sfce’s AchillesBlog

Today I am 11 weeks! I have been in 2 shoes just shy of 2 weeks. I have really taken it slow but progress is being made. I have continued to complete my physical therapy twice a week which has upgraded to:

Bike riding, 4 way stretches with elastic bands, seated assisted calf stretches, BAPS board, balancing on 1 leg (barefoot), and seated calf raises.

The first few days I could not get it to loosen up, so I broke out my Styrofoam trigger point roller and began rolling out the back of my leg and I have to tell you it was way more effective in loosening up the Achilles and helping get rid of the mass amounts of scar tissues I have.

Walking is slow but I try to make each step count as I recreate my gait in my foot. I still have the damn limp which throws off my entire body. Since I had my surgery on 14 May, I have gained 15 pounds. The past 2 weeks I have been doing alot of swimming, water aerobics and stationary biking and it has definitely helping out with my foot.

Overall it feels amazing to be walking around again. Every morning when I get out of bed it’s like starting all over. As the day goes by the more it loosens up and my stride lengthens and the limp decreases. Looking back it feels like forever ago I was clunking around in that damn boot which sits lovely in my trunk, haha. But with each day I can feel myself returning to normal and it feels great. In the broad scheme of things I have a LONG way to go, but these small victories really help the process.

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Last week during my 8 week check up my Dr said to start working my way out of the boot. I asked if I should put heel lifts in my shoe and she said no. Well I did it anyway, and there is a huge difference with the heel lift as compared to without. I will work my way into the sneakers with the heel lift for a week or 2. I don’t think it is a big deal.

She also altered my PT and added some balancing and extra stretching of the Achilles. To add to the usual I know do 30 seconds of standing on one foot, a stretch where I put one foot directly in front of the other one for a stretch, and lastly the old elastic band for the inversion/eversion and dorsi/planterflexion. My Achilles is extremely tight, I ice it 3-4 times a day to keep the swelling down. The swelling isn’t that bad but I figure since Im on the couch why not.

I ave been hitting the gym and riding the stationary bike for 25-30-35 minutes increasing with every visit. I’m trying to get my hands on an AirDyne for the house. Hopefully, around week 10/11 I am going to start rehabbing on a AlterG treadmill here in San Antonio. I met a guy who used it and he had great results. I wanted to do some hydrotherapy but couldn’t find any place to do it.

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So I have been FWB in the black CAM boot with no heel wedges walking around like a zombie. I have had my VacoCast for about a week but hadnt made the move since I have been so busy finishing up my bachelors degree. Well I decdied to go ahead and throw on the vacocast boot at 0 degrees, well I felt quite the pull in the AT area, this concerned me and really caught me off guard almost to the point I thought I did something bad. The quick shift in degrees all of a sudden gave me some ectra ROM. I did read some other experiences where scar tissues actually tears a bit and gives some better ROM in return. Turns out that my black CAM boot with no wedges didnt have me at neurtral, I thought I was at 0 degrees but to my dismay I havent been.

For the past few days I have been in the VacoCast at 0 degrees and feeling a slight pull in the AT but also feeling a pull in the Perneal area. This bothered me becuase I feel behind the curve at this point. I have really stepped up the physical activity by hitting the stationary bike for 25 minutes a morning. The result of the new gym activity is some serious heel pain and swelling but nothing to crazy. I have had some AT pain but I can never tell if its the scar or the actual AT. I do the scar massage nightly and man that is painful.

Since about week 5 I have been non-stop flexing my calf muscle all day long when in the boot. I dont know why but im obsessed and I have noticed that my calf muscles are getting stronger. Im still doing the physical therapy thing but its pretty lame and I dont really get the 1 on 1 I wish I could. I do the baps board and stretch and then ice it down. I downloaded the protocol from AlterG, which is a special treadmill where you can adjust what percentage of your bodyweight is actually put on you as you walk/run. Since there is one here in San Antonio I plan on incorporating it into my rehab since this other PT is not exciting me.

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