obsessivec’s Blog

Thanks for the nice note above:
“Norm of the North (ATR blogger) talks about a recent study that suggests the non surgical route is just as effective for recovery. It takes a bit longer but doesn’t cost 4k and there is no threat of infection.”

It actually DOESN’T necessarily take a bit longer! At least the rehab protocol used in that recent study (and 3 others also done in the past 3 years) are quicker than most of the rehab schedules of most of the ATR patients here, surgical or non-surgical.

You’ve been going pretty fast yourself, but it’s not clear that even that pace (or very close) wouldn’t work without surgery, if somebody worked as hard at it as you did. (I didn’t work very hard, and I skied pretty hard at about 4 months, to your 3.5 months, without surgery. And my AT never held me back, it was just the REST of my body that was whipped!)

There is a recent report from two Japanese surgeons (linked on my blog about all the studies) who use a new-fangled experimental suture technique and skip the cast AND the boot and go VERY quickly. And their patients seem to be keeping up very well, and getting remarkable results.

Hey, you corrected it! No fair, make me look bad. (Honest folks, that “heel raises” above USED to read “heal raises”! I SWEAR it!)

My fave part is the “heal raises” — even if you didn’t mean it! Great name for that exercise — unless you overdo it, too much, too soon (as I did 8 yrs ago).

I’ve always been a good speller, and never had to think about “heel” vs. “heal”, until I started blogging here. Now I stop and think each time I type either word (which is OFTEN)!

Funny about the dogs, eh? In addition to the sniffing, I noticed another effect: Some good friends who often have us over for dinner recently acquired a Great Dane “puppy” (more like a pony!) to add to their collection of (small) dogs in their big house.

When the GD was pretty new to the household, I showed up with a boot, NWB, on crutches. Talk about terrified! (the GD, not me) They have a big island in the middle of their kitchen, and the GD walked backwards almost the whole circumference of that island in order to stay as far away from me as possible! Funny moves!

The second time, I was in the boot, but FWB, no cane or crutches. The dog still avoided me a bit, but it was a much more moderate response. The last time, I was in shoes, and the GD and I are pals now!

Of course, part of this could be the dog growing up and getting used to “strange” people (like me!), but I think some of it was the big sticks and funny boots.

They take notes? I’ve hardly missed an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or House, and I can’t recall anybody in the OR scribbling on a pad. They all seemed to busy doing surgical stuff. . .

About the missing 1.25 hours. There’s a great old story (maybe apocryphal) told about Charles Steinmetz (and Edison and a few other mechanical geniuses).

The old retired genius was asked to advise on a large misbehaving piece of equipment that had baffled the plant’s engineers. He studied it, marked an “X” on a spot, and left the engineers with detailed instructions on how to proceed. They fixed the equipment following the instructions, and it worked fine.

The genius submitted a bill for $1000 for professional services rendered. The bean counters told him they’d need an itemized bill for that much money. So he sent them one: $1 for marking an “X”, $999 for knowing where to put the “X”!

I figure it took them 1.25 hours to figure out where to cut and stitch! (That and the kidney thing. . .)

Hey Norm glad we could share a smile or two. I mostly used the tin snips for the home brewed cast removal and only broke out the box cutter for the cotton material under the plaster. I would get under the cotton with the knife and cut outwards. I can’t tell you how much my mental state improved once that shackle was off. Plus, dogs don’t go out of their way as much now to sniff my foot.

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MaryK, It really makes the blogging time worth it to hear your positive words
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I have to get the surgical notes from my Ortho because my incision is low and small (2.25″) yet he told me my rupture was on the upper third of the tendon. I was in the O.R. for 1.5 hours as well but the actual sewing job only took 15 minutes. I’m not sure they did with the rest of the 1.25 hours, maybe that explains the other scar and missing kidney…

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My ortho told me his last 5 surgeries were upper tears. Guess it keeps the wine cellar full.

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Thanks for the LOLs, guy! Love your writing style!

But that DIY cast removal sounds SCARY!!

You know, the nifty tools they use to remove casts have finally bred DIY versions! They use a fine-toothed saw that micro-vibrates through such a small amplitude, that if (when) it encounters your skin, it just jiggles it, rather than cutting it. But the cast is so rigid, it can’t escape, so it gets cut. I think Dremel and others make versions of the thing now for “us”, with attachments to cut, or to scrape. Next time, promise me you’ll use one of those gizmos instead of the box cutters!!

Interesting thing about returning to PWB to make a transition with the heel lifts. My protocol calls for a return to crutches as needed when weaning off the boot. I decided I had ZERO interest in returning to crutches after I’d said goodbye to them, so I made my transition from full heel-lift to none gradual (over maybe a week), and I stuck a hinged boot into the transition from a fixed boot to 2 shoes. The crutches stayed leaning against the wall the whole time.

Good luck! I have a feeling that if your Ortho tries to give you a tongue-lashing ov

When I tore my first AT (8 y ago) I got suggestions of the two arthritis “cures” (condroitin and whatever), and also MSM. The former are supposed to help joints (which is at least vaguely relevant to us), and the latter is touted more specifically to soft tissue repairs and tendons.

I popped MSM last time. It doesn’t cost much, less than the other two. Hard to know if it helped or hurt, but that AT seems to have healed just fine. Haven’t done it this time, probably mostly because I haven’t read anybody recommending it!

I’m with you Gerryr on the anecdotal info out there on nutrition for ATR repair. It’s strange to me how little good information is out there.
I did front load my recovery with intense down time (3 weeks). No complications, just my approach to healing this beast. I was able to move around but wanted to control the swelling as much as possible in the beginning. I’m after it now though and my swelling is a non issue 24 days post op.

At one point when I was having trouble with an incision that wouldn’t close I was told to eat extra protein, but when I asked how much, the answer was not very definitive and it almost seemed like it had no basis in fact. I seriously doubt that there have been any real studies on the effect of diet on recovery from any tendon rupture. Anything you find is likely to be either anecdotal or shilling for some “snake oil” concoction.

I’m very curious though, your post indicates you were in bed for 3 weeks? Is that true? Did you have complications? I had surgery on August 3 and spent most of that week in bed but I went back to work on August 10.

Loved your post! I wish you’d been in charge of MY recovery

I don’t know about the upper lower stuff, but that surgery sounds super fast and the incision very short. Hopefully that means a speed and strong recovery! I think my surgery took at least an hour and a half (no idea about actual tourniquet time) and my incision is 5-6 inches with a slight zig zag to it (on purpose I was told).