One Year Milestone!

Posted on March 11th, 2015 by sporti

Wow, here it is!  I cannot believe the day has come, yet as with most other milestones in this recovery, it is simply incremental!  Nothing magical about any one day - specific event or accomplishment, absolutely - but no magic days to mark ahead on a calendar.  Not much has changed since my last post where I listed many other physical milestones along the way for people to use as they like in terms of comparison.  Mine was a pretty easy recovery, especially early on as I was put directly into a boot out of surgery, which occurred just a few hours after the full ATR while skiing. My OS encouraged me to utilize weight bearing as tolerated (WBAT) after the first week or two, and I was walking around in my boot  after two weeks (incrementally) without much discomfort.

For quite some time now, I’m doing everything that I want to do, cross-training, running, skiing, playing singles tennis full out sprinting for balls, a few times a week - though I’m still not more than 80% in terms of calf strength.  My assumption is that most people would be very satisfied with where I am overall in the recovery, and would likely consider themselves fully recovered.  For me however, I will not be satisfied until that calf is as solid as my good one.  Perhaps not exactly the same size, but it needs to be as solid.  Therefore, I continue to plug away 5-6 days a week at strengthening exercises, jumping rope, Insanity and similar workouts and it keeps getting stronger.

For all of those in the throws of this recovery, as many others have said prior to me, looking back it is not all that bad.  Best of luck to you - and keep it incremental!

Rob

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8-Months / List of Milestones To Date

Posted on November 8th, 2014 by sporti

It has been quite some time since I’ve posted on my blog.  Amazingly enough, my last post was at the wonderful 3-month mark, where things really started to improve and here I am now 5 months later!  Occasionally I will pop into the site to look at blogs of the others in my time-frame to see how things have progressed for them.  It is wonderful to read the many success stories and to see the variety of ways people have rehabbed their legs.

As Norm constantly drills into everyone on this site, keeping everything incremental has been the key to my recovery thus far.  The tendon having been healed for quite some time now, building back the strength in the calf and supporting muscles is a slow grind.  I figured that since I do keep a brief workout log, I’d go back and provide others a general guideline (obviously this is just me) of the milestones along the way since 12-weeks.  For me, always staying active and working the leg out in many different ways over the course of time has been effective.  There is almost no consistency in terms of which exercises are done when, only that I do serious leg work and/or plyometric workouts essentially every 2-3 days depending on my schedule and/or level of soreness.  The most wonderful feeling for me is an incredibly fatigued leg on the day following a tough workout, and then having it feel stronger and ready to go a day or two after.  The recovery keeps getting stronger.  The following are highlights from my calendar, with the understanding that I do something at least 5 days a week whether cardio or strength exercises:

Week 12 - Walks of about 2 miles.  Started cross training on exercise bike (35 minutes) and now elliptical (5 minutes)

Week 13 - first outdoor bike ride, slow and careful approx 5 miles.

Week 15 - rode 12 miles outdoors at nice pace

Week 16 - up to 30/20 min on bike/elliptical

Week 17 - began plugging in some intermittent light jogging into walks

Week 19 - rode 20 miles outdoors at nice pace

Week 20 - ran 2 miles without stopping

Week 21 - first strong walk over 4 miles.  Started back with my trainer - stretching, leg exercises and cross training.

Week 24 - ran 3 miles

Week 25 - regular walks over 5 miles

Week 27 - jog/sprint intervals on track.  10-mile hike.

Week 28 - Began doing foot drills daily per PT recommendation - huge benefits - really wish I had started these earlier.

Week 30 - did a 45′ ropes course (pic) with my boys with no problem!

Week 32 - ran 3 miles on a track then sprinted the straightaways for 3 more.  Started jumping rope a few times a week.

Week 33 - started doing Insanity workouts again - one of my all time favorite programs.

Update Picture

That brings us current at almost 35 weeks.  The workouts continue to get more intense and the recovery feels great.  I have resumed my membership at the racquet club and will begin hitting balls and slowly getting back to my tennis game.  I have resisted thus far so as not to push too much, but feel that my strength has reached a level in which I can trust myself to get back to tennis incrementally.

Good luck to all - especially anyone who has recently suffered from this annoying slog of an injury.  Don’t use my experiences as anything more than what is possible in the future.  The specific timeframe is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.  I still can’t do a full single calf raise, but I”m confident that will come in time along with everything else as I strive to return to full strength.

Rob

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1st Qtr Results - 2nd Qtr Guidance: Increased Strength & Endurance

Posted on June 8th, 2014 by sporti

The initial portion of this recovery is officially behind me.  Even though I was officially in 2-shoes at 7.5 weeks, the change from around week 10 to now at almost 13 has been extraordinary.  Nothing that can be measured in days, but as a whole, I have definitely hit the next level and feel even more energized to begin the real work of building strength and that hidden gem, endurance.  Reading other people’s updates has helped me tremendously.  At times, I would chuckle to myself while reading about activities others slightly ahead of me had reported, thinking yeah right, I’m a looong way from that.  Low and behold, 4-5 days later an entirely different perspective.  And these milestones keep occurring when measured on a weekly basis.  I credit the blog, and newer high intensity PT visits (now once a week) for unlocking capabilities that I had no idea my leg could accomplish.  Things that I am now doing regularly:

  • Going on up to 2-mile walks.  Some days not as much, others no problem.  It simply keeps building.  Overall steps per day are becoming irrelevant to me. There is no problem being on my feet all day and accumulating 13-15,000 steps or +/- 5-6 miles per day.  It’s the focused walking  that remains a challenge.
  • Riding exercise bike with foot properly positioned, moderate resistance, over 80 rpm’s for 30-40 minutes 4-5 days per week.
  • Using a slider under my bad foot, doing lunges while sliding the foot back keeping the heel down, at 3 angles, then switching to full lunges raising the heel and touching the knee to the ground.
  • The last exercise has allowed me to begin using my elliptical machine again with no problem.  Building endurance on this machine as well in conjunction with the exercise bike.
  • Working the quadriceps muscle on the bad leg 3-times as much as the good one.  The muscle is still strong, but has lost some mass.  In order to prevent future knee issues on this leg, this quad must work hard to catch up.  I’m doing a lot of body weight squats and doing one-legged lunges utilizing the TRX.
  • P90X2 - one of my favorite workout regime’s, is a fantastic recovery tool for this injury.  It is all about balance, while training your core and other muscle groups on one foot at a time, exercise balls, foam rollers, etc.  I’ve done all 3 P90X’s, Insanity, T25, TRX training and more.  P90X2 is the perfect for me at this time.  I have no problem with planks, side arm planks, push up’s on exercise balls, etc.  Obviously I’m not engaging in any plyometric’s so I’ll skip or modify something else and move on.  The plyo stuff will come in due time and as advised by my PT’s, likely starting with T25.
  • Kinesio tape has been a constant on my leg.  My PT puts it on each session.  I credit it with significantly reducing the swelling in my lower leg.  I also believe it has assisted in its job of getting my calf muscle to begin properly firing while walking.
  • Calf raises of many types, a few times per day.  What is interesting is that while I still cannot do a single calf raise on the bad leg from scratch, if I am in a plank, or say downward dog position where the calf is already engaged, I can then proceed to do single legged raises from there.
  • Last but not least is the continued visits to my trainer, who is mostly working with me on focused intense stretching and massaging out my quads and IT bands. Also, my chiropractor who specializes in ART, working on my ever sore QL’s, mid-back, neck, and keeps me balanced from the weekly trauma that this injury continues to have on my body.

