Some pics from beginning to so far 8 weeks 5 days
toro-park-near-where-i-atred
day-of-docs-appt-tendon-rolled-up-into-calf-above-ankle
difference-between-the-two-is-drastic-feb-18th-8-days-post-treatment
18-days-into-treatment-ugh-still-ugly
feb-28th-18-days-into-treatment-swelling-still-persistent, leg muscle weak
march-6th-few-days-short-of-a-mo.-some-swelling-calf-weakening, tendon smoother
mikey-at-work, shortly after being cleared rainy, tapped bag around my boot @6weeks
hard-to-tell-which-ones-injured-8-weeks, calf coming back
mikey-in-2-shoes, few days ago @ 8 weeks
today-8-weeks-5-days-tendon-looks-feels-strong-calf-as-well
8-weeks-5-days, rupture occured below fingers above ankle
Well, hopefully this gives a good idea of the process my tendon has gone thru and will continue to go thru…To me there has been a dramatic change from tendon rolling up into my calf, to my calf softening and weakening, then to the swelling as my body tries to protect and heal the site, followed by a regeneration and reformation of the tendon, culminating(so far) in a strengthening of both tendon and leg…
Not sure how long 'til I'm running in the Mts. like this again, but it'll happen in due time :)
April 11th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Congrats on the two shoes. I could see the pride and satisfaction in your smile. Only a matter of time before you are running again. You will get there. Very smart if you to document with pics, never even occurred to me. Thanks for sharing and thanks for all the kind words to my posts. Keep going!
April 12th, 2012 at 2:37 am
Thanks, well hopefully a once in a lifetime (opportunity?) deal, so must document…This is a big chapter in my life. Want to never forget to hold onto the gratitude once I come out the other side!
Plus it helps me to have a tangible record of where I’ve been and it helps to re-assure me that yes there has been growth…Helps to have that out of body view of the tendon too, I’d recommend for everyone.
April 12th, 2012 at 8:24 am
Thanks for sharing these- helps to give me optimism for the coming weeks!! I’m at week 5 - I’m still PWB but my leg is getting stronger - I’m surprised that I still have swelling sometimes, though. Congrats on 2 shoes!!
April 12th, 2012 at 10:06 am
Thanks so much also on my end gives us all hope and strength! Tackling my tendinopathy here with all I have but developing patience for the long haul and if hats the case so be it. Wil stay in touch.
April 12th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Think I probably still had some lighter swelling at 5 weeks, just gotta stay on top of it, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate…at 5 weeks that’s all it would take for any of my swelling to decrease.
April 12th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Thanks - and did you wear a compression sock a lot during your recovery? I haven’t tried those yet. My dr. didn’t mention it, either.
April 12th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Yeah my doc actually cut me a compression calf sleeve off a roll…But I also have compression socks from running, Nike Dri-fit, but I like the one my doc gave me because it’s soft and half my foot pokes out so I don’t have to have my toes covered by a sock all the time…It’s made out of a material that’s similar to an ace bandage so comfy…I have a few that I rotate and wear them quite often.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Cindy: I can attest to the value of compression socks. After my cast came off, I had significant swelling. Once I got into a compression sock and kept my foot up, the swelling practically vanished in 2 or 3 days. It seems like they do take a bit of effort to get into though.
April 13th, 2012 at 8:21 am
Thanks, Ultra & Starshep - I will try it - I have been elevating about half the time since I’ve been in the boot (after my 4 weeks in the cast elevating constantly), but whenever I don’t, there is some swelling. Seems like most of the people on here were told to WBAT by this stage, which I’ve been trying & feels OK. (Still with these darn crutches, though.)
April 14th, 2012 at 9:13 am
Hi Ultra! I’m the runner from the List that you refered to the Achillesblog. Thanks again!
Today is the first trail race that I was supposed to run that I am missing, so I have that “twinge of regret” that is clouding my attitude that was pretty good up until now.
