Healing long

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement

So i saw my OS on Thurs and it is once again confirmed there is NOTHING wrong with my tendon except it is healing long. No PTT dysfunction or any other complications. Just healing long and as such i’d have to work harder to get it working and just persevere and not give up. The worst case scenario is get another op to shorten it which my OS doesn’t think its necessary or appropriate to do it now.

I now combine once a week session with my physio who then works with my conditioning coach/personal trainer (who specialises in injury rehabilitation on top of his personal training credentials) to work on building strength on my lower body (and other parts as well) but mainly focusing on my gluteus, back, gait, calf strength etc as every part helps in one way or another without damaging /causing more injury. i will probably back down on my PT to twice a month instead of weekly and continue to see my Personal trainer twice a week and every session i feel my body is getting stronger which helps overall i guess

so any suggestions on what other stuff you guys do when you know you are healing long ? Eg as Richard mentioned not to stretch it and let it be a little tight, anything else?

at least i know nothings wrong except my tendon is healing longer than most normal people…. so just have to be realistic i guess in terms of maybe it will just take me a year to get me to raising my heel at some point. :(

6 Responses to “Healing long”

  1. I have a “glass half full” observation: You chose the surgical route, against the advice of at least the first of the several professionals you saw. As you probably know, I think the CLINICAL case for ATR surgery has essentially vanished, with the new studies of fast non-op treatments. But if you’d chosen non-op and had your present frustrating clinical results, you’d probably be beating yourself up for not having chosen the surgery. So psychologically or spiritually, your choice has probably worked in your favor, letting you look ahead without the second-guessing you’d probably have from the other choice.

    Meanwhile, I wouldn’t obsess on getting a World Class 1-leg heel raise, as your goal. Based on my personal experience, that exercise is way overrated as a measure of important strength, for activities of daily living and for a whole bunch of aggressive high-performance sports activities (like competitive court and beach volleyball floor defense and spiking and blocking at the net). I’d recommend setting proximate goals: If you can walk normally now with a short slow stride, try developing your strength enough to double that stride length and speed. Etc., etc. And don’t go nuts pushing your leg either, or you may abuse other leg parts (tendons, muscles, ligaments…).

  2. Thanks norm
    Yeah I think from now I will just focus on building strength but its do hard not to focus on heel raise as I don’t want to walk with a slight limp (its not very obvious now)I just wan t my life back
    My quality of life isn’t back to where it used to be
    I just want to be normal (not asking to be able to jump or do sports but just simple walking and going out without my trainers on)
    If anyone has any advice on heeeling long let me know!

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  3. I’ve listed recently a bunch of at&calf strength tests. Good 1-leg heel raises are the toughest common test, and walking fast normally with a good push off is WAY easier, maybe close to a 50-50 balanced 2-leg raise. Even the Silly Walk, up on your toes after each step, is easier than the 1lhr!
    It sounds like you’re in good hands, so I hope the strength returns, at least enough to make you happy. I believe the only other alternative is a surgical do-over if you’re unhappy.

  4. Thanks!
    I am so happy today - worked with my physio on muscular simulator called compex and I don’t have to see her until 2-4 weeks times as I can work on the compex machine on my own free time and to be honest i can feel the difference straight away! Also my walking isn’t perfect but I can feel improvements like not limping as much (not saying it’s magic!) but just a combination of my efforts past four weeks and then my conditioning training!
    Anyway now that I have lesser pressure to do a heel raise but have smaller milestones and goals I think it helps me psychologically to be honest.
    I wish someone told me I was healing long in the early stages but hey I got there somehow!

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  5. :-)
    There’s no science proving what causes healing long, though the logic seems simple and obvious enough - I.e., the AT somehow got stretched too long.
    In my ATR#2 rehab, I became a stretching wimp as soon as my DF ROM seemed to be heading toward normal - or even = my other ankle, which is a bit DF-ROM-shy because my ATR#1 OS repaired it short on purpose. And I often preach that wimpiness hereabouts, based on the frequency of healing long.

    But most of us also landed on the wrong foot once or more while crutch-walking, so it’s impossible to know for sure what caused what.

  6. Hi there,

    So I have not confirmed it with my OS, but I have come to believe that I also have “healed long”, based on the facts that: 1) I still walk with a slight limp at 6 months; 2) I cannot do a one leg heel raise (or even start to); and 3) I have greater dorsiflexion on my operative side than my nonoperative side.

    I was not involved in sports prior to my injury, and I don’t really intend to take up basketball or whatever at a time like this. Like you, I just want to walk normally and be able to participate in normal activities. I think I mostly am. This problem would not be worth another surgery to me personally, unless it got worse than it currently is. My initial repair was weird, as I have said in other discussions. My tendon was degenerative and 40% avulsed from the bone, split up the middle, and 60% ruptured higher up. With an injury like that, I’m not sure I can expect perfection.

    Good luck to you, and hang in there.

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