How strong is a healed tendon?
January 15, 2012 by xplora
I know that it has been said many times that a healed tendon should not rupture again, at least in the same place, but always in the back of my mind is the question - How strong is it? Well I answered that yesterday for myself. I have been buiding my new house of late and climbing up and down ladders, scrambling along trusses, balancing on top plates. All giving my almost 9 month healed tendon a good workout, but yesterday we had to lift a 200kg steel beam 3 metres. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive, still unsure if my tendon is competely healed. We are in a remote area so machines are not available. There is nothing above the beam to set up a block and tackle so the only way to lift it was by hand. We were able to set up a rope to a wall on either end and my partner would take the slack and lock it off as I took each step up the ladder with the beam on my shoulder. The first lift put incredible pressure on my injured side and I must admit I was quite concerned but it held and felt very strong. Lifting the other side of the beam put the same stress on the other tendon (as the weight of the beam was on my other side) and I hoped it would not let go. It took a series of lifts, one side then the other, until it was in position and my injured side felt strong throughout. My other side felt a little sore. This morning it is only my shoulder that feels sore. I feel so much more confident now and would like to asure others that getting back to the things you did before is very achievable.
Wow. That is a real test and it sounds like you did well.
I was wondering about the load limit of your ladder.
Yeah, your poor ladder!
This is great news Stuart. Its really encouraging for all of us to know you are trusting your tendon to do what you need it to do once again.
I checked the ladder after Ryan’s comment. 120kg oops. I think it would give out before the tendon.
Wow! 200kg! Very impressive. I guess I can’t use my tendon as an excuse not to do heavy lifting forever. I’m only 6 months out from the opp to repair my re-ruptured tendon so I probably still have a way to go yet.
Joel - At six months you are not that far away but I must emphasise, the beam was 200kg but I was only lifting one end at a time so it was not the full weight. This is the time you will start to realise that a full recovery is only a step away. Work hard, heal well and enjoy life.