taeggysbahbah’s AchillesBlog

Hope the problems go for you!

Like you, I am not able to do leg heel raises either. It isn’t for lack of trying though. Your surgery is pretty similar to mine, so I do know what you are going through. The one thing I have noticed is that when I now wear my tennis shoes I have better support, and I am able to do more than when wearing something like a sandal or clog. Hope your foot recovers quickly!

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Hello!!

Wow, I have a very similar case. I had a Haglund’s deformity, and 40% of my tendon was degenerated and avulsed from the bone. The other 60% ruptured higher up, and my tendon split up the middle. My OS had to debride the degenerative end, shave down the Haglund’s, attach the avulsed end back to the calcaneus with an anchor, repair the rupture higher up, and stitch the two sides together. I’m 8 months out now and doing quite well, save for some heel soreness. I also can’t do a single leg heel raise, and doubt at this point I will ever be able to. My gait looks good, and I can even jog a little. Not too bad overall.

Oops, sorry about that. It was Haglund’s deformity and debridement. It was pretty ugly he said and had to do additional work while in there the first time.

No, I was responding to your “He did say with the particular type of surgery that I had it would probably take a year to completely recover.”

Did he mean that Haglunds surgery needs a year, or was there something more particular about yours?

Thankfully there wasn’t any surgery, but he was going to have to go in and see what was going on with the Haglund part of the surgery if my foot continued on the way it was going. While I did everything that I supposed to do post surgery, my foot wasn’t on the same plan. The bed rest was the turning point. I don’t know where it would have gone if the second surgery had to be done, but it wasn’t and I’m thrilled.

I hope that’s the end of the problems! What was the special surgery?

I had the same surgery, and the same bottom of foot pain the first few weeks FWB. Rolling it on a frozen water bottle after PT and any time it was sore was heavenly. The massage was also very important for my recovery; it broke up a lot of scar tissue that was causing pain and impeding my progress. The first 4 weeks of PT I would leave in a little more pain than I had when I came in, but on the flip side my strength and flexibility would improve by leaps and bounds after a rough PT day. It was always encouraging to wake up the next day a little stronger/more flexible than I’d been the day before, and in less pain than I’d been in for years. Stick with it, I can tell you the pain is worth it.

Many (most, both post-op and non-op)) of us experienced serious hypersensitivity on the bottom of the foot (especially the heel) going to FWB and especially to 2 shoes. Probably just a reaction to the long NWB period. Ice can help, squishier shoes (Crocs) or insoles can help, rolling your foot over a tennis ball or a frozen water bottle can help - and “tincture of time”!

Apparently the OS didn’t test me prior to surgery. It wasn’t until after the stroke that the neurologist at the hospital tested me. His only comment was that he was surprised that the OS hadn’t tested for this prior to surgery just for this very reason. At least it has been discovered and I am now being treated.

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I’m so sorry to hear that! My surgeon has me taking aspirin once daily to help prevent blood clots. Was this the case for you, too, or was it not suggested until after your minor stroke?

Day 16 Post Op
Still doing ROM exercises twice a day. FWB walking around in the boot with no discomfort at all. My ROM has improved dramatically since my first post op appt.
I started to incorporate elastic band exercises in my PT but still not doing much DF exercises. The guidlines really caution on not doing DF past neutral until 6 weeks even in aggressive rehab.
Incision site is looking good but still not getting it wet for another week.
Gonna sleep without the boot tonight!

Trent.seidl@yahoo.com

My 2 ATRs were both history, ~11 & ~3 years ago, right (op) then left (non-op). But here I am, still addicted to this site!
I think most of the non-Vaco hinged (”ROM”) boots are pretty similar, including the hinged Donjoy one I got ~11 years ago — and reused for the later part of my more recent rehab, when I wanted a hinged boot as a transition to 2 shoes, instead of the fixed AirCast my OS recommended.
If the liner scrapes your incision, there are 2 basic solutions: (1) Make the boot fit well (snug) enough that it doesn’t move against the wound, and/or (2) protect the wound with 1 or 2 layers of SOMETHING so the liner can slide back and forth without hurting it.
Approach #1 usually relies on the Velcro straps, though footbeds and other padding can also help. (I cut up an old cheap “ensolite” foam camping pad to pad all KINDS of things — crutch handles, footstools for kneeling, a plastic stepstool for the shower, and my boot.) If it isn’t easy to make the boot snug, it may be the wrong size. That’s a problem now, but it’ll be a bigger problem when you’re supposed to walk on it.

For approach #2, felt can work, one or two

Hi, normofthenorth. The neurologist has put me on aspirin and Plavix to control the clotting. What an eye opener at my age. Just when you think you know your body…surprise!

As for the pain, I guess my frustration is that I haven’t a clue on how long the pain could possibly last. No, I’m not stupid enough to think that it will fall into place within a timeline, but I would at least understand why it is lasting so long. If the doctor had said that it wasn’t unusual for it to be like that for three or four months, possibly longer, instead of saying that is where the work was done, then I would have known what to expect.

What type of padding did you use at your incision site? I’m in a MaxFlex Rom Air Walker Boot, which is a metal bar on each side, a soft foam liner, a hinge that sets the foot at a certain degree, and a padded solid plastic bottom. The liner is what is currently rubbing against the incision causing it to hurt like the devil. I have never felt such pain in my life. I never thought my self a wimp before, but I have to say this time I am screaming WIMP with capital letters! I have been keeping an eye on t

A couple of things, TBB:

If you can, install the ATR Timeline widget, details on the Main Page, so we can see where you are, how long it’s been, etc.

Getting Haglund’s surgery with a bone bump shaved off is bound to be more painful than normal ATR surgery, and my ATR surgery was more painful than my open heart surgery or either hernia operation. That doesn’t prove that everything is normal but there is some short term pain for long term gain here.

If your boot is upsetting your incision or any other part of your leg, it can be adjusted or padded to fix it - big advantage over a cast!

I assume you’re getting daily LMW Heparin shots (or a reasonable alternative) to avoid future clotting. If not you should.

Hi, Janis, I haven’t thought about seeking a second opinion, but I think I will now. I know I will probably have a wait between making the appointment and actually getting in, but it may be well worth it.

One of the things that I didn’t mention, but probably should have, was when going into the room to get my stitches removed the person who removes them asked how I was doing since being there last. When I said, “Bad,” her response was, “That’s great.” They are so programmed to hear “good” that they don’t understand what is being said when it isn’t. I don’t want to say they are so jaded that they don’t hear people anymore, but I can’t think of a better word. If you are wondering, yes, I finally did get her undivided attention.

I wouldn’t want to do that again either… geez! Would it be possible to get a second opinion from a different OS? It doesn’t sound like yours listens to your concerns, at the very least. It seems like you are in a disproportionate amount of pain, especially given that you know what kind of pain to expect post op.