5 Months, The Healing Roller Coaster
Monday marked the 5 month anniversary of my January 9th operation. Things have been pretty busy at work lately so I haven’t had as much time to post or comment. I finally had a chance today to catch up on some of the latest blog posts, and it was funny to read people mention some of the exact same things that I was thinking about including in this post.
I believe it was Withnail who mentioned the roller coaster metaphor. That is exactly how I was going to describe this past month of recovery. I have days where I’m making progress, chuggin’ up the hill, only to have the bottom drop out. It then seems like I go through several days of feeling like I’ve taking a big step backwards. The limp still lingers and unilateral heel lifts still seem several weeks away. I’m really starting to appreciate why this injury is described with a 6-12 month recovery.
But, all is not sour. I’m trying not to be discouraged by what seems like a lack of progress. I look back on the days when every step was an adventure and am thankful to be fully mobile once again. It wasn’t that long ago that jogging, squatting, and lunging were distant aspirations. And now I’m able to do all those things, generally with little to no pain or discomfort. While the progress is slower than it was the first few weeks sans boot, it is happening. It just isn’t as obvious and cannot be compared day by day. I believe Dennis mentioned this same thing in a recent post.
Attached below are a few photos at the 5 month mark:
The incisions have healed well and don’t present any discomfort. I’m happy that I’m able to choose from my full array of shoes without worrying if they’re going to irritate the incision area. This is probably one advantage of the less invasive procedure used by my surgeon. I do continue to have some residual swelling around my ankle and a lot of scar tissue built up around the tendon. You can probably notice the puffiness in the photos. Jim, I too feel like I’m smuggling a golf ball. Pretty crazy! Per the recommendations of a few other achillesblog compadres, I’ve started wearing a compression sock to see if that helps with the swelling. I see a little improvement after a few days, so I’ll continue to wear it for awhile. There are some improvements in the appearance of my calf, although it’s still pretty puny. The good thing is that my good calf is also pretty puny, so the difference isn’t too obvious!
I’ve still been going to the gym about 5 or 6 days a week. Some days are less intense than others, but I still do most of my basic PT exercises everyday. Others have mentioned that they’ve mixed in some rest days and found success with that, so my plan is to try and give my calf a bit more of a break between workouts. That’s mentally difficult for me, but it’s definitely worth a try.
I can also say that I’ve progressed from thinking about the injury every minute of every day to now only thinking about it every hour of every day. Can’t wait to get to the point of only thinking about it every day!
It’s great to hear so many people finding achillesblog as an outlet and an opportunity to learn more about this injury and the healing process. To those just starting out on this journey, stay positive. Our bodies heal in amazing ways and it won’t be long before you’re up on your feet again.
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Tom - keep up the good work. I mentioned to Dennis, Doc, and Jim that I need to hit the gym more too….pretty amazing you can get there 5-6 times a week! Not to make excuses for myself..but I can’t remember if you have kids or not? Ha…pretty easy to read right through that question
I have been told by a few folks that the older you get, the more rest you need in between workouts. Strength training is really causing microtears in the muscles and those tears healing themselves are what cause stronger muscles. I may be preaching to the choir…but rest in between sessions seems to be important…unfornately, I’m going a week in between gym visits…probably too long
Do you still have to concentrate to get up onto to your toe when walking..or is that pretty natural now? I’m shooting for a single calf raise at my 4 month mark..but I definitely have a long way to go…so maybe will move that goal out to 5 months.
Thanks again for your continued posts..it’s been great to keep hearing what’s ahead!
Cheers!
