Dec

15

protein supplements recommended?

December 15, 2009 | | 4 Comments

should we be taking protein shakes to help muscle recovery? any nutritionist out there? not being mobile atm makes it hard for me to go buy my own meat and vegies to eat everyday.. what about vitamin supplements?

Dec

12

calfs like jelly

December 12, 2009 | | 9 Comments

anyones calf muscle out there still wobble like jelly after 3 months post op? my calf is pretty cold some days too and swells up.. anyone have any cures for that? physio told me to drink warm water with ginger and brown sugar

Nov

8

tore calf muscle in good leg

November 8, 2009 | | 2 Comments

hi all i think i tore my calf muscle in good leg last night.. woke up late at night to go to the toilet, pointed my toes down hard for some reason, heard a little snap.. and then lost 80% of power in calf.. it was already quite atropied from not much walking and no running last 3 months.. there is no pain, very little swelling. slight discomfort if i try to do heel lifts which don’t work anymore.. my ROM is ok.. just cant flex the calf.. i think i did the gastro
hopefully its just a grade 1 tear and I can heal this in 2-3 weeks.. i tried thompson test and its not AT full rupture.. although it might be partial tear of AT away from calf at the top where it meets .. will need to see doctor tomorrow to diagnose..
felt pretty shattered.. i had a good week working on my bad leg too..
I think it got injured due to lack of flexibility and strength and being cold whilst on bed..
am now limping on both feet due to lack of calf muscle.. :(

Nov

3

11 weeks post op

November 3, 2009 | | 5 Comments

leg stronger than last week.. get pretty bad pain and swelling at around 5pm which is at end of working day.. so trip home is painful if I have to catch a train.. means more walking. Been lucky a few days where I got a lift home.
Don’t need to work from office next few weeks so am working from home more now for more rest.
Been walking better since leg is now stronger. Havn’t been stretching or doing PT since I don’t want to add to the pain that going to work causes me. I’ll start stretching excercise again tomorrow when AT is rested and pain is reduced.
Walking bare foot has been good and bad for me… good in mornings where I can work on posture and stretch it in right angle.. bad in evenings since pain causes bad posture.. if only I could put my feet up and rest at 5pm.
I’ve been feeling the AT everyday now with my fingers to see how thick it is since its not really visible due to the swelling.. wish could just get some kind of scan to show it in 3d so I know where scar tissue is and how it looks.

Oct

28

10 weeks post op

October 28, 2009 | | 5 Comments

I’m now fully off crutches since I’m able to walk around the house bare foot. Have a bit more flexibility with AT but still abour 25 degrees less dorsi flex compared to good foot so am limping badly barefoot. Walking better with shoes now.. I’m at about 60% normal walking pace so every 50metres or so, freinds need to wait for me to catch up.

Still have virtually 0 calf so walking action on bad leg is like a kick action rather than lift then heel toe. I used to walk with toes pointed out quite a bit, instead of straight in front of me, so am unsure what angle I should retrain myself to walk. I’ll try to point it straight since that is most normal.

I’ve been going to work past week and half and Leg from knees down to ankle swells up pretty bad towards end of day. So I’ve been wearing compression socks during day which has helped. Havn’t had to resort to ice and elevation yet. Ankle swells badly on right side only.. probably because theres more scar tissue there.. tendon is pretty stiff a few cm above rupture point. Havn’t felt pain in tendon around rupture point which is good. Still not going to push it since there is swelling and discomfort when I touch tendon.
Going for drinks night tomorrow for first time in 2.5 months, hopefully AT doesnt mind a blood alcohol reading above legal driving limit.

Oct

18

9weeks post op

October 18, 2009 | | 1 Comment

im 9 weeks PO, 3 out of cast, no boot, can finally fwb after 3 weeks and have enough strength to walk short distances without crutches. Was a good feeling going to a party yesterday and limping instead of using crutches and have everyone inspecting me and the crutches.

I have a massive limp since the AT is not stretched much beyond 90 degrees and the calf muscles havn’t been worked on yet. I hit the crutches as soon as I feel pain in the AT or heel gets too sore from the heel raised shoes.

Because some strength has come back in legs, I’ve started to do a few chores around the house like the laundry, taking the bin out and washing the dishes which is good for my wife.

Would love to hit the water to excercise and stretch but still need to heel the skin around incisions.

I’ve been a bit slack with PT and stretching the AT since they give me too much pain.. but will pick up the stretching now to get rid of the limp and have more ROM. I’ll try not to stretch as much as I can.. go to a few points before the pain comes so I won’t fear stretching.

Once conern atm is the AT doesn’t look level, it dips about 2mm in middle of incision area for about 1cm the comes back up again. I can feel how wide the AT is but not sure how thick it is since its pretty tight.

Oct

13

8weeks post op

October 13, 2009 | | 3 Comments

I’m now 10 weeks post injury, 8 post op, 2, post cast. I’m still working my way to FWB. I wish I had been out of cast earlier to WB and work on my ROM. Both feet hurt pretty bad when I try to walk bare feet. I’ve just managed to walk in shoes with heel inserts 3 days ago.
I went to my second physio session today, took me 25mins to do an 8 min walk to get there.. it was down hill so I two crutched it instead of 1 or none.
Physio gave me a massage, worked the calf a bit and told me to do more stretching excercises.
I’m a bit disappointed about my incision cracking open a few days after the cast came off.. had to reheal it with bandaids. The skin on top of the AT where incision was all red when cast came off, its now slowly looking normal, with an itch and a rash feel to it.
I’ve been working from home, but need to hit the office next week so hopefully some pain will go away from now until I face the outside world full of stairs and uneven surfaces.

Oct

1

6 weeks post op,how much should I stretch?

October 1, 2009 | | 2 Comments

Hi All
I was 6 weeks post op 4 days ago, had my cast removed which was set at around 25 degrees. I’ve now managed to stretch it to 90 degrees and started PWB walking with crutches. How aggressive should the stretching be?

Sep

7

3weeks post op

September 7, 2009 | | Leave a Comment

had op on 17th august.. OP went ok, was put in plaster cast for 2 weeks at 20 degrees, then I opted for a fibreglass cast for final 4 weeks. So 6 weeks in cast at 20degrees NWB. Then doc told me to get 1 inch heel raised shoes to go  into 2shoes instead of going into the boot first.

Am feeling ok now, looking to start doing some light excercises to get blood flow going and prepare for weight bearing/walking.

Aug

10

undecided on recovery

August 10, 2009 | | 2 Comments

had ATR 6th august playing squash.. went to hospital which gave me a half cast and told me to book orthopedic surgeon.. appointment is 13th.. been doing some reading.. non surgical lately has some good stories too.. im 34yo want to live an active lifestyle, but am happy not to do anything athletic anymore to avoid injuries.. so am caught up in two minds.. had tendonitis on both legs in last 1-2 years… should of listened to my body..

im thinking if its going to take me 2 weeks to get the operation.. i might as well go non surgical if my tendon is already on the healing process in those two weeks.. and risk the higher chance of re-rupture? will just need to be careful and do PT to decrease chances..

atm not wearing the cast .. leg is free.. but i think i should wear one when the tendon starts to join again if i don’t have surgery..