There is still a long way to go here, but I can say that my experience of the past 2-3 weeks has provided a truly remarkable resurgence of energy and focus.  Another piece of this recovery that was sort of lost on me previously was the lack of endurance.  My PT’s have explained that now that we have moved to this next stage of strength building, marked endurance is still likely 8-12 more weeks out.  Best explained - I’m still a few months out from likely taking a strong 5-mile walk.  More than running, biking, getting back on the tennis court, this is my next major goal.    -Rob

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Week 9 Update

Posted on May 12th, 2014 by sporti

So here I am going on week 9 and things continue to be relatively smooth and steady.  I’m solidly in 2-shoes at this point on a day to day basis. Over the past two weekends I have found myself in situations that I booted up for i.e. crowded social gathering, doing yardwork, a day long tour tour on a bus with a lot of walking, and one night with people over I put it on after having a bit too much vodka subsequent to not drinking much over the past two months!  The boot is always a welcome refuge in the face of uncertainty.  As others have noted similarly, my progression in steps has been a bit alarming.  My fitbit keeps my records daily and the steps have really spiked up to averaging 6,400 steps daily from under 4,000.  The past two weekends have all been over 9,000 each.  With 2-shoes comes fatigue and swelling… I continue to work on a proper heel to toe short gait, but when that leg gets tired, it is difficult, and boy does it swell now, when I never really had it while wearing the boot.  After icing a few times per day, but especially at night, every morning seemingly starts out fresh.

My routine remains consistent and I’ve ramped up riding my exercise bike without the boot with decent resistance for 20 minutes now, and then I’ll boot up for another 25-30 at higher rpm’s and resistance for a good sweat.  I’m now able to do planks and pushups without the boot, which is a nice change for proper balance.  I do short lunges onto pillows for my legs and balance, do multiple reps of theraband ROM exercises and now have begun tying weight to my foot and doing those ROM exercises while sitting on a counter, which I really like.  My upper body has really benefitted from the injury, as I’m now able to do many more reps of pushups and pullups than I could do previously and my core has remained as solid as it was pre-ATR.

A few items of note now that I’m in two shoes:  I’ve already mentioned the new, albeit relatively mild, swelling as the day goes on.  To combat this, I’m wearing standard calf length athletic socks (picture) which keeps that area in check.  Next, because I’m no longer in the boot my leg is experiencing more trauma and pumping less blood due to the shortened gait.  Therefore, that leg is always colder than the good leg and usually a nice pink tint! (picture).  At first it was a bit of a concern, but after consulting with everyone on my “team” I’m comfortable that it is normal and will go away.  One tip on walking, actually either in the boot or in 2-shoes that might be helpful for others is:  instead of walking down steps the natural way of bad leg first in most cases and repeating, step with your boot or shoe solidly, but past the halfway point of the foot and step down below with the good leg normally.  This way the bad foot (boot or shoes) rolls over the step and doesn’t place pressure on the achilles - and you can walk down normally.

Last item of note but deserving of its own paragraph is - when you go to 2-shoes, you are ALONE, as nobody knows that you are injured anymore like they did when you had crutches or the boot.  And just like a sore elbow seems to find things to hit, so will your foot - and people, especially kids, will find a way to skirmish right in front of you!  It’s my new biggest unforeseen game changer.  I feel like wearing a bright pinney or a flag sometimes and perhaps occasionally yell, “Stay the *%#^ away from me!!”

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To Boot or Not to Boot?

Posted on April 28th, 2014 by sporti

Approaching the 7wk mark and things continue to go well in my recovery.  Another fortunate result of my surgery is that I do not have much swelling at all.  My ROM is essentially fully restored, albeit with some twinges in there, and the leg continues to gain strength as I have been diligent about my exercises.  A week ago, my PT’s told me to start spending +/-90 minutes a day in two shoes using my “sticks” to place around 50% weight on the bad leg but concentrate on the proper heel toe motion.  I have done this at home and at the office as those are very controlled environments (mostly - with 3 kids and 2 dogs running about :-) ).  I have enough exercises that could take me 4 hours a day to complete!  However I do realize that they are a growing variety of options to keep in my quiver.  Riding the bike in the boot for a good sweat and continuing my core and upper body workouts keep me busy at home so time moving slowly has thankfully not been an issue.

This weekend, I ventured out with the dogs and walked a VERY slow 3/4 of a mile around the block with the crutches and finally called my wife to pick us up when it started getting tight.  After icing and some rest, that night we went to a party and I booted up and danced till midnight.  Ended the day at 10,900 steps!  I feel strong enough to go for 2 shoes without the sticks, but today my PT requested that I honor his request and not do that just yet.  We worked hard today and then he really went to town on massaging out the various parts of my leg with the Graston tool.  On one hand it feels great to have reclaimed my leg and foot as my own, but overall it remains so weak that I feel good using the sticks and throwing the boot on when I need to go somewhere or get something done.

I’m not in a race, so labels don’t mean anything.  In fact, continuing to learn from all of you and perhaps helping others is the primary goal.  This is an odd time in this process.  Not as monumental as NWB to FWB in the boot, which was HUGE.  This is both exhilarating and scary simultaneously.  Bottom line is that while continuing to be incremental, there is no magical 2-shoes moment - it simply remains incremental.  Strap the boot on and quickly (walk) circles around this fantasy of  being categorized as 2-shoes!

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6wks Post Op - Day by Day

Posted on April 23rd, 2014 by sporti

Today marks the 6wk mark since my ATR and surgery.  Since being able to walk FWB in my boot at the 2wk mark, that initial quick progression has given way to the more typical slow and steady improvement.  Some days are easy, others are a drag!  I wear my fitbit every day to monitor my steps.  Most days are ending up between 3,500 - 5,000 steps.  On active days, especially weekends, I have actually come close to 10,000 steps on a few occasions, which is entirely too many, but then I rest, do my stretches, ice, and all is good.

