This week was the first time my tendon and calf sustained a lot of physical-impact activity.

My SUV got stuck while mudding off-road and I spent about 3 hours of digging and paving under the wheels - to get it out of the mud.
It involved a lot of squatting; walking on slippery & uneven terrain - with all sorts of balancing & stress angles of the ankle/tendon.
I didn’t slip bad or made any unnatural movements - but the day after - my tendon and mostly the surrounding muscles ached much more than usual.

The good news are that I was surprised how well it braved all the physical impacts, without any apparent damage or setback to my recovery.
The bad news are that I strained and exercised my leg the most - in the last 3 months (much more than during PT).
I also had 3 very short episodes (3-4 seconds) of tingling pain in the ankle area (NOT in the Achilles tendon itself) in the days after.

As a result - I don’t trust my tendon now (which I think its mostly physiological).
I keep thinking that it might give up at any point now, even though there is no pain or elevated swelling, my gait & speed are almost normal and my tendon strength is tons better.

My PT said that my distrust in the injured leg will be very high when I resume b-ball and running activities in 2 months.
He says that I will be scared to jump with the leg or stress it - for a long time.
I will have to re-build my trust, which may take up to a year…

The Good:

• Gait is almost normal
• Internal stitches knot got a lot smaller
• Pace is almost as fast as pre-injury

The Bad:

• Some tingling pain, very few times
• Overall discomfort and distrust of the tendon

On Sunday I will enter my 3rd week at work in 2 shoes.
It’s been a good week - progress wise, as I am able to go faster and faster, loosing the limp as I go.

This week I tried to wear all the kinds of shoes that I have - tall ones, 3/4, 1/2, flat sneakers and even flip-flops.

I didn’t feel discomfort while wearing any of them.

The ankle still swells up moderately - but I got so used to it, that I barely notice it.
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Next Wednesday will mark my 3 months since surgery, and I will finally post my scar pictures, in comparison to Kobe’s at 3 months.

I am also trying to tip-toe at least once a day, and already can put full weight on my bad leg, if just for a couple of seconds, before I cheat with my good leg.

The Good:

• Gait is getting better
• Pace is getting better

The Bad:

• Tip-toeing is not comfortable
• Calf muscle is still a wimp
• Walking about 3/4 speed of my pre-injury pace

As expected - this week’s follow-up was indeed my last - and I was fully cleared by the OS to get back into 2 shoes everywhere and pickup the “bad” leg strengthening pace.
He noted that I could have been back into 2 shoes a bit earlier (around week 9) - but holidays prevented a visit to see him.

The tendon itself is fully healed according to him, but the calf and all surrounding ligaments and muscles are not strong enough due to atrophy.

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I am to start a more aggressive PT schedule in two weeks (3 months post op) and gradually increase the conditioning of the bad leg.
Basketball will be allowed to get back into - slowly, around 5 months mark (Yay!)

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Despite the good news - if I were to rate my recovery progress, I would say I am about 60% good to go.

The limp is still there, very visible - while walking (its my 4th day without the boot).
I feel the muscles around the tendon pull with each step and its not very comfortable to go faster, due to this.
I am also uncomfortable to go down on stairs (up is no problem at all).

I hope my gait will get better, fast.

The Good:

• 2 Shoes
• Much more eccentric movement and knee bending
• The lump above the tendon decreased in size

The Bad:

• Lower leg muscles (not calf) - feel resistant to flawless movement
• Gait is visibly bad
• Walking about half speed of my pre-injury pace

It has been a very unfruitful week, probably the less productive I ever had since ATR - recovery wise.

I actually feel that at this point (9th week in the walking boot) - wearing the boot most of the day actually impedes my progress, instead of helping me recover.
I realize that it fills a protective role now, much more than a recovery one - but the trade off seems to be bad.

I work for 10 hours a day, with a 2 hours of  driving, which totals the time of being in the boot to ~12 hours.
I don’t really walk that lot in the few hours I am at home after work, and sure not walking while asleep.
So almost all of my walking is at work, in the boot.

I am not able to utilize the calf muscles or do much eccentric movement in the boot, so there is just no rebuilding progress of the calf.
I do believe and feel that my tendon and surrounding ankle ligaments is recovered enough, I have full ROM for about 3 weeks and I am already working on strength much more than balance during PT.

I always feel great after PT and working on stretching my AT and calf - walking and moving is super easy.
Contrary to that - after wearing the boot for a whole day - I am uncomfortable to walk without it, my calf feels weak and unused and my lump above the tendon swells up.
I also limp bad - compared to almost no limping after PT or after sleeping.

But the surgeon said to keep the boot on until 3rd post-op inspection (which is due next week) - so PT and I don’t want to deviate from his instructions.
I want to do some exercise after a full workday - but I am too tired and my AT and calf are too uncomfortable to work on - in the evening.

The Good:

• No accidents/slips
• After sleeping - its actually easier to walk

The Bad:

• No progress at all - calf did not get stronger, walking did not get better
• Boot feels limiting, uncomfortable and counterproductive to the recovery progress
• Had 1 day of shooting pain in the bottom middle of the heel while putting weight on it - went completely away the day after (probably nerves waking up)
• The lump above the tendon (near the connection to the calf) gets big after a whole day in the boot