April 14th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
Yeah I’ve seen a few of those come & go, I’ve just had to decide that those things will be waiting for me when I’m ready. I feel wistful when I think about the Big Sur coming up on the 29th and I allow myself a little of that but not enough to bring me down…I think about how awesome it would be to run the race, I think I’ll be walking it and I’m going to have to really push the walking pace to make the two cut offs, when I could of just run it in @ 3 1/2 hrs and that’s a bummer…But I know it will be there next yr, and so will all of these other races…The time will pass, even if it doesn’t feel like it, I’m at 9 weeks now that seemed so far away when I started treatment…But looking at it from this end of the calendar I can say that yes it felt like time was suspended but really it moved along just like it always does…Every week that goes by opens up new realities of re-gained fitness and it all seems to gather momentum…Before you know it we’ll be back doing the things we love, as long as we take care of ourselves. P.S. it’s great to see your on the site there are a lot of great blogs to peruse, you are not alone…Keep your chin up, it’s going to help you along as you recover. Allow yourself that twinge of regret but don’t let it bring ya down!
April 14th, 2012 at 8:25 pm
*You’re…I hate when I rush I almost always drop the apostrophe
but knew what I wanted to say to you. 
April 14th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Cindy sounds like you’re almost ready for FWB, awesome! 5.5 weeks was @ the time I slowly made the transition to FWB…Just keep doing things at your body”s pace…
April 15th, 2012 at 8:13 am
What did you do between 6weeks and 8weeks to get the swelling down so much? It looks like you made a considerable jump in those weeks…I am 6weeks and a few days and by the end of the day I have considerable swelling still…in the morning it has gone down. I also don’t sit down at all during the day….I stay at home with my young kids and they don’t really care if you need to elevate..but it seems like you were walking a lot also between those weeks….I am full fwb at this time and I am wearing a small stirrup splint with 2shoes…no pain. I have also been working out ……yesterday I did lots of squats and it felt great..basically is swelling just part of it or does it indicate I am doing too much…
April 15th, 2012 at 11:24 am
Swelling is not only Nature’s way of telling you to rest and RICE etc., but it can also prolong and exacerbate — even PRODUCE — many of the symptoms of an incomplete ATR rehab! I discovered this personally about half a year after my left (2nd) ATR, when I smacked my RIGHT shin bone against the gunwale of a sailboat.
I was just stepping into the boat at the dock, left foot first, my back leg hit the boat, didn’t seem like much at the time. But it created a real bone bruise (probably an inflammation between the bone and its sheath, whose name I forget) that lasted for maybe 2 months? It not only turned black and blue, but the discoloration and some general swelling soon started “sliding” down my lower leg from gravity. After a little while, my ANKLE was black and blue and swollen. Don’t forget, (a) I never touched the ankle or foot when I banged my shin, and (b) this wasn’t the same leg as my recent ATR (and this one was 100% from its earlier ATR many years earlier)!
But the swollen ankle FELT just as if it was recovering from an ATR. I was tempted to limp the same way, my ROM was restricted, and I had that “congested” feeling that I’d gotten so used to in my boot and for weeks after getting into 2 shoes. The ONLY thing wrong with that ankle was that it was swollen, and it was only swollen because swelling had “invaded from above” because of gravity!!
It made my recent life flash past my eyes, as I wondered how many of my persistent symptoms during ATR recovery had ZERO directly to do with the rupture, the healing, weakness, collagen formation and replacement, yadda yadda, and EVERYTHING to do with the swelling (admittedly related to the rupture and the healing, on THAT side) that I wasn’t controlling well enough all the time.
FWIW.
BTW, I usually concentrated on RIE out of RICE, and never seemed to great results from compression socks. Obviously others have done much better with them. And my (great) non-op surgeon highly recommended them when I met with him late-ish in my rehab, with a “fat ankle”. But I usually did better with a bit of Ice and lots of Rest and Elevation.
April 16th, 2012 at 1:41 am
Trucker, I have 3 kids so you have my sympathy and understanding! My kids can go from 0-60 in no time flat!
The key for me tho in dealing with the swelling is after exercising hitting that ultra sound and bathing in warm water, massaging the tendon, then R.I.C.E.ing after particularly tough work-outs it might take all that and a very good nights sleep before the exercised induced swelling would go away. I worked hard yet it was always in a progressive manner. The tendon and lower leg have thanks and credit to Jesus been able to gain strength and to heal so the swelling has also just decreased as time has gone on…But you hear about R.I.C.E.ing so much as an athlete because it is effective…I know kids have needs and are a handful but you have to find the time to take care of yourself…Particularly for your kids sake.
