Well, it has been 12 weeks since that dreaded day in early July on the softball field. Things continue to progress relatively well, I suppose. I saw my orthopod last week, he says all is looking good with the healing process, range of motion and resting positions are the same with both feet, and reminded me to continue with my rehab but to be mindful that the tendon is still healing and vulnerable at this point. My physio guy has me doing double leg heel raises now, and using scales we determined that when doing a raise I am putting 35-40% weight on the injured leg at this point, which he thought was pretty good.

I continue to walk in runners pretty well, although the faster I go the more pronounced the limp becomes. Walking uphill is becoming easier, tendon definitely does not feel as tight as previously and I’m starting to get that normal “push off” feeling back in my right leg. Going upstairs is no problem and using Norms “roll over the step technique” (thanks for the comment on this) I can now go downstairs one foot at a time, albeit slowly, when there is a railing on the left. I continue to go to the gym regularly and am becoming more comfortable getting back to most of the leg exercises (presses, extensions, curls, etc.), anything that does not cause significant dorsiflexion (not doing weighted calf raises). Biking and elliptical are no problem and am back to normal speed and resistance on both…treadmill walking and stepper machine are both a little slower than pre-injury but getting better for sure.

At this point I’m fairly impressed with the recovery using the non-surgical route, hopefully good progress will continue. Summer is ending here in the Northeast, one more game of golf planned next week though! Not yet sure if I will wear the Vacocast for safety or not…hmmm. Cheers to all who are going through this…to those who have just injured themselves and found this resource, keep your spirits up…it does get better than those first days of casted-NWB hell!!!

Hello all, time for another update in Seaweed’s recovery saga, LOL.

So I followed my plan, decreasing the Vacocast 5 degrees for the last few weeks and ended neutral position at week eight. At that time I decided to move along with the suggested protocol and started walking in running shoes around the house or anywhere “safe” and only put the boot on for unsafe walking. Since I was vacationing at my parents cottage with the kids, there was lots of “unsafe opportunities” on the rocky beach and up and down the dirt roads at the cottage. Glad to have the boot for protection. I tried a heel lift in my running shoes but found it uncomfortable so I took it out, I think they already have enough of a heel lift.

Upon my return I decided it was week nine, lets see if I can swing a golf club with the boot on as there were two upcoming golf events that I was supposed to play in but had tentatively declined due to injury. I set the Vacocast to -5 to +10 setting and went to driving range. To my surprise and delight, I found I could swing with no problem and could hit almost the same distance as usual. The next day I saw my PT and told him my plan, he agreed it should be safe in the boot, so this weekend I played two rounds of golf (power cart to get around)! It felt great to be participating again! I could certainly feel it by the end of both rounds (even with a cart there is plenty of walking and mostly on slopes) but just the level of discomfort I would expect with rehab of this injury. A second tournament for Special Olympics this weekend, can’t wait!

I have also ditched the cast when going to the gym and started doing both the bike and elliptical machines in running shoes. Tentative at first, but after a week or so I am back to almost my normal speed and resistance on both machines. Also have returned to leg press, leg extension, and leg curl exercises with both legs, much easier with no cast in the way. Have not tried any calf exercises yet, sticking to PT exercises for now. My PT was quite surprised that at nine weeks I have my full range of motion on the injured ankle…I told him I thought it probably had to do with the hinged boot and early WB protocol I had been following. I also saw an orthopod (mine is in Chile for three weeks) and he said everything looked great but cautioned full recovery is six-nine months out and to be cautious.

So for now I am continuing with PT…regular gym stuff, theraband exercises with more rigid tubing, started balance board at week nine (but nothing past neutral)…I can walk easily but do have a limp, made worse the faster I walk. I can climb stairs one leg at a time but cannot go down the same way, always bring the second foot to the same stair before going down. Some heel pain if I am on my feet for a long period, but nothing bad. And some swelling around the ankle at the end of the day, but is mostly gone after sleeping all night.

I had wondered where the tendon ripped but given the bump on the back of my heel where the scar tissue is being laid down (much like others have seen) it is not hard to imagine where it must have torn. I’ll try and post some pics of my leg and me golfing in the boot later this week.

So far so good, LOL!