Posted on January 16th, 2017 by smittyinpa
I’m about 16 weeks post surgery at this point and have been cleared to begin more vigorous PT and strengthening exercises. I have a lace-up ankle brace that I’m wearing with two shoes and I’ve been weaning myself off the brace slowly and spend about 3-4 hours each day without it. I still need it to walk long distances at work but my strength is returning slowly and i should be ditching it in a week or two. Even tough I’m doing moderate stationary cycling and some heel raises and body-weight squats, I would not dare attempt any running or jumping. Slow and steady!
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Posted on December 17th, 2016 by smittyinpa
Well, I went from PWB to FWB in my boot over the past month. I’m ready to lose the boot but don’t see my doctor until 12/29. Therapy is going well but my therapist wont clear me to walk without the boot until I see my surgeon. He feels I am being managed conservatively compared to the usual protocol. I did have a bad tear so that may be a factor. I have one heel lift in the boot and think I will remove it in a day or two. I can always put it back in if needed. Can’t believe its been 12 weeks since my injury already!
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Posted on November 16th, 2016 by smittyinpa
My injury occurred on 9/23/2016 and a few days later I found AchillesBlog.com. I normally don’t participate in online forums (except my Jeep forum) but found AchillesBlog and the posts from other people so helpful I’m sharing my recovery so maybe it will help someone else.
My stats: 46yrold male; left Achilles rupture - playing basketball; surgery with graft 4 days post injury; yesterday was 8 weeks post surgery
Course of treatment and Progress: Splint for a week, and then a series of three casts with different foot angle for 7 weeks, then a boot. My cast was removed at week 6 due to a minor wound infection. While my cast did not itch too much, I broke out in hives and had itching all over my body. When the cast was removed it revealed a dermatitis that was becoming cellulitis. A course of antibiotics cleared it right up and I was cleared yesterday to begin PWB with boot and one crutch for a week, then begin physical therapy the following week for 2-3x’s a week. I have two heel lifts in my boot and doc said to remove one in a week. I’ve been doing range of motion exercise on my own for about a week. Previously I’ve been "walking" with an i-walk 2.0 and cant recommend it enough , it made the NWB period bearable. I’m able to drive as its my left foot, and I returned to work a few weeks ago.
Goals: Researching this injury made me understand this is a very long healing process. So I’m setting incremental goals. I’m going on a Caribbean vacation in about 60 days and want to be able to walk somewhat normally. I would really like to walk on the sandy beaches but I’ll see how my recovery goes as I heard walking on sand is tough initially.
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