I have been diligent about doing my exercises at home (gentle stretching, isometric strengthening against my other foot inside, outside, forward, back), massaging the area around the incision and gently working out scar tissue and nearby ropey tendons with the handle of a large serving fork as my PT’s have taught me.  The incision is mostly healed and looks great, to me at least (picture).  Everything is going along very well thus far, and I remain positive and encouraged about the future of my athletic life.  The process is slow of course, which is so very apparent as each week seems to just tick by thus far with my routines.  As a side note, perhaps the best move I’ve made was ordering a second boot to keep essentially just for sleeping.  It’s so nice to shower and then wash my foot at night, put on the pristine sleeping boot and get in bed without cleaning the nastiness that is my daily boot!

I have declined many invitations to venture out of my comfort zone i.e. to sporting events, and even some adventures with my family while the kids were on spring break.  It’s difficult to explain that while I’m comfortable doing things around the house and going a bit overboard on steps, there really is no destination in those tasks, and a comfortable salvation is always nearby to take a rest.  Going to, say, a baseball game is a leap of faith.  The amount of walking and relative discomfort of the seats with little room for the boot and especially a stretched out leg, with crowds and the fact that you actually have to get somewhere is something I simply do not need at this time.  My industry’s annual convention is in Las Vegas every year the week before Memorial Day.  I haven’t missed one in over 20 years.  At that time, I’ll be at 10wks post injury/op and I’m not even considering going!  While it is always good to be at the convention and one never knows what might come of any encounter at the show, at a table, dinner, wherever to create a new business relationship - I simply know myself too well, and I’ll overdo it.  No way would I want to be in LV with the boot - not for vanity purposes, but what a pain in the butt that would be!  And, at 10wks and (likely) solidly in two shoes at that point, I’ll arguably be at the most vulnerable stage of my recovery.  Therefore, I’ll man the office this year, no problem, and not put myself at risk of a setback.

PT continues to be beyond my expectations.  I’ve gone twice week for the last month.  They continue to work on my foot, and we have gotten into balancing exercises, 360 degree strengthening, gentle recumbent bike riding without the boot and the usual stim, ice machine wrap, and more home exercises.  My ROM has improved every week and is now just slightly off of my good foot.  They now have me working on walking in crutches, no boot, at about 35-50% weight on the bad leg for ±30 minutes twice a day.  They want me focusing on good heel toe action to slowly wean off of the boot in the coming weeks.  I’ve learned to never ask much about their future plans - as it really is day by day.  I don’t want them thinking that I want to be any more aggressive than their plans for me.  In fact, both guys have separately commented that they are the ones that need to remain conscious of where I am in my recovery because my strength, balance and ROM have progressed well to this point.   These exercises along with my continued upper body and core workouts, with now ±30 minutes a day on my exercise bike in the boot at higher resistance and rpms have kept me busy and sane on a day by day basis - it’s a long race!

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3rd wk post op - Begin PT

Posted on April 3rd, 2014 by sporti

My blog has now caught up to speed and joins me here live in my 3rd week post injury/operation.  I returned to the local doctor that has taken up my case at home in Cleveland to have my stitches removed.  Aside from the odd feeling of the stitches actually sliding out of my foot, the process was pretty simple.  Already being FWB, I walked into the office accompanied by my wife so we could both ask questions and grab lunch afterward.  We verified with the doctor that once again, as long as the foot was securely in my boot, he encouraged me to continue to walk about but not to go too far as to get fatigued because that’s when other things go wrong and accidents happen, such as hyperextending my knee.

I began wearing my Fitbit One again after keeping it pretty much dormant over the winter.  I’m so used to it now, I can pretty accurately guess how many steps I’ve taken at any point during any given day.  While my old goals used to be aggressive at 15,000 steps daily with ±2hrs of very active time, I am now monitoring my steps for the opposite reason, so as to limit overdoing it.  I have found that when I’m in the 3,500-4,000 step range, my leg is getting fatigued and the heel is sore.  I’ll then give it a rest by using the knee scooter or sitting down with my feet up, taking the boot off and gently flexing toes and gentle ROM movements since I haven’t been to PT yet.

There was nothing thus far in my process that I looked forward to more than meeting my PT getting to know the most important person that will help me in the recovery process.  I was excited for the day.  Yesterday, at 3wks, 1 day post op, I met Paul.  Any fear of having to visit a few different facilities evaporated after the first 15 minutes.  This guy knows his stuff and has numerous accreditations in physical therapy, including my favorite - ART (Active Release Techniques), and over 25 yrs experience.  He’s completely up to date on the latest protocols, most of which I’ve learned through achillesblog members!  He did the standard ROM and push, pull tests and then began to actively knead and work both the achilles and then my calf.  If I wasn’t so accustomed to visiting my regular chiropractic physician who specializes in ART, I would have been in tears.  Instead I was cherishing the feeling of getting those areas worked on and feeling the blood flowing freely through the repaired achilles and calf muscles.  He followed up with the low voltage stim and some ice and gave me some exercises to gently stretch the foot back and release, over and over about 40 times.  I peppered him with questions, which he gladly answered in great detail.  He and I were on the same page.  It’s a long road, but I am thrilled that by having essentially no pain, and being able to walk around freely in the boot at an early stage, I have effectively curbed the atrophy in my calf and thigh.  He reiterated the basic rule of thumb for PT, that for every week of immobilization, add another 4-6 weeks of rehab.  Here’s a snapshot of my movement today (video).

I’ll start attending PT twice a week, and fully understand that I’m still extremely early on in this process.  My solid progress to date notwithstanding, baby steps - in fact I am extremely cautious with everything I do, including how and where I step, I’m in no hurry to get out of the boot.  Overall, I’m in NO hurry to do anything!

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Wk 2 - Startling progress

Posted on April 3rd, 2014 by sporti

During the 1st week, I was able to continue my schedule of taking it easy in the morning and making my way to the office using my crutches. By the second weekend I had begun placing some weight on my left leg when standing still with no pain.  Within a few days of that I became able to easily balance while standing using perhaps 80/20 weight distribution.  Then I began moving my leg while walking on the crutches and gently adding additional weight to simulate walking, albeit slowly.  There simply wasn’t any pain when gradually adding more and more weight each time I would move somewhere else using crutches.  At 2 weeks, 1 day, I found that I was able to go FWB with no pain (video).

