ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE UPDATE #12

[luckycat953]

I'm going in for more consultation at this point, but so far just the one option has been given - Surgery to 'lengthen the tendon'. Not only am I inactive, I'm also pretty young so it's pretty shocking to me i have even have this problem. 

[CyberCacique1]

@luckycat953 Wow. Good luck to your decision. It's a tough one since your condition seems to be getting progressively worse.

Be sure you are comfortable with your surgeon, maybe get a second opinion and understand the recovery options in terms therapy and the associated timeframe.

[luckycat953]

Hey I got severe tendonitis and a surgery was recommended. T___T should i? i'm not an athlete i just wanna walk normal lol.

[CyberCacique1]

@luckycat953 Hello. Honestly, I am unsure of what to suggest since I never had tendonitis. Have you tried therapy or have you been told REST or SURGERY are the only real options?

[thomrgraham]

Overall my recovery is going well. I see the doctor on Wed and I am sure he will chastise me for not wearing the boot. But I can almost walk without crutches with no pain. Having been a dancer, articulation of the foot and ankle is in my muscle memory in a big way. I do need to elevate it more and I have been using an ice pack 2 or 3 times a day and massaging it myself afterwards. Gong to the gym to do at least upper body has kept my spirits up. Thanks for the encouragement

[thomrgraham]

Had surgery a month ago and am in boot now. like you I play sports and I used to be a professional dancer so know the body well. I'm almost walking.My concern is the numbness on the outside of the foot and when I touch the scar at one spot it seems like the nerve is messed up. Did you experience anything like this?

[CyberCacique1]

@thomrgraham

So, you're a month out from surgery? In a case like that, the "numbness" is kind of to be expected (from my experience) since your body is still healing.

Are you being mindful of consistent elevation?

It's tough to imagine so early into the healing of this injury, but time is something that is pretty important to ensure improvements and the return of your muscle memory.

Overall, how is your recovery going?

[BrazilianSkillls]

hey man

i ruptured my aquilles tendon too.

i just got the surgery,

i do martial arts, so my legs is my life.

i just wanna ask if is it possible to be 100 porcent again???

thanks

[CyberCacique1]

@BrazilianSkillls

Thank you for your comment and you've asked a great question.

Honestly, I don't know the answer to that. Everyone heals differently and there are so many factors that determine if someone will be 100% again.

Did you rupture yours doing martial arts or something else? Had you ever had pain in your Achilles Tendon before?

[BrazilianSkillls]

@CyberCacique1

i ruptured just doing martial arts, (some acrobatics flips)

i never felt any pain in my tendon

just happened :/

so how is ur foot?

[davidmcq11041]

just wanted to thank you for all the video's. I ruptured my achilles tendon a month ago today, Jan. 11th, surgery was Jan. 23rd. I got my fiberglass cast put on Monday and was told ill be in this for 3 weeks and then ill go back in and have my foot brought up to about a 90 degree. Ill then be in another cast for additional 3 weeks then ill be able to start rehab. Seeing you get on your feet again is encouraging, I cant wait till i can walk. Thanks again.

[tempozan]

One tip, I think you need to wear some long lengh sock to keep the calf muscle warm or grab yourself some SKINS. I wear them and they provide a bit more support and I feel more comfortable wearing them......

Good luck with the rehab, I'm at about 12 months and I'm doing sprints, but I'm not ready to go back to high impact activity such as Australian Football.

Tony

[Rideronthestorm82]

Hey when you first were given the ok to walk with the boot on did you use crutches at first? I just got my cast off and its been 5 weeks post surgery .... Im just not sure on the amount of pressure you can put on it. Im in the boot now if that helps..

[CyberCacique1]

I absolutely used crutches at first. I cannot imagine a protocol that does not encourage both of the crutches for 1-2wks after removal of the cast and then a transition to one crutch 2-3wks post cast removal and then no crutches.

As far as pressure goes, I also had a 1/2" heel lift in my boot that further assisted in a gradual stretch to the tendon. The MAIN ISSUE once in the boot is concentration on HEEL TO TOE motions. It's tough at first, but gets better. DO NOT RUSH into it.

[64VRGL]

hello, we almost have the same time , i tore mine may 16th while playing tennis and ido not have PT after the cast removed i did all the physical rehab for myself and i'm doing the same as yours,but i'm not doing yet in the the stairs.i am on my 7 weeks after cast removed and did'nt that CAM boot.

[tennisinjury]

Thanks again for the work you put into these videos and good luck to you.

[CyberCacique1]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the good luck wish as well.

[14panathinaikos]

will u play basket again?

[CyberCacique1]

VERY good question. :)

Not until MAYBE the summer of 2010, but mentally, it might be difficult to do it since I don't want to ever go through this again. LOL!

I do many other sporting activities / cross-training and plan to get into swimming and yoga very soon that I should be OK if I never played again. I just love the game so much, but then again, I do not have a contract to play basketball so it might not be worth it to risk it......:)

[CyberCacique1]

My ankles are VERY similar in size now.

I got the cast put on 2 days after my surgery and then the cast was on for about 5wks and then I was given the RoboCop boot and transitioned onto one crutch during the 2nd week of therapy and then was "crutches-free" in the 3rd week of therapy. I would imagine that the rehab schedule is NOT set in stone and more of an expected set of protocols, so mid-Oct sounds like an ALMOST worst case scenario, but just don't rush it.

[tennisinjury]

Thanks for your videos - very helpful. I had surgery on 8-7 & my doctor tells me I still won't be able to put any weight on my foot in mid-October in time for my wedding date (supposed to take a cruise and do lots of walking - I guess it's not going to happen).

Just a question, in a previous video, you mentioned that your ankle was very "fat". Has your ankle size decreased, or is it still noticeably larger than your other ankle? And, how many weeks after surgery were you "crutches-free"?

[14panathinaikos]

hello

i am about in the same position with u 23 april2009 how a bout your flexibility and swollen..?

[CyberCacique1]

Flexibility is very good from side to side and plantar flex (away from the body) is very good. Dorsi flex (towards the body) is about 85% normal at this time.

I have no swelling. After the vid, it was SLIGHTLY swollen, but I'm sure it's because I don't do workouts like that everyday and just need to slowly build my fitness levels back up. :)

[duradero9]

felt like watching a Devo music vid

[HarleyAngel88]

Looks great! You have really made some tremendous progress. Keep going to 100%!

[CyberCacique1]

Thanks.

100% is the goal, for sure. :)