You were doing what at your age?
That is the question that I get a lot when someone asks me what happened. I am only 19 years old mentally. Physically, I am 49 years old. I have been distance running, 3 to 26.2 miles, for the last 6 years. I was a taekwondo instructor for 5 years prior to that. I did yoga and interval training. I have done local OC races, 4 Tough Mudders, 2 Spartan Beast races and a Wipe Out run. Plus countless 5k, 10k, and 13.1 milers. So when a running club friend of mine said that he was short some team members for a charity kickball tournament, I didn’t hesitate to play. It is kickball! What could go wrong in kickball? Apparently tearing 50% of my AT from the bone and it shredding up to the muscle can go wrong in kickball. So the general thought process about kickball seems to be that it is a children’s recess game and no one my age should be playing it. Hence, the same question every time I tell someone.
I have since discovered, because I have that kind of time right now, that ATR is way more common than I had ever thought. I also now know that very mundane movements can be the initiator. AchillesBlog has given me so much information about ATR and recovery. I was a little depressed about my slow recovery, but I really didn’t have any perspective for my progress. I now see that my OS has me on a fairly aggressive tract. I haven’t started PT yet so I don’t know if things will speed up then or slow down some. I already have decent ROM in my ankle since getting out of my cast 3 days ago.
