 5/6 months of the surgery.
I wanted to ask do any of you still keep your leg elevated while you sleep? One of my friends told me I should be keeping my leg elevated for the first few months but after 4 weeks I havent been keeping my leg elevated while sleeping.
age 30
athletic