Comments on: My first blog since suffering my ATR (football injury)

By: tcbass

tcbass — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:55:05 +0000

Kevin, hi my name is Tim. I’m 37, and we are really close in age and our injury dates are also really close. Hopefully we’ll both be back to our active lifestyle sooner rather than later. I go for my 1st checkup this Weds. and hopefully get some good news. Stay positive and keep in touch.

By: armydude618

armydude618 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 03:44:48 +0000

All that typing and I forgot to answer your first question lol. I was 28 when I ruputed my left and 30 when I ruptured my right. Unexplainable from what I know but Ryanb had a good point when he mentioned genetic pre-disposition. My doctor told me it’s not unlikely to rupture the other leg once you rupture one. Not trying to scare you but I just wanted to share that info. Congrats on being pro-active and looking into a suitable brace. Wish I had been more pro-active but I guess it took for me to rupture both before I convinced myself Im not superman haha.

By: armydude618

armydude618 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 03:38:46 +0000

Kevin,
Man you’ll be back to normal before you know it. I’ll give you a break down of my recovery timeline from my left rupture 2 years ago. My surgery was 10 days later (Oct 16th, 2009), follow up Oct 26th-stitches removed, casted for 4 weeks and then placed into a boot Nov 30th (PWB begins), FWB by the last week of December and then into 2 shoes a month later. 6 weeks later (mid-march) I was able somewhat run at slow speeds and 8 weeks later I found out I could play a full court game of basketball. By July (9 months later) I felt I was back to 90%,. I was able to run a consistent 4 miles in about 30 minutes and I was defintely back to playing flag football. So to answer your question I think you’ll defintely be back to running the fly route down the sideline. You’ll quickly see how much atrophy your calf suffers so you’ll want to focus on that slowly and carefully so your achilles doesnt burden the force of your rehab. It took me about 12 months to somewhat gain the muscle strength in my left leg to match my good right leg. I had a great physical therapist who recommended a great running progression program and lots of pool physical training. After 2 weeks of 2 shoes I started my running progression program prescribed by my physical therapist. Treadmill workout 3x/week…Week 1-Walk 5 min, jog 1min (5 sets=30 min total) Week 2- Walk 4min/Jog 2 min ( 5 sets=30 min) Week 3 (Walk 3/Jog 3 (5 sets), Week 4-Walk 2/Jog 4, Week 5 -Walk 1/Jog 5, By week 6 you should be running a continuous 30 min at a moderate pace and if you feel your achilles and calf can handle it incorporate a slight incline. If you have access to a local indoor pool I highly recommend some shallow end walking and slight jogging. The bouyancy will take off the weight and the pressure and is great for strength. This time around I have a different physical therapist but it just so happens he knows the one from before. He also has a good blueprint that comes prescribed from the Orthopedic doctors from Winn Army Community Hospital that I just got this week since I just started my rehab. It’s at my work email inbox but I’ll be happy to share it with anyone here on the forum… Being this is my second time around I knew what to expect and I wanted to try to speed up the recovery if possible but in a safe manner. I take GNC mega man sport daily vitamins 2x/daily and I also bought the Musclepharm Glutamine and I take 3 scoops daily with a low-cal drink. Look into it and try it out.

By: rome24kr

rome24kr — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:55:45 +0000

@armydude618- Thank you soooo much for commenting on my blog! I believe you’re the only other person in the AchillesBlog.com community that has suffered an ATR while playing flag football. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your age? I’m like WOW that your ruptured your left Achilles 2 years previous to this injury. How’s your left Achilles doing post surgery now some 2 years later, b/c I know you’re still active playing flag ftbl. How long did it take for your to come back from your left Achilles injury to get back playing in games? My season concludes this Sunday, and my team is still alive. Our record is 9-3 and we must win 3 games on Sunday to claim our league title. It’s pretty sad, b/c I was having by far my best season of my career (I’ve played in the Shawnee, OK league for 7 years). My league will start back up the third Sunday in September of 2012. Do you think I’ll be back, it’ll be 10 months.

Thanks!!!

By: armydude618

armydude618 — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:28:15 +0000

Kevin,
Welcome to the club! Like Ryan said you’ll find plenty of help and support from this forum. This is my second go round with thin injury and the friends that I have made here have made an everlasting impression. In the best whole hearted way of saying this it’s nice to see someone else besides me who ruptured their achilles playing flag football. I ruptured my left Oct 8, 2009 and then did my right Oct 3, 2011. Almost identical plays…playing quarterback, saw the rush coming from the both sides and went to take off thru the middle and as soon as I pushed off…Pop! I’m glad you mentioned the Achimed brace because I never have heard of it before and like you I would like to continue my active lifestyle as much as possible. The two braces I was comparing against each other were the Bauerfeind and other was the RxOrtho. Goodluck in your recovery and if you got any questions or looking for an opinion on something just holler..

By: Duke

Duke — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:23:03 +0000

Sorry, bumped my iPad and my message was sent…

Operative or nonoperative) at risk. Your phase now is patience, rest, elevation, tv, and Netflix. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

By: Duke

Duke — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:18:59 +0000

Kevin- I have been in two shoes since Saturday afternoon. My surgeon’s protocol is similar to this one
http://www.mcworthopaedics.com/pdf/mark-richards-achilles-tendon-protocol.pdf

One difference is that my surgeon had me transition from the boot to a shoe with a 3/8th inch lift. As you read on this blog you will see a variety timelines. I am glad to be in shoes, but reading some of the studies on rehab protocols earlier is not necessarily better (but it does not look worse). No matter what protocol is followed we all need to balance between pushing and putting the repair(operative or nonoperative

By: rome24kr

rome24kr — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:55:59 +0000

@Gabe- That’s crazy how your ATR & mine fell on the same day. You’re correct, we’ll get to the light at the end of the tunnel in good time. I’m sure you saw my projected dates of boot, shoes, etc. Does your time table vary from mine? Also, how were you injured? Totally agree on this site, it’s been instrumental w/not only the physical healing process but equally the psychological side of it as well.

@Duke- the support here at AchillesBlog.com has been phenomimal. I read where you said your ATR was suffered in September, how far along are you (boot, 2 shoes)? I’m basically one week removed from surgery, and I’m already looking further down to December 30 (projected day for boot). Only seven days in and these crutches suck!

We all must stay positive, encourage one another, follow doc’s orders, and work hard during therapy Thank you both for commenting on my blog & a speedy recovery to you both!

Happy Turkey Day to you boys too!

By: duke

duke — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:24:40 +0000

Kevin, it stinks that you are in this club, but you have found a good place to find support. I am not that much ahead of you (suffered my tear in late September), but I am confident you (and I) will get better. The biggest challenge I have had is the patience to deal with the pace of recovery. I think I looked at my doctor’s ‘blueprint’ for rehab on a daily basis for the first 4 weeks (even though little was happening day to day). This is a fairly slow process, not a race to hit ‘milestones’ and realizing this has helped me as well. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery.

By: gabe

gabe — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:01:25 +0000

Hi Kevin, I also had my ATR on 11/13/11. I am still puzzled about all the options and decisions moving forward. At this point although it seems hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’m confident we will get there. This site and all the support and sharing help me feel that way. Best of luck on your recovery and Happy Thanksgiving to you and all others on the path to ATR recovery,
Gabe