Achilles tear in ski crash?

[eskido]

Damn it!!! Best of luck to both of you! Major bummer for sure, especially the timing, at least you got the first half! Never had back surgery, that sounds scareeey, really hope it works out Undertow. Total rupture of my achilles bout 10 yrs ago, just about this time actually, maybe March, really wasn’t that bad. Missing spring skiing and sitting around for 7 weeks was the worst part (drank a lot), 7 weeks and I was back to work with a full release, pretty sure that that thing is stronger than the other, never had an issue. I’d bet it goes way easier than you expect it too. Good luck boys!!!!

[bw_wp_hedonism]

Funky, how’s it going?

My incision, getting better by the day:



Physio has been massages, but got to ride a stationary bike with my boot on for the first time this past week. Super pumped to start some form of exercise that isn’t floor-based core and one legged push ups.

[2FUNKY]

Damn dude, that’s one hell