This was startling progress for me, especially considering the general statistics here on the achillesblog database http://achillesblog.com/atrpt.php where the average time to FBW is 6wks 5days.  I’m filled with ongoing thoughts about the incredible differences between people that have suffered with this injury.  Certainly, the nature of the injury itself i.e. location of the ATR, comes into play.  Also, the surgeon, the procedure itself and their particular method of immobilization subsequent to surgery might perhaps be the biggest wildcard?  Different philosophies on even wanting the patient to place weight on the repaired leg while in a boot or not also seem to differ.  I’ve become a big believer in the faster you are able to work any muscles previously immobilized, the better.  The general rule of thumb I’ve been told is that for every week of immobilization of any particular limb per se, add a month of rehabilitation to get back to normal.  Certainly, with an ATR, the healing process is a slow one because of the complexity of the tendon and because of the general lack of blood flow to tendons as opposed to muscle and bones.  This seems to be a 7-9 weeks time period in which one really needs to be cautious, but the faster you can walk around and do ROM exercises and work that calf muscle, will hopefully shave significant time off of the later months of rehab in order to get back to an optimal level of performance.  This is certainly yet to be seen and just a current observation.

So, in reading through achillesblog it became apparent that the Vacocast Pro Achilles is THE boot for this injury and is a device to behold. Once I became FWB so quickly, I couldn’t resist getting my leg into one of these things to hopefully make the walking process that much easier!  I ordered one from the company with expedited delivery.  Upon arrival I marveled at the box and the drawings of people wearing the device while walking dogs, swimming, and doing handstands!!  Wow, I was going to be doing handstands when I put this on :-)  So I opened it, read the directions, tinkered around a bit, and noted immediately how much higher the profile was compared to my Tracker EX, which is about the same height as my hiking shoes that I regularly wear.  Also, I noted that the device weighed at least 4-5lbs, compared to my Tracker EX at 2lbs.  Hmm, let’s see what it’s like.  I quickly deduced the proper angle of my existing foot to be equivalent to 10 degrees on the vacocast, locked it in and put the boot on.  The fit is very nice and then the vacuum seal makes it very snug and comfortable to have on your leg.  It comes with two bases depending on what angle your foot is set to.  At 10 degrees, that seems to be the mid-point for either base.  First I tried the lower base and found it almost impossible to walk.  So I switched out the base and tried the even higher profile wedge base.  This was a bit easier to walk due to the forward angle, but was still very difficult, especially because of the disparity in height vs. my shoe.  Very quickly I realized that this device is likely a fabulous option for someone in a more severe condition or as a true cast replacement for the first few weeks.  As for walking in it, I’d compare the vacocast to a cement block with straps on it to my Tracker EX being a court shoe!  There was absolutely no comparison.  With my foot well protected at the correct angle, my boot has the same height profile, less than half the weight, much more maneuverability, and is only $55.00!  I immediately ordered another one to use essentially for sleeping so I don’t need to clean it off every night before getting into bed.  The vacocast pro achilles will soon be for sale on Ebay as the company has a formidable return policy.

I’m actually surprised that there hasn’t been more discussion on the blogs on which walking boot, or aircast, however you choose to describe them, is easiest for walking in once going FWB.  I would think that it would be a top topic!  However, in thinking about it, my assumption is that people simply don’t know any better than either what they were provided by the hospital, or through insurance - or they go for the dominant device in the category, the vacocast pro achilles because of all of the wonderful things people have to say about the product and its own marketing and claims to assist and reduce recovery times.  In no way do I want to disparage the vacocast, as it is clearly a great product.  For my condition and compared to the boot I was originally provided by the PT department at the hospital in Steamboat, it simply was no comparison for me.

8 Comments »

Drive! - 1st Week Post Op

Posted on April 3rd, 2014 by sporti

As many others have similarly posted, it is amazing what you take for granted in our normal active life, such as walking and carrying things in your hands at the same time!  I took to my crutches very quickly and utilized assistance where necessary, such as in the airports during my commute home 2 days post op.  I was feeling strong and lucid since there was no need for the heavy painkillers after the first and second night with slight discomfort.  Once I returned home, much to the dismay of my wife who is simply watching out for me not to overdo anything too soon, I began a cautious routine of core work, push-ups, and using dumbbells for curls and presses while seated.  I had clearance from the surgeon and my trusted chiropractic/ART physician friend, who is very active in athletic training and himself with multiple Iron Man competitions under his belt, that as long as the boot was in place and no stress was placed on that leg, I was free to do upper body and core work.  Even with some great upper body workouts completed, using crutches to get around can certainly take its toll on the shoulders and neck!  Luckily, a acquaintance from our children’s school heard about my injury and brought her Drive steerable knee scooter to school and gave to my wife.  I’m not sure who got a bigger kick out of my using the scooter between myself or each of my kids? This was such an incredible life saver for use in the house, as I didn’t mind ever getting up to go anywhere.  It kept me moving around as much as possible as it is difficult for me to sit still for longer than an hour or so.  I could help around the kitchen with my knee resting nicely on the comfortable pad.

Upstairs, I would use my crutches.  Obvious challenges occur in the middle of the night when nature calls.  I’ve read where people used different devices to urinate without having to leave the bed.  While that certainly held some appeal, I was determined to maintain as much normalcy as possible and cautiously use the crutches to go the the bathroom.  This would wake my wife at first, but we both started to sleep a little more each night.  In addition to working diligently on my lowering my caloric intake, I was not drinking any alcohol, for the most part because I wanted to be as sharp as possible at all times.  Having an accident while crutching to the bathroom at 3am was not something that I was prepared to have happen to me - therefore all precautions are being taken to avoid something like this happening.

Since this was thankfully my left leg, I saw no reason why I could’t begin driving to the office after the weekend.  Of course, there were certain others in the household and extended family that disagreed.  If I was going to rebel on one thing (without permission from Dr’s, family, etc.) this was it.  Getting to the office proved to be as easy as I had anticipated, and was beneficial for my mental and physical well being to maintain as much normalcy as possible without placing the repair at risk.  Using the Drive scooter while at home really provided much needed energy to do other things out of the house if necessary.  Needless to say, I did spend a lot of time resting by reading and watching some TV (Breaking Bad), as I typically don’t sit still to watch anything.  I’d rather take the dogs for a walk.

Toward the end of the week (9 days post op) I visited the Dr. recommended to me by many people in the medical field.  The visit was interesting mostly because it was the first time the boot came off and I saw my leg (picture).  The incision sort of freaked me out, but not too badly.  It was too soon for the stitches to come out, so the boot went back on and I peppered the doctor with questions.  The most important thing for me was that I left with the assurance that placing weight on the boot was solely a function of my personal comfort, and that as long as the boot was securely on, the repair was safe.

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Uh oh!