Norm I use the compression stockings almost constantly…As a runner I’ve read about the benefits after runs of wearing them, you’ll see many of our top elites wearing them now…The studies show an increase in muscle oxidation at I think around a 20% greater rate…So that’s just another reason beside the compression aspect. I agree that you don’t want that inflammation sitting around, horrible for healing…It shows the body is trying to protect and heal but that stuff ends up being an inhibiting factor for sure.
April 16th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Quick update as I chase a short term goal…walking the Big Sur Marathon.
Went out in some short running shorts & my cam boot…Nice to catch a little sunshine!
Ok, since they close down HWY 1 in order to run the Big Sur Marathon & it being the only way in and out of the area for coastal residence we have a 6 hr time limit to be considered an official finisher…Plus there’s a 22 hr cut off that has to be reached in 5 hrs or they pull you…Basically have to walk 4.4 MPH for 22 miles & 4.3 MPH over 26.2, 13.40 min/sec a mile.
Today’s walk was a nice confidence boost towards that end as I walked 11.26 miles on roiling route…@13.20 min/sec mile so that was very nice…The key is going to be making good time on the flat & down hill sections and putting time in the bank as in Big Sur there are a few steep sections particularly Hurricane PT, which is about a 2 mile climb @ half way and the Highlands of Carmel toward the end…Nice thing is you have some very nice down hills on the back side of those climbs…So confidence level is high! I’ll update with picture from the Marathon on April 29th…Looking forward to walking hard for the Lord!
P.S. just as a random note got to meet Guy Fieri from Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives…Cool dude, just thankful I’ve been able to get out…It’s not running but there’s something to be said for appreciating the process and having perspective. I have a lot of friends out training in the mountain trails right now preparing for some pretty great races, I can’t do that but that doesn’t mean I won’t eventually & until then I’ll be thankful for what I can do & consider that a gift!
God Bless all one step at a time, where ever you find yourself in the process!
April 17th, 2012 at 12:19 am
Opps 22 mile cut off in 5 hrs or less, not 22 hr lol!
April 17th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Norm!
It’s good to see you are still here sharing your expertise with new folks.
Your thoughts on swelling are interesting. I used Tubigrip to keep swelling down after my ATR, along with a little “pillow” to keep the swelling down in those little hollows between the two ankle bones (the malleoli) and the tendon. If I wanted faster swelling relief, I wrapped an ace bandage over the whole thing. Keeping the swelling way down like that helped me feel much more mobile.
I learned a lesson about another problem that’s common amongst us older athletes, arthritis in the knee, (along with a minor cartilage problem in one of them). I started “babying” my knees due to the soreness, which led to somewhat weakened quadricep muscles. That made the knees feel worse, and a vicious cycle got started. It really surprised me how bad things got in just a couple of months. I actually started to wonder if I might need knee replacements. Instead, fortunately, I just got serious about quadricep strength, starting with isometric exercises to get through the worst soreness at the beginning. It was a happy surprise how much I could make that vicious cycle go backwards. My right knee is back to normal, and the left, the one with the cartilage trouble, is still sore but improving. I thought I’d throw that experience out here in case someone else is in a similar fix.
And Dennis, if you’re reading this, I’m curious about something. When I order things from Amazon now and then, I make a point of doing it via the search box on the AchillesBlog main page. How much do you get when one makes a purchase like that? As always, thank you Dennis for keeping this great site up and running.
Best wishes,
Doug
April 23rd, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thanks Doug for your knee comment. I’m soon 4 weeks post op and the inside knee of my casted leg has been killing me to the point of wondering too if I need surgery on the knee! There has been considerable loss of quad muscles around my knee- and mid thigh is 6cm smaller than my good right leg! So I guess I’ll give building up the quads a go
Sars
April 24th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Hi Sars,
I hope some straightforward quadricep strengthening will help you as much as it has helped me and my arthritic knees.
There are a couple of exercises you might be able to do right now. The simple one is isometric, just straightening your knee as hard as you can. To get some movement in the picture, cross your ankles, injured one behind the other, bend both knees, and let the hamstring muscles of your good leg provide reisistance for the quadriceps of your injured leg.
achillesblog.com/doug53/2009/08/08/six-months-on-calf-at-full-strength/#comment-45
It is likely too late for you to use another approach, using a strong vibrating/percussive massager to lessen muscle atrophy. I did that with my calf very early after surgery, (I was not in a cast or a boot), and may be an important part of the reason why I was able to hold my body’s weight up with my injured calf at just past eight weeks postop. My blog has some more details about this.
Best wishes,
Doug