Mar 20 2012
IV: 12 Weeks…finally
Had 12 week follow up with surgeon & the prescription was: "No restrictions, but take it slowly". My goal for 12 weeks was to be walking normally - I am not. Still a bit gimpy and a lot of the time the pain at the base of the inside ankle bone. Surgeon gave me a lateral shim for my shoe for this - PT felt that the pain was from my tib/fib not "gliding" forward over my ankle bone, but rather "pinching" down into it - still being restricted by tightness of Achilles and other bits in there. All in all I am finding that at this stage the main difficulty (besides building calf strength) is getting the entire foot system back to smooth function.
As I re-read that paragraph it sounds a bit gloomy - not the case… things are good. I’ve been riding my bike around 6 miles (with 1200′ vert), building igloos, carving ice (work), playing guitar with my mates (standing up!), and moving/feeling better each week. Progress is moving forward, and I don’t plan on getting down unless it halts. Still doing PT every day and still icing at least 1-2 x’s a day… still can’t fathom doing a 
one-foot calf raise, but getting more pressure on it with the two feet and trying out the one-foot lowering too. Here’s a shot of the igloo:
So - with doc’s orders, I am going to ease into some things using the same decision making process that I’ve been using since day one: "does it feel like a good & safe idea?" If so, then I’ll try it out. I think the first assay into activity for me is going to be XC skiing (on flat-ish terrain), there’s still some snow around here and that sounds just fine… we’ll see.
I think you’ll find that downhill skiing (alpine, not telemark) is even easier than cross-country. Once buckled down, an alpine ski boot is almost like going back into a big black orthopedic boot; they provide phenomenal support for the Achilles area. I’d worry more about the instability on an XC setup; but that might just be because I’m not very good on them
I will say that getting the Alpine ski boot onto my foot was a bit of a challenge at first.
FWIW, I started skiing right at 11 weeks; using a back-country setup (w/ skins) to climb. I was skiing a few weeks before our local resorts opened. For descending, its essentially just an alpine rig.
Looks like Vail is open until Apr 15
Thanks Ryan… I actually have not alpine skied in many years & don’t even have gear anymore. I snowboard mostly when downhilling, but pressures I’d need to exert on the achilles to execute a toe-side turn seems a bit sketchy right now. I have a light-weight backcountry touring set up, but I’m thinking that the relative controlled environment of XC track might be safest out first…
Yep Vail’s open til Apr 15… that is if all the snow doesn’t melt!
Cheers,
Agreed. Some have gone earlier, but I didn’t snowboard until quite recently (around 6 months) for exactly the reason you describe: loading the Achilles on a toe-side turn. It’s definitely a lot more stressful than skiing.
Great looking igloo! A lot to be said for being extremely active and busy, as you are, even if all the goals intended for week 12 haven’t solidified yet.
The foot and ankle are just a bunch of bones in space, wired up with connective tissue and scant amounts of muscle. So easy for one part going wrong to affect another. I feel your pain there — it’s the entire system that’s got to back working properly and talking to each other, so to speak.
That said, the bike rides w/ hills sound like a fantasic workout and more importantly, time outdoors. So I’d think you’d have to be happy with that.
All best.