Posted on April 2nd, 2014 by sporti

Hello all - this is my first post, but I have been browsing many blogs here on achillesblog for the past 3 weeks since my ATR.  Let me start off by simply thanking Dennis for creating this fantastic, knowledge filled environment for people who have had or are currently suffering through this injury.

My story started on the morning of 3/11/14 in Steamboat when I was heading out for my 1st day on this trip, but having skied ±25 days so far this year both out west and near home in NE Ohio.  A storm had come through that morning and had already dumped 5-6″ of powder on the mountain.  On the 4th run of the day we were skiing the first tracks in some pristine glades near the top (picture) and during a turn my left ski hit something hard under the powder.  A brief glance of pain in my calf, the ski released, and I somersaulted to a stop so as not to run into a tree.  I stood up to retrieve my ski from 30 feet above, and upon placing the first bit of weight on my left foot, WOW, that’s not going to happen!  After standing around waiting for 40 minutes, returning some work emails and advising my wife (back in Cleveland) that I had done something to my calf,  my buddies came back with Ski Patrol and my sled to get down the mountain.

After easily (for me) transporting via sled off of the mountain (picture), I was transferred over to the nearby hospital to be admitted to the ER.  For the most part there was no pain as I was seated the entire time, with my ski boot still on.  At that time, I was only able to guess at what the injury might be as there was direct pain when touching the side of my calf above the boot, and the ongoing uncomfortable feeling of an imminent cramp in my calf.  Massaging that area seemed to keep the cramping at bay.  Miraculously, the highly experienced woman in ER was able to open up my ski boot wider than I thought possible and my foot was able to slip out.  When she began a quick examination of my leg, there was no longer any pain or the cramping feeling in my calf.  Both the tibia and fibula seemed to be intact.  And then she touched the area an inch above my heel,  where my Achilles tendon used to be connected.  With that incredibly sharp pain I now had the answer to the mystery question of “what’s my injury?”  This is where the extremely active, multi-sport, 6-day a week workout, never sit still, always on the go father of three kids under 10 and two Labradoodles that love their nightly 4-5 mile walks, started to cry for the first time in memory, albeit briefly, save for the occasional movie tearjerker…life was going to change dramatically for the foreseeable future as my single biggest injury fear just became a reality.

In what was simply the greatest experience in an ER perhaps ever, I proceeded through essentially a nonstop assembly line of another doctor that had me turn over and did the Thompson test and poked around my leg to my discomfort, over to the in-house PT department where I was assigned my new best friend the DeRoyal Tracker EX walking boot, crutches, and given some ice packs to rest my leg on.  Through the process of moving through the ER with all of the repetitive questions, I became aware that I had not eaten anything since the early morning and had barely had any water since my Camelback had frozen on the slopes early on.  While discussing my options with the PT for travel, timing, and having surgery back home in Cleveland, she too was aware of the current consumption status.  She left the room for a bit and came back to advise me that in her opinion the top orthopedic surgeon in town, and one that works for the US Ski Team among other things, was currently at the hospital.  She had spoken to him about me, updated him on my situation and low and behold, he had time for another procedure, basically right now.  I met him, felt comfortable right away as every employee in the place had either had him operate on them personally or a spouse or similar.  My buddy and I called multiple people in town and back home, and every report came back glowingly positive for this guy!  Ok then, call the wife and tell her I’m going to just go ahead and have the surgery right now… Didn’t go over that well, but this made a heck of a lot more sense than traveling home, choosing a doctor, making an appointment, then scheduling surgery, then fasting for 8 hours, driving to the hospital, and on and on.

I was given a gown to put on, then got an IV, all of which happened right away.  I woke up seemingly moments later with my boot on (two heel lifts) and no real pain to speak of.  After about a half hour and a quick test on crutches, I was heading back to my friend’s condo.  So, after my accident at 11:30 AM, I was on the couch with my foot up at 5:30 that afternoon post op.  Pretty wild day.  The doctor told me that that I had a particularly “shredded” ATR located approximately 2″ above the calcaneus, where the achilles attaches to the heel, but although it took a bit longer (35 min instead of 20) to complete, it looked to be solid repair.  I was told to keep it elevated above the heart if possible for as much time as I could for the first 72hrs, but otherwise just keep the boot on 24/7, go do whatever I felt like doing, keep it dry, and fly home whenever I wanted and follow up with a doctor at home in about 1.5-2 weeks.  After hanging out in the comfortable confines in Steamboat (picture) for a day and half with very minimal discomfort, my wonderful friend ended his trip a few days early to escort me back home to my family.  I went ahead and received courtesy upgrades for the flights home so I could put my foot on the front wall in the bulkhead seats.  Two flights (picture) with a few hour layover in the middle proved to be uneventful and relatively pain free while only taking Toridol, essentially stronger Advil.  My anxious wife and family were happy to have me home!

16 Comments »

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  • skelonas | March 11th, 2015 | 5:23 pm

    Thanks for the encouragement and update - keep up the hard work!

  • Jeff | March 11th, 2015 | 5:15 pm

    Congrats!
    I just passed my one year mark a few months ago too. I’m kinda the same as you, maybe more like 75 percent though.
    I do get pain from fatigue but I think at my year mark, I am not in pain after stretching and I can play ultimate Frisbee without a limp for a while and I do feel stronger.
    Insanity is great rehab. I did that at my 4 month mark, even though I was not full strength.
    Problem with that and just running, because of not having full strength, your other leg starts to make up for that, which is not good.
    Like you, I focus on strengthening ONLY. I now have a sports PT and hope to get over the hump. I can only see her once a week cause, quite frankly, don’t want to shell out 50 bucks a week.
    Great to read people going through the same challenge I am.
    Good Luck

  • jeff1 | February 10th, 2015 | 12:28 pm

    Great to see you’re getting somewhere. I wish I could say the same. I had my heal spur shaved over a year ago. When this was done, they had to detach and re-attach the Achilles. Because my splint was too tight during the surgery, I got nerve damage on the top of my foot. Then, the surgeon turned me away. I then began PT. After 3 months, I had gained strength back in everything BUT my Achilles. Then..they turned me away. (never thought PT would do this). Here I am, a year and 3 months later. I have shooting pain on the side of my calf and the same post surgery pain around my Achilles. It feels weak and fatigued all the time. I can run 3 miles and play ultimate Frisbee, but my strength is not there and I’m limited. I noticed that you did Insanity. I did Insanity 4 months after surgery, slow, but it helped me get strong..but again, I still have pain in my Achilles area. I believe it’s just chronically weak now. I’ve been patient for a long time, still holding out hope that one day I can just walk with no pain. The pain I had from the bone spur is gone, but now I have pain from what was once, a perfectly fine Achilles. I went to a secon

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  • JumpmanRugs | January 6th, 2015 | 8:39 am

    Keep it up dude, you’re doing so well!

