I am shocked the doctor has given me the okay to ditch the boot. I have been reading on the internet about many people’s experiences with this injury and they all appear to have different recovery times. Some orthopedic surgeons are conservative and some, like mine, are very aggressive. Every time I visit with my doctor I ask him, “When can I play basketball again?” Every time he gives me the same answer, “six months.”
Some people (who posted on http://www.achillestendonblog.com/) stated that they have reported not losing the boot until week 14 post operation! I am not using my boot at week 8 post operation. It appears every surgeon does things differently based upon their experiences. Every day my leg is getting stronger. The atrophy of my calf was bad, but I have noticed it is improving. When I first started walking without the boot, I walked with a severe limp. Now in just the past few days it has improved greatly. Although, the tendon still feels stiff. When I am walking I can feel the tightness of the tendon, almost like I haven’t stretched it in months (in which case I haven’t). I know I could not stand on my toes or walk up stairs if I wanted. As my limp dissipates, I cannot wait to see what I can do in a month from now.
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moffet,
glad to hear you are doing well. My surgeon also prescribes an agressive rehab protocol I had my surgery on 1/15 and was put in a boot 8 days post surgery. I was to start Weight bearing after 3 weeks and OK to full WB in my boot after 4. I am now about 5 weeks and can handle walking with out crutches with no issues. I was a bit concerned with the aggressive approach as I read about all the stories of casts for 2 months and not walking for 12 - 14 weeks. The surgeon I used is pretty well known and when I asked him about it at my 4 week check up he told me that as long as I am in my boot he is not concerned about weight bearing. His biggest concern is over-stretching of the tendon which would make you lose power in your lower leg.
I have been going to PT since 2.5 weeks after surgery and it seems like everything is going OK. I have no swelling(never did) and the brusing is gone.
I just always have this fear of tearing it again and that excrutiating pain returning..
Mario
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