Way to go Tom! You inspired me to start keeping track of my workouts (both PT exercises and weights/walking) which really helps me stay on track. When do you think you’ll play volleyball again? I’m a little scared to ask my PT about that one…
Brendan, I had really been abusing my leg between weeks 10-13 every day. I was in quite a bit of pain at the end of the day. I decided to work hard one day, and really take it as easy as possible the next, and just alternate. I really think this helped my recovery. I can’t do a single calf raise yet, but I can stretch my calf, leg straight, ball of foot on the curb and let full body weight push down. My calf seems to be weakest when the leg is straight. With bent knees, I can walk on the balls of my feet, kind of a squat walk. I weigh 225, and tonight I was able to stand with 205 pounds on the ball of my foot, I have the bathroom scale in the kitchen now. Still quite a bit of tightness right behind my ankle bone when going to toes, but that is slowly getting better. Well, that’s where I am now.
Jim - wow..just tried the squat walk..and that’s pretty cool. No limp, although I feel a little cro-magnon! Oh well..good to get back to our roots!
My stretching is going well too…I do slow, 60-90 second stretches, pushing it about as hard as I feel comfortable with (I still have that POP in the back of mind which holds be back just a bit).
When doing eccentric calf work and stretching on the slant board, I feel the most tightness on the outside part of the tendon/ankle, for me that’s left AT, so left side of ankle. My PT says there are some other muscles and/or tendons (can’t remember the name) that are there and need to be stretched too. I’m just a little guy at 165, so that may help with my calf raise goal…not sure. I think tomorrow will be my last PT appt…and as someone else mentioned..it’ll be up to me at that point. I also have what I think will be my last ortho appt next week. Good to hear from you.
Brendan - No kids, hence the extra time available to get to the gym. I’m constantly amazed by all the people who are recovering from this injury while still “chasing” kid(s) around. It’s a good reminder for me that things could always be worse. Don’t discount the workout you’re getting while you bike commute. If you’re doing that several times a week along with some of the basic PT exercises, I would think you’re doing pretty well. I still think about almost every step I take. I’m able to get out on my toes, but it’s not always comfortable or natural.
Bri - I don’t have plans for playing volleyball any time soon. I’m guessing I’ll be able to around the end of summer, but I think I’ll wait until indoor leagues start up. It’s not that I’m concerned about a re-rup, I’m just ultra-competative and I don’t want to play just to play. I’ll get frustrated quickly if I’m not able to do the things I could do prior to the injury. Volleyball is pretty recreational for me, so I don’t mind sitting out for a year. Running has been a little more difficult to be away from.
Hey Tom,
It sounds like you are doing really well - thanks for sharing your progress! I’m week 6 post-op, and put a running shoe on for the first time yesterday. Felt so good to try to walk without the boot, but as a runner, I am a little shocked at my realization of how long this is going to take to actually run again (despite what everyone says, somehow you think it will be different for you!). At this point I can’t even bend my knee forward with my foot almost flat on the floor. Did you put heel lifts in your shoes when you started walking in 2 shoes? I start PT next week, and I’m looking forward to trying all the exercises you and the guys are talking about.
Take care,
Jen
Jen - Congrats on getting back to FWB. That certainly seems to be one of the biggest milestones. Just be careful during that 6-8 week mark. It feels so good to be walking again, but you’re still healing. Try some gentle, long duration stretches while sitting in a chair. Try to get your knee past your toes and hold it there. If you feel pain, you’ve gone to far, so just ease your knee back a bit. You’ll start to feel the tendon loosen up after a week or so.
I used heel lifts in my shoes after I got out of the boot, and I actually still use them. I’m not sure if they’re helping much, but I figure it’s a little less strain on the tendon. I’ve tried both gel heel lifts and heel cups. The gel heel lifts work well under the insole of my running shoes.
Thanks Tom, I appreciate your advice. I will try the gel heel lifts. I think The Running Room store by us sells some . . . it will be good to go back in that store, even if for some inspiration down the road!
