Posted on September 25th, 2009 by sryan2673
For the last week I’ve been worried bout cast claustrophobia and how that will go. Had a lot of great ideas from people about how to relax, drink some wine or read a book to take my mind off the feeling of claustrophobia. I was in the internet looking around when I came across topics about swelling in a cast and fixes doctors do to solve the swelling. They bilateral the cast. It’s cuts the cast in two to alleviate pressure. I figured why can’t I do that. I had the cast put on like normal and after about 10 minutes they cut the cast in two. Then reattached the two pieces using black tape. Now if i panic I can cut the tape, take the top part of the cast off relax and then put it back together. Knowing I can take it apart eases my mind, I might not even need to take it apart, but you never know what might happen at 3 in the morning.

Escape Cast
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Posted on September 24th, 2009 by sryan2673
I’ve been doing some research on the internet and came across some information of different types of casts that can be used with and Achilles Rupture. Has anyone used the Mobile cast and if so how did that work. I’m going to ask my doctor tomorrow because my splint comes off and a cast goes on. Here is the study in a nutshell below:
Cetti R. Henriksen LO. Jacobsen KS. Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research. (308):155-65, 1994 Nov. Sixty patients with acute rupture of the Achilles tendon were included in a prospective study and assigned randomly for operative treatment using a Á 4-string suture with either a new mobile cast (30) or a rigid below-knee  cast (30). All patients were evaluated clinically for 1 year after surgery. During surgery, a radiographic monitor was placed in the Achilles tendon above and beneath the site of rupture. Radiographic evaluation of tendon behavior during healing was also performed on all patients for 1 year. Major complications were 1 rerupture in the mobile cast group and 2 reruptures and 1 infection in the rigid cast group. There were fewer minor complications in the mobile cast group. More patients in the mobile cast group resumed sports activities at the same level as before the rupture than in the rigid cast group. They also had better recovery of normal ankle movement plus faster and better recovery of plantar flexion strength. Fewer patients in the mobile cast group had calf atrophy, and * fewer had problems 1 year after the accident. Furthermore, patients treated with the mobile cast had a statistically significant shorter sick leave. Radiographic evaluation of the tendon monitor showed significantly Á less elongation of the tendon 1 year after rupture for patients in the mobile cast group. Operative treatment with a 4-string suture and use of a postoperative mobile cast proved safe and convenient and preferable to treatment with the traditional rigid below-knee cast. *
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Posted on September 23rd, 2009 by sryan2673
Friday I get my Splint cast off and I am concerned that I will get very claustrophobic in a hard cast. Does any one have any ideas what I can do. There has been a few time in the splint cast that I have almost cut it off and it’s loose. Are there any other ways to cast my leg that are not so confining?
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Posted on September 22nd, 2009 by sryan2673
Well here goes……
We start this story already in progress…..
It was a beautiful Saturday morning on the 5th September. The previous 5 weeks I had been training to run my very first 5k race. I had purchased new running shoes and had broken them in. New shorts and a new shirt to help keep me cool. everything was going according to plan. I had two cups of coffee and a light breakfast that morning, I wanted to have the energy to run the whole 5k.
My girlfriend and I headed off to Millersport to the Sweet corn 5k run. There were lots of people of all shapes and sizes. We got or race packets and race numbers and headed to the starting area. We meet up with some of her friends at the start line. I prepared my Ipod the day earlier with the right tunes to listen to during my run. I had them all planned out. Something rock to pump me up pre-race, fast beat music for my first mile, something slower for miles 2 and 3 and great finishing music for after the run. All was set……
The race started with the pistol shot and I was off. My first mile was 9:34 which is great for at 37 year old guy just starting to run again. I settled into a nice running pace. I had to walk a few time during the run, but Hey I had only been training for 5 weeks. I was getting closer to the end of the race, I could feel it. Then I noticed one of my Girlfriends friends was running next to me. He is a little older than me 40, I tried keeping pace with him but could not and had to walk. That’s when I noticed the finish line about 1/4 mile away. I couldn’t let him beat me. I’m so close to the finish and I have some energy left. That’s when I decided to start running again instead of walking. I started to pick up the pace. Running faster, and faster and even faster. I was catching up to him. The I passed him with about 200 feet to the finish line. I felt great. I can finish the race at a run, beat a 40 year old guy and…. Wow I looked at the clock, 31:14… Wow my first 5k and I’ll do it under 32:00.
That’s when it happened……….****POP*****. It didn’t hurt just felt like someone hit the back of my leg. Then It felt as if I was running on a marshmallow. I knew what happened from watch football and listening to players talk about there injuries. Well I had come to far to let this stop me. I finished the race with a torn right Achilles and still beat my friend.
My girlfriend, who had finished around the 27:00 mark came up to me and said” why are you limping” all I could get out was “MEDIC”
Well that was 17 days ago. I’m now in a splint cast, I had the surgery a week ago and I go to the doctor to get the stitches out and get my hard cast put on. I have no idea what lays ahead of me over the next 6 to 8 months or longer. But my goal will bet to get back to running as soon as I can. I want to run a 1/2 marathon in the next 3 years so this is only a speed bump on my way to that goal.
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Posted on September 22nd, 2009 by sryan2673
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