Week 13 - Back in action

30^th June 2014 – 13 weeks post-surgery

Over a month since my last post and the good weather coupled with my increasing activity being the main cause for the gap. After I saw the physio at the end of May. I had a big event (TriAthy) which I was pretty involved in (I was chief marshal) which meant I was on my feet for a long day and had to do a lot of walking. The ankle got increasingly swelled through the day and by the end of the day it was pretty swollen and sore. The next day it was still swollen and sore and it was only 3 or 4 days later that it was back to normal and I could start back on the physio properly. Lesson learned was that just walking and standing for a long day put a lot of strain on it.

Anyway, after I recovered, I was able to crack on with the physio double heal raises and single heal raises supported. I was also doing step ups and step downs. I was back in to see the physio on the 11^th of June and she was happy with progress. She continued to get into the calf and try and get the knots out of the muscles and also break down the scar tissue on the wound itself. Only one new exercise – balance on the bad leg.

We then had a week in France on a family holiday which was fine. Went down the water slide a few times with the kids which I don’t think was great for the injury. However, had plenty of time to do the physio exercises and I was on my feet much more than I would have been than if I had been working. Overall, it felt good all week and it didn't swell or feel sore despite the increased activity. We arrived back from holidays on Saturday and I went for a decent cycle on Sunday (1 hr 40).  

Last week was a busy week. Physio on Mon and Consultant on Thurs. However, when I headed off to work on Monday morning I felt a lot stiffer and sore. I think this was partly due to be being back in work shoes after being in cross trainers all week on holidays and partly due to a busy Sunday including the cycle. Anyway the physio picked up on this and wasn't happy. She did notice that after massaging the calf and wound site that it freed up a god bit and she thinks I’m tensing the tendon too much when I’m not using it. Anyway, I was given the same exercises and we would see what the consultant would say on Thursday.

In to see the consultant on Thursday morning, he was really happy with my progress. He said that normally you wouldn't be doing single heal raises until 16 weeks so I was 3 or 4 weeks ahead of where I should be. He stressed though that it wasn't a race and I still needed time for the strength to come back. He gave me the green light to cycle away as much as I can and said that I could start to jog in 6 to 8 weeks’ time but said that I wouldn't be able to go fast or change pace until about 3 months. He also said I didn't need to see him again until I get called for day surgery to have the plate and screws removed from the previous break which will probably be later this year.

Activity wise I have continued to swim 2 or 3 times a week and have been building up my cycling from 1 hr to 1hr 40. I notice with swimming that I’m quite slow and out of shape and I think that’s as a result of my overall fitness being poor and not doing enough swimming to bring this up (I’d normally do this through running and cycling). I’m also find the cycles really hard with no speed or stamina so I think I just need to stay plugging away. It’s pretty frustrating having to start from such a low base again.

Yesterday, was Ironman Austria – the race I was planning to do and was training for when I did the injury so it was a poignant weekend for me.  However, It was my triathlon Club (Trilogy)’s weekend away in Kilkee for Hell of The West Triathlon. I was planning to go anyway for weekend but a swim relay spot became free during the week and I decided I’d have a go. I really enjoyed the swim, it was calm, sunny and the water crystal clear. I felt tired on the swim because my swimming isn’t up to scratch but arrived back on the beach in 25 mins and was happy with that. 50 people must have run past me as I walked up the beach including a few people I thought would have been much faster than me. Anyway, very happy to be back participating just 13 weeks post-surgery. Thanks to the Kenco Angels for having me in their team and all the trilogy crew for a great weekend. Now to get my swimming and cycling back into shape!

Team Kenco Angels

Saw this in Aldi last week and thought it would have
been prefect for me immediately post surgery when
I had to keep my leg elevated. Please note these are
not my legs!!

Week 9 Post Op - back on the bike

22nd May 2014

Approximately 3 weeks since my last post when the boot came off and I started on physio exercises. I spent a couple of days weaning myself off the boot. One of them involved a day in Dublin watching the Giro D’Italia and so involved a lot of walking and standing so I was glad I wore the boot that day. Since then I’ve been bootless and walking in thick heeled shoes or runners with a heal raise insert on my bad side. The first few days I was walking very delicately and wasn’t really engaging the tendon in my gait. However, I have been doing the 3 physio exercises strictly and can really feel an improvement in strength when doing the exercises. I also found my walking has got more normal however I’m still not walking with a limp and if I don’t concentrate I tend to walk flat footed and not engage the tendon.

I have been able to swim and have swam every 2 or 3 days. It’s a big relief to be able to do some exercise after nearly two months of inactivity. The first swim session I felt really slow and weighed down – it was like I was wearing a big woolly jumpsuit in the water. The second session felt much better at the start but I got tired pretty quickly. The last few sessions I feel like I’m getting back to a normal. I still can’t kick off from the wall.

I’ve also been able to cycle on a static bike. I put my road bike on the turbo trainer and have taken off the cleat pedals and put on a pair of flat pedals. Again, this felt sore at the start but has started to feel a bit better. I have increased the time on this up to 40 mins. I have tried to stand up as if I’m climbing and I can handle the pressure of being on my toes but my ankle does get sore fairly quickly. So based on this I don’t think I can take the bike out of the garage for a few more weeks. This is the hard part especially when the weather is good.

I was back in to see the physio last Week morning and she was pleased with the increase in strength and flexibility (I haven’t been doing any stretching so this was a surprise). She messaged my calf muscle which was very painful at the time but has felt much better since. Also, she massaged a bit of the scar tissue either side of the surgery site. There is a lot more to do here as my tendon is really fat and hard along the scar compared to the narrow tendon on the other side. I have to continue with the band strengthening exercises on a green band now and introduced some shallow squats and increase the pressure on the heal raises. I have to go back in a weeks time.

Overall, at 8 weeks post surgery I’m very happy with progress. From a lifestyle perspective I’ve been able to function normally since about 2 weeks post op and start to exercise at 6 weeks. When I compare my recovery to some of the others I see then my progress does seem good. If you look at this guy who is only getting his cast off at 8 weeks and starting to weight bear now then I’m streets ahead

http://achillesblog.com/hoss/category/8th-week-post-surgery/

Update 29^th May

Things have continued in the same vain. I’m still doing strengthening exercises 3 times a day and I can feel the tendon very slowly getting stronger. I have been doing 35 or 40 mins on the turbo trainer every second night and swimming 2 or 3 times a week. Then last night, it was really sunny and warm so I said I’d try go for a spin on the bike. I did 40mins and it felt fine, well the ankle felt fine but I ran out of puff after about 10 mins. Just shows how quickly your fitness goes. My ankle is a little bit sore this morning so I’ll have to build back up slowly.

Back in with the physio this morning and I’m onto double heal raises and single heal raises whilst supporting myself with my hands on a bench or back of a chair. She has started to massage the Achilles itself trying to break down some of the scar tissue – theres a long way to go and a lot of scar tissue to break down. 

This is the bad leg - you can still see the
scars from the bike crash but the operation
scare has almost disappeared

This is the good leg obviously but is a
good contrast because you can see the
width that the Achilles should be and the
rest on the bad leg is scar tissue.