    Love that ‘Foot drills’ file, thanks for that! I did 20k on the exercise bike and walked 3 miles yesterday, and as well as 20 mins high intensity plus 6 miles walking on Sunday and feel great! So happy with it!

  • normofthenorth | November 10th, 2014 | 12:11 am

    It sounds great, Sporti, don’t stop!
    Like atr2014, I was surprised to finish reading your amazing list of exertions and activities, then to read your “afterthought” that you still didn’t have a full-height 1-leg heel raise.
    Mind you, I’ve had a similar experience myself — in my case, a recovery that will never include a good 1LHR, but did include a return to all my fave sports (including competitive volleyball) with no noticeable deficit! As you’ve probably read, I think the 1LHR is an overrated test of ability to DO things, apart from the ability to do a 1LHR. But it is a strength test that virtually all “normal people” can do just fine, so it’s natural for ATR patients to treat it as a key test of a full recovery. And my ultra-conservative OS for my first ATR (back in 2001-02!) set that test — in fact, being able to do a BUNCH of 1LHRs without grunting or groaning! — as a necessary condition for my return to volleyball. That time, I passed the test around 10 months post-op, which was when my volleyball season was restarting anyway, so it worked out fine. But I’ve convinced myself that I can get pretty good explosive sports

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  • herewegoagain | November 9th, 2014 | 12:46 pm

    Thanks for sharing the foot drills, I will add them to my exercise toolkit. I have found the online video “Tone your feet” on GaiamTv to be fantastic- the final seated section is beyond me for now though. You can sign up for a free 10 day trial.
    So glad your recovery keeps getting stronger!

  • atr2014 | November 9th, 2014 | 10:43 am

    Congratulations on your recovery! Thank you so much for your update and providing the link to the foot drills - I am going to try to incorporate them in my daily routine.

    Your calf looks good - definitely quite a bit of definition. I don’t even know if I have any yet and may need to start taking photos to compare my progress through the months.

    I am amazed at all you can do despite being able to do a single leg calf raise. I initially thought that maybe it is because you may be an overweight man but according to your photo - you aren’t. I have read of others not being able to a single leg calf raise too and I am often surprised by this. I have been able to do them since my OS had me try for the first time at my 3 month check up but I don’t think they have really helped me with my recovery - my progress probably closely resembles yours at each of the weeks you listed (so far). So you see, no major advantage for me.

    Thanks again for your update - I always appreciate those who take the time to come back and update!

  • Roark | June 11th, 2014 | 10:31 am

    Hey gocanes,

    I never really measured how far I walked, but I probably at least end up going about a mile to and from my car at work, the parking situation where I am is terrible. So overall I probably do more. It wasn’t until week 12 when I really started getting some solid strength in the toe off. But I don’t tend to experience much soreness down there. I’m up to doing about 45 isometric hold double legged standing calf raises twice a day. I should probably start trying for the single legged soon but just want to talk to my doctors about that first. I have been able to do some small hops in plyometric workouts on the bad side. My biggest struggle is the soleus stretch. The one where you do a calf stretch with the knee bent. I have trouble getting my knee over my toes with my foot planted. I’d say I’m more stiff than sore and its mostly just in the morning until I get it all warmed up. My PT said she didn’t want me to start up with running again until I could do like 20 solid single legged standing heel raises. So I’m targeting that for the end of month 4.

  • gocanes123 | June 11th, 2014 | 9:43 am

    Thanks again smick and sporti, im generally doing that about 1 mile walk a day, this weekend as I approach my 11th week Im going to take it up to 2 miles, and see how that goes.

  • sporti | June 10th, 2014 | 7:52 pm

    Thanks smick - you explained my experience perfectly. The one problem that I have is pre-planning the day off, and what activities are skipped on those days. Listening to my body remains paramount and not pushing through anything. I have no problem calling my wife or asking a neighbor for a lift home if things start feeling tight or sore. It is nice to live on a street that is a 1 mile oval though!

  • smick | June 10th, 2014 | 7:37 pm

    @gocanes - my own experience was i started doing 1, then quickly to 1.5 and even 2 mile walks by week 10, but I went too fast and my achilles was sore and hurting for days afterwards. I’d just gradually increase it each time, maybe 10%.

    I am doing around 2 mile walks now, 5 times a week, and it feels ok. But, i can also dial the amount of effort by whether I try to walk fast with good form or walk slower and cheat. So, the distance is a little less important versus the intensity of how many minutes i walk with good technique that uses the calf on every step.

  • gocanes123 | June 10th, 2014 | 3:14 pm

    Roark, and Sporti, what was the farthest you felt comfortable walking in week 10? I just went for about a mile walk that included some steps and very slight elevation, and have some throbbing/slight soreness in the AT after. I have been feeling pretty solid all week and am able to do 20-30 double leg calf raises at a time with no problem,and 2-4 single leg calf raises on the injured leg, so I thought a mile walk wouldn’t be any issue.

  • Roark | June 10th, 2014 | 1:17 pm

    Yeah, it was amazing between week 10 and 12 for me, it just started feeling so much more solid and the toe off gained a lot of strength. I love those calf raises from down dog, even able to do bound dog, but I’m still afraid to intensify it into 3 legged dog on that side. You seem to be at a similar place to me, try some plyo, I just started doing it out of the boot in week 12 and I can get some solid little hops pretty good. Lunges help with stability so much, both with landing on the bad foot forward and balancing with it on the ball of the foot behind. Back to 2-a-days at this point! Still feeling on target for hitting sport again at 6 months.

  • juanr | June 10th, 2014 | 11:15 am

    Sporti I think it’s great that you’re so active. P90X is no joke, very intense. I can only do the ab workouts at my stage. But I compliment the quick workouts with pushups and pullups. I will hit the gym for the first time next week.

    Your progress is very encouraging, thanks for posting.

  • sporti | June 10th, 2014 | 12:03 am

    @smick, kim, norm, tatyana - thanks for the kind words!

    @gocanes - running isn’t really a goal of mine as much as it is an ancillary activity to doing plyo/agility drills, biking, and eventually getting back on the tennis court, so I haven’t really discussed it with anyone yet. I think I could probably run a tiny bit now, but haven’t really tried. Otherwise, I go for long brisk walks with my dog’s almost every evening, which is what I’d like to continue to build to as a main goal. I have another mid-term goal to do a local biathlon (5K & 20 mile bike) at the end of August. I’ve challenged my 11yr old son to do that with me. At 5.5 months, who knows? I certainly won’t be disappointed if I can’t do both.

