When I Come Around

An update on my torn Achilles tendon.

The last time I wrote, I was very frustrated with my progress, or lack thereof. The first thing the doctor told me when he diagnosed the injury was that no healing could take place until the swelling went away. Additionally, every single person I talked with who has experienced an Achilles injury (and there are lots of them) said the same thing: “Don’t rush it. I tried to come back too soon, and I paid for it for years afterwards.” This scared me enough that I decided I was going to be a model patient. No pushing the envelope. I did everything I was supposed to do: ice, heat, medication, no stress on the leg. Yet my swelling persisted. This was very disappointing.  I wasn’t healing.

When I started physical therapy a few weeks ago, I had a breakthrough. The swelling went down dramatically after doing therapy exercises and stressing it a little bit. It turned out that the swelling wasn’t from a persistent injury, it was from being so sedentary. My legs are used to moving, not sitting immobilized in a cast. Without any activity, fluid was just collecting in my ankle. The therapy was just what I needed. The light activity was getting my blood pumping and flushing out the ankle. And more importantly, I had no pain, even as we gradually increased the strain on the tendon. Finally, progress.

I’ve never been a believer in structured physical therapy for active people like myself. For previous injuries (mostly broken bones) I simply eased back into my normal activities gradually. I thought physical therapy was for old people, fragile people. But this experience has taught me the value of having a professional therapist who knows how much stress to apply and when to apply it. It has made a huge difference for me in just a few short weeks.

I’d also like to thank my friends for not posting any pictures of epic crust skiing adventures on the web  while I’ve been sidelined.  Or at least not sending me the link to any such pictures.  Being ignorant of what I am missing has also made me feel a lot better.

Right now, I am almost back to my normal range of motion in the ankle. I am riding a bike regularly without the boot. I still wear the boot most of the time around the house and at work, and will for another 2-4 weeks. This is mainly to prevent any odd twists or tweaks that could set me back. The doc says that I should be back to normal in six weeks, which will be early June. That sounds great to me, but the doc also issued a stern warning that he meant “normal for normal people, not normal for someone stupid enough to ski 350 miles.”

Point taken.