11 Weeks / 2 Shoes / Yahtzee!
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.
on August 1st, 2013 at 12:35 am
Sounds like you are making great progress. FWIW, the tightness does dissipate–these days I can pretty much roll out of bed and get moving. I’m enjoying hitting the snooze button since I don’t need the extra 10 to warm up my ankle.
PT said to use a foam roller for my tendon–I kind of blew it off but now I’m thinking I should give it a try. Seems kind of awkward to roll on my achilles but I guess it’s worth a try. Thanks for mentioning it.
I’m assuming from your pics that you are a guy. If you are anything like my husband, you will lose those 15 in the next 3 days. No sympathy from me
I’ve been trying to lose the extra 10 for the last (let me see, my youngest daughter is 12) 12 years! Good luck. Glad to hear about your progress.
on August 1st, 2013 at 11:30 am
I, too, love my foam roller. The first few times the pain was quite intense as my scar tissue was in a clump but soon it was tolerable and now it’s almost pleasurable. My PT said it has really helped and that my tendon is flattened which, according to her is good. I, too have gained weight but am afraid to stand on the scale to find out exactly what the damage has been. My physio said I should hit the pool and just walk back and forth, sideways , backwards etc. so am going today. Hopefully soon I will be able to swim and get some serious exercising done. You seem to be making great progress. The PT had me place my hands on my hips when I’m walking so that I can ‘catch’ my hip dropping and correct. It does seem to help. She also has me doing glute exercises as she says critical for a normal walk and need to be strengthened after their inactivity. Happy healing!
on August 1st, 2013 at 11:37 am
@loumar: the hands on hips is brilliant. I will give that a try.
on August 6th, 2013 at 12:48 am
Congrats to you on your progress! Keep us updated.