  • kimc | June 9th, 2014 | 5:31 pm

    Rob - great to hear things are going so well at 13 weeks. Your sports background will continue to provide you with the tools for this year-long recovery. Like preparing for a marathon, this recovery happens one day at a time, one workout at a time, one rest day at a time. Progress may proceed in leaps at times, but it can also be so incremental that it seems like you’re standing still. There are always going to be those half-steps back. Setting goals and working toward them with purpose and a positive attitude will certainly get you there. Look what it’s done for you so far! - Kim

  • tatyana | June 9th, 2014 | 2:19 pm

    Hi Rob,
    Very impressive exercise regimen! I am at 8 weeks now and 5,000-6,000 steps are average for me. 2 miles walks are not in the horizon yet, but in my dreams only. :-) Keep posting — there is a lot for the rest of us to learn and adopt from your activities.

  • normofthenorth | June 9th, 2014 | 12:29 pm

    :-)

  • smick | June 9th, 2014 | 12:03 pm

    Congrats sporti and a great summary! Day to day I feel like I don’t get significantly better but if I read my old posts it’s good reminder of how much stronger you get, particularly weeks 8-12!

    Keep up the program! I’ve slacked a bit the last four days and it’s a good inspiration for me to keep up the intensity. My secondary exercises are what I slip on doing (plank, squats, etc.) but they are super important to a full recovery with no compensatory injuries.

  • gocanes123 | June 9th, 2014 | 10:31 am

    Great post Sporti, solid advice for those a bit behind you trying to properly exercise and gain strength back. When did your doctors, PT, trainer think running will be ok to try?

  • goldman | May 17th, 2014 | 8:55 am

    Rob, responding to your comment about “kids, will find a way to skirmish right in front of you” — Absolutely concur, am also finding this a new challenge amongst the many. I think I read somewhere on one of your posts you have three kids? Must be tricky and exhausting forcing you to keep your observations skills constantly honed — I have one, boy age 10, with all the wild energy of a whippersnapping stallion. Already this morning while trying to get in more “2-shoes time” around my house have had to put up the emergency incoming running child forcefield a few times, which really doesn’t work all that well to keep him away from the leg. Good luck!

  • gocanes123 | May 13th, 2014 | 10:01 am

    Congrats to Sporti! It sounds like you are keeping up with your upper body work much better than me! I am really starting to feel the effects of inactivity six weeks plus out.

    I cannot agree with anyone more about people not knowing your are so fragile in 2 shoes. I did one block in 2 shoes yesterday, and although I was on an empty street w/ no one behind me, I must have turned my head every other minute to make sure nothing was behind me and close to my lower leg!

  • cecilia | May 13th, 2014 | 9:27 am

    Right now my “stay away from me sign” while wearing 2-Shoes is a bright blue cane. It seems to be working quite well in busy places like the grocery store. It’s even useful on a relatively quiet sidewalk because everyone knows they need to move around me. Although I am finding I have to deal with a lot more looks of pity with the cane than I did with the boot/crutches!

  • goldman | May 13th, 2014 | 12:55 am

    Yeah yeah Norm, its one thing to read about it another to experience. Also my Doctor and staff are completely and totally even keel with emotions in their voices. They talked to me in the same casual demeanor wether prepping for surgery, going to 2 shoes, or describing taking a band aid off, so hard to guage difficulty from that camp.

  • sporti | May 12th, 2014 | 11:31 pm

    I certainly understand, but for me a sore elbow stands out more than the rest! For some reason, us ATR patients are all vulnerable to the fantasy false pretense of a magical 2-shoe moment, day, whatever - and it really is one of those things that you simply have to experience for yourself to realize that it really is a mirage and that everything the people ahead of you have been saying is true.

  • normofthenorth | May 12th, 2014 | 11:20 pm

    Goldman, you’ve known all along that 2 shows would be this way!
    Sporti, I find that a sore ANYTHING finds things to hit. There is no single body part that is so insignificant that it will survive a single hour of normal life while sore, injured, cut, etc., without establishing how central it is to our existence!

  • goldman | May 12th, 2014 | 10:09 pm

    Excellent Rob, great to see your progress. I am something like a week or two behind you and it’s really helpful to read your posts just ahead of where I’ll be. I was told I could start transitioning to two shoes about a week ago but I am finding that it is more challenging than I first thought. It was quite easy for me to go to PWB on crutches, and from PWB to FWB in boot, but two shoes is slower. I don’t feel as confident and my leg feels weaker and I’ve been taking only short steps, and sometimes just hanging out in a chair while working on the computer with two shoes on Ocassionally standing up and taking a couple steps around, but reverting to boot after a bit. Driving in two shoes is relatively easy because of the sure, confined space and movement of my feet, but walking, that’s another thing. Keep up the posts!

  • smick | May 12th, 2014 | 9:07 pm

    Congrats Sporti! I still throw the boot on when I get tired and have to walk far as I’m very conscious about overdoing things. Mornings till around lunch time are my strongest and then my limp starts coming back.

    @Peter - I use the free fitbit app on my iphone. Its probably not as accurate, but directionally it will tell you if you have walked more/less than the previous day and how much. I find it a good indicator of whether I’ve pushed my walking/activity too far.

  • sporti | May 12th, 2014 | 9:04 pm

    Hi Pete. I’m not 100% sure when I took that last wedge out? Probably around week 5, and then I walked in it for maybe a week, and then I began the two week or so weaning from the boot, which was a long process for me, as I didn’t rush it. This is a tough and scary time, and I have no idea how others have essentially gone cold turkey from the boot. As for the Fitbit, their “Force” wristband wearable product was the one recalled. I use the “One” tracker which goes in a pocket or has a handy dongle clip that goes on shorts or shoes, whatever. Those are still for sale. There are also many other great trackers such as Nike or the Jawbone Up wristband. -Rob

  • pete0609 | May 12th, 2014 | 8:03 pm

    Good stuff, sporti. Good read for me because I am about to get ready for starting 2 shoes next week. When did you take the last wedge out of your boot, or, for how long were you walking flat (0 degrees) in your boot before you walked on your bad foot in a shoe?

    I am really jealous of your fitbit and want to buy one, but currently can’t get it anywhere because the company stopped selling them. Some customers experienced skin irritation and fitbit issued a voluntary recall. I guess they’re changing the product now and it’s going to be a while until they sell them again.

  • Vicki | April 29th, 2014 | 2:05 pm

    Sounds like you are doing great! I’m still panicky in 2 shoes and it’s been at least 6 weeks. I find myself very aware when standing in the check out line at Costco. I place my bad leg forward in case the person behind me gets a little “pushy” with their cart, lol. I’d rather they hit my good ankle.

    Keep up the good work!

  • normofthenorth | April 29th, 2014 | 12:30 am

    Ya, going from fwb in a boot to 2 shoes is a bittersweet “landmark” — a step toward “back to normal”, but way slower, more awkward, scarier. . . One reason the “frustrating plateau” is frustrating is that the step to FWB is so huge, and often comes around 4 weeks post-whatever, so it’s hard to believe that 4 or even 8 weeks later, we’re STILL not 100%!!

  • normofthenorth | April 24th, 2014 | 12:30 am

    I think so.

  • sporti | April 23rd, 2014 | 4:40 pm

    Thanks for backing me Norm :-) As for my PT’s, the director of the sport’s rehab clinic took me on as a patient and he only sees patients on Monday’s, so his main guy takes me on Thursday’s thus far. They pass all of the info to each other so each time I come in, they have a plan ready to go. I don’t think they’ve really changed anything for me from their protocols per se, instead seeing where I am strength-wise to determine what I should do next time. Is that what you meant?

  • normofthenorth | April 23rd, 2014 | 3:19 pm

    I think I’m right with you on LV!

    You have 2 PTs? How do they split you up?

    While many of us modified our rehab protocol to suit our specific situation, the vast majority whose professionals did so, ended up going way too slow (IMO, of course). And most or all of the published studies with the best results followed cookie-cutter recipes. Keep us posted so we can see if you’ll be an exception to that.

  • tatyana | April 16th, 2014 | 9:02 pm

    That is it! I need one of those FitBits for myself. What a great idea for tracking our post ATR baby steps!

  • sporti | April 8th, 2014 | 11:45 pm

    Thanks Ron, believe me I’m in no hurry to go anywhere! I’ve canceled a number of trips and attending a big convention in late May, when I’ll likely be in two shoes by then. However, setbacks are not part of my plan, so taking it easy, eliminating any possible situations for overuse or injury, keeping it incremental, process, marathon, or however we all want to define as ones own mantra for the foreseeable future with our ATR’s!

  • Ron | April 7th, 2014 | 6:57 pm

    Looks good, keep up the good work, but patiently.

    This is a process, so be careful.

    Keep us posted.
    Ron

  • Hillie | April 7th, 2014 | 5:20 pm

    Hi Sporti

    Wow, got that wrong didn’t I? If ‘profile’ is a trade term it could be seen as a little ambiguous though don’t you think?

    Never too old to learn though. Me I mean.

    Night all.

  • sporti | April 7th, 2014 | 9:31 am

    Hillie - I just wanted to clarify that my boot is not short, it is full height with three straps up my calf. Perhaps it was the reference to the profile, which is the height that your foot is above the ground. This one is approximately 1 - 1.5″, which is about equivalent to my hiking shoes, or a bit more than typical running shoes. This way your hips aren’t displaced when walking.

  • goldman | April 6th, 2014 | 7:16 pm

    Rob,

    > If you want mine, I’ll sell it to you for a discount before returning to the manufacturer
    Thanks, I might be interested, but I need to do a little insurance research and I meet with my Surgeon on Tue for probable sutures removal and discussion of next steps, so to speak.

    If you are not in a rush and can hold it for a couple days I can probably let you know end of day Tuesday. I have not looked at detail at the Vacocast site/product line — is there sizing specs, if so what size do you have?

    And if you want to move the for-sale discussion to email, feel free to send me a message to goldman @ swcp . com (without the spaces of course).

  • Hillie | April 6th, 2014 | 2:39 pm

    Sporti

    It will be interesting to see how an ankle boot compares to the taller Aircast and Vaco boots, which support the calf and can offer hinged, progressive mobility (depending on model) over about a 6 week period, maybe 8 if you wear one from the start. All are likely to compare well with a recent post where the ‘victim’ had a plaster cast well above the knee.

    Good to see that you have started FWB in the third week, as recommended in faster current rehabs.

  • normofthenorth | April 6th, 2014 | 12:56 pm

    The AirCast is a fine boot IMHO, and I’m grateful to them for sponsoring the UWO study. But switching from a hinged boot to a fixed one - especially from the generally beloved and high-tech Vaco - calls for an explanation, and the explanation probably includes cost.
    Jon, just removing the http part usually solves that awaiting moderation problem, and omitting www may help too, e.g. if there are several links. Multiple smileys often create errors too.
    Rob, I think there’s a setting in the dashboard somewhere that makes a page more tolerant. I’ve suggested to Dennis that he increase that tolerance level as a default, as well as throwing in the ATR Timeline Widget and turning on AJAX editing. But apparently those kinds of changes are only easy when you’re NOT actually trying to DO them with the available tools. Not unlike my sailing club’s website, alas!

  • sporti | April 6th, 2014 | 11:40 am

    Jon, I’m very happy with the Tracker. It was what was given to me at the hospital. The purpose of the boot is immobilization of the ankle. Perhaps they mention it isn’t for ATR as a sole means of recovery because it wouldn’t really provide the proper angle? The insert states the following: INDICATIONS Grade 2 and 3 ankle sprains; stable fractures of tibia, fibula, talus and tarsus; post operative immobilization (soft tissue reconstructions and open reduction internal fixation); metatarsal fractures.

    So, the key being post operative immobilization. In any event, it’s only 2lbs and the profile is the same height as my shoe. To me, it’s great. In a few weeks, perhaps I will want one to flex a bit more as I begin getting more adjusted to walking without the boot. The vacocast was a beast in comparison. It’s much heavier, wider, much bigger profile so as to make walking around severely awkward without getting their Evenup device to strap onto your shoe. None of that worked for me at all. If you want mine, I’ll sell it to you for a discount before returning to the manufacturer :-)

  • goldman | April 6th, 2014 | 7:18 am

    (sorry for repeat, but for some reason my last comment is awaiting moderation — I’ll remove the youtube video link to see if this helps)

    Rob, you still happy with the Tracker EX?

    Before I knew anything about ATR or this website I was given an Aircast boot at the hospital. It seemed really cool at the time, but now I can appreciate the weight issues.

    A week ago I asked my Doc about the Vacocast. He told me that their Orthopedics specialist group used to give out the Vacocast to ATR patients, but then switched to the Aircast. He was unsure why they were going with Aircast these days. I am guessing some other expert at the hospital made the decision and he just went with it. Who knows maybe Aircast offered them an awesome deal which would make the hospital more profit. He had no problems with me switching to the Vacocast if I wanted to.

    This coming Tues I will ask him about the Tracker EX, but one thing I just noticed after watching the manufacturers video on youtube, in the Indications list they bullet item “Achilles Tendonitis” and not “Rupture.” Have you looked into that, or you content that it protects against ATR?