Tom-Thanks for all the good posts, I read all of the veterans blogs when I can. I sort of know what to expect and it seems that I am always a step ahead. When is the tendon completely healed? Is that after the 8th week or so? Thanks- Matt
Matts - Glad to hear the posts are helpful. It’s my hope that others can learn from my successes and failures, thereby making their recovery a little easier. From the research that I’ve done and through discussions with my surgeon, it’s my understanding that the healing follows a logarithmic curve. In other words, you develop early strength in the repaired tendon, say maybe 75-80% during the first 8-12 weeks and then it plateaus. It may take up to a year for the final 20-25%. Not sure on the exact percentages, but you get the idea.
BTW, it great that your surgery is helping to “stimulate the economy”! Not sure if that is what Congress had in mind.
hi tom!
just stumbled upon your blog here & like so many others,
very happy it’s available!
not sure where to post this, so i’ll try here.
i tore my achilles tendon on june 1rst & opted
for non-surgical treatment. is there any place on this website
that non-surgery achilles tendon folks are talking about their
experiences? anything about this approach - why they chose it,
how the recovery’s going, anything positive or encouraging to say.
all that you’ve been sharing here is so inspiring.
i’m looking for the same for us “no op” people.
any help you can give me would be incredibly appreciated.
thank you!
take care ~
jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
I ruptured on 20 Feb and was cast on 21st for the non surgery recovery.
I have been out of the cast since 1st May and back at work since 7th May.
You are welcome to have a look at my blog and to ask any questions about recovery, PT, etc.
http://achillesblog.com/johnk/
Stay patient and positive, IMO the worst spell was the first 10 days, trying to get over the boredom and frustration.
By the way welcome to the ATR Nation !
Johnk
jennifer - There’s a few people here who opted for the non-surgical treatment so I hope you’ll read about their experiences and share yours as well.
I don’t know if you’ve been to Marfell Family achilles forum ( http://www.marfell.me.uk/nuke/index.php ), but there seems to be a lot of people who have opted for non-surgical method there too. But AchillesBlog is probably the most active community for Achilles rupture injury, so you’ve found a good place.
Hi Jennifer - Glad you stumbled upon the blog, but sorry to hear that you’ve become another victim of this injury. Achillesblog has been a great outlet for me during recovery. It’s great to share stories with people who are going through a similar experience. As JohnK and Dennis have mentioned, there are a few people on Achillesblog who have chosen the non-surgical path, although so far the majority have had surgery. I hope you’ll share your story with us. I think it would be great to have more non-surgical recovery stories so people know there are alternatives to surgery with similar end results. While the paths may differ a little bit, I believe we all have pretty similar experiences with the recovery.
FYI, here is a link to a forum from an Australian website (http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=5434) where most of the commenters chose the non-surgery route. There is also a link to the site from my page under the “ATR Sites” tab. I check this out from time to time to look for advice. You can start at the beginning or just go forward to the more recent posts. But, as Dennis mentioned, Achillesblog seems to be the most active. I think you’ll find it very helpful regardless of your recovery protocol.
Cheers!
Tom - yes, it goes slowly. I can’t do unilateral heel raises either (4 months). My PT asked me what % strength I was and I said 70%. Then after going through some exercises I said “no way it’s 70%, maybe 50%”. She said she thought that I was being optimistic. So it’s that damn “patience” word again. That, and diligence. Man, you have a thick (and strong)tendon!
John
Even though I’m 15 weeks today (I’m not pregnant) it’s great to read posts from others that are further along. It really helps me feel like I’m not slacking or not progressing. The last few days have been mentally difficult, no gains, pain, but today it’s better. If I push hard I have pain the next day or two.
One strange phenomenon I have noticed is even though more of the calf is working, and it’s getting stronger, it is actually SMALLER now than it has been. I wonder why this is. Maybe instead of being a bowl of lumpy jello it is toning up and getting harder, thus smaller. Anyone else notice anything like this? I can’t do a unilateral heel raise either, but I was able to put 215 of my 225 pounds on the ball of my foot, I wonder how much my foot weighs!
Keep up the good work and high spirits all.