nmeagle0814’s AchillesBlog

As someone who has just made the transition to two shoes I’d echo David’s comments - swelling which I never had whilst in the boot has arrived. Elevation and ice do the trick though and I’m also using a compression sock when at work as not so easy to elevate and ice in the office.

Great news! I agree with Stuart that you seem to have found a very good and thorough PT. The only comment I have for you is that you might now start experiencing more swelling–from being out of the boot and more active. It’s not a setback, just part of the recovery process. So, as you’re able, still elevate–and keep that ice pack at the ready. Forewarned is forearmed! -David

That is so very exciting for you. From what you have explained I would have to agree that you have scored well getting a good PT. Instead of looking down you will have to look ahead for those things that will trip you up. You will know when you have done too much walking as you will start to limp. When you do, just shorten your stride but maintain that proper walking gate until you can get the foot up for some rest. Uneven surfaces and up hill will be the worst for a while. Excellent news.

nosport45 — what helped after I removed each wedge was to massage the tendon a little before getting into the boot less a wedge. you will feel the stretch but get used to it fairly quickly. One of the keys for me was to keep in mind that my surgeon encouraged me to walk as much as I could at each of the weight bearing stages. I hated my crutches but made it a point to make a circuit around my workplace at least once every two hours. Had to ice and elevate at the end of the day, but not being too sedentary is just as important as not trying to over achieve….this is a year long process. Good luck!

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Congrats! I’m a little over a week behind you. Looking forward to my first pt. My doc told me to use the boot for the 4 weeks during pt. Good luck!!

Must be exciting. I am at the stage of removing my first heel lift today. Very scary! So great to read your story to keep me focused on next stages. Good luck and let us know if you left with that smile or in two shoes.

Thanks very much…very helpful.

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Expect to leave in your boot, but hopefully with a big grin after trying on two shoes. The transition to two shoes may take a while. Expect to incrementally and slowly transition to two shoes over a period of days, could take a couple or few weeks time to completely ditch the boot, and if you are able to go faster than that consider yourself lucky!

Bring a shoe with you–just to be prepared. The initial PT session will be an assessment of your current status and guidance for your active recovery. Listen, and ask questions. You should leave with a clear plan for at-home exercises until your next PT session—and how, exactly, you should work on “weaning” from your boot. Good luck! -David

Take the other shoe as it may be needed during the session but not necessarily to walk home in. Your PT may give you wedges for your shoes. There will some history to record and some poking, proding and measuring, maybe some massage and then who knows. What to expect depends on many things and is difficult to say. Your Doc may have given specific instructions. First visits are usually longer and are often more about assessment and sorting out a program.

Congrats! Nice to hear. How many weeks are you at and have you started pt?

Down our way we have known about Manuka honey for a long time and its healing ability. It appears to have natural antibiotic qualities. Not sure what you mean by raw honey because all honey is raw but not all honeys have these healing attributes. Manuka honey is a single flower honey from the Manuka tree which grows in Australia and NZ. It is very expensive and it also seems people are labelling other honey as manuka and defrauding customers. This is evidenced by the amount sold worldwide being considerably larger than the yearly production. Manuka honey used for wound treatment should be factory sterilised. I would make sure what you are using is the real deal or you may be getting a raw deal.

Raw honey - used all the time for horse injuries. Great stuff.

Greg, your info sounds a lot like mine in my page on “Maybe healing short is scary after all!” In addition to the fear of midfoot collapse, my PT and I both think that my “trick” right knee is probably a side-effect of my too-short ATR op on that side. (My right quad is very tight, but my other one is even tighter!) And it has improved significantly with religious stretching.

I know I am biased, but you really should consult with a physical therapist. It will also depend on how your surgery went. Some people tear their Achilles and it is a clean cut so the repair is fairly simple. Others shred their tendon (looks almost like a mophead). The surgeon then has to trim it before suturing it back together. In those cases, it will be tighter and more fragile.

Also, a lot of patients “stretch” their ankle but do not get the ROM they are looking for. The ankle is actually made up of three joints: talocrural joint, subtalar joint, and your midfoot. You need to gain back dorsiflexion ROM and that is through the talocrural joint. However, you can cheat so to speak and gain motion by allowing your midfoot to collapse. This will only lead to other problems down the line.

If and when you are cleared to start stretching your calf using a wedge or just leaning up against the wall, the best way to ensure you are not just collapsing your foot is to keep your weight more on the outside of your foot. That way you will not let your midfoot collapse.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Ya, the ATR Timeline Widget is vital, because what’s perfect at 6 weeks would be a disaster even at 4.
Bit.ly/UWOProtocol is one well tested successful recipe, and you can see 2 other great ones in Cecilia’s summary at. ../Cecilia/Protocols. All that said, I’d err on the wimpy side if you’re non-op, and not necessarily if you’re post-op. Lots of surgeries repair the AT too short, but non-op doesn’t do that.

nmeagle0814, I recommend you add the ATR Timeline widget to your blog so readers have some immediate context of where you are in your recovery–you’ll get better comments. That being said, I didn’t start ROM exercises until week 4 (post-op) when I was out of the cast, into a boot, and had my first PT session. For the first few weeks afterwards, I was told to keep my maximum dorsiflexion “just less than neutral” while doing my ROM exercises, and keep them slow and controlled. In other words, don’t push it at an early stage. -David

How far? A fraction more than is easy - you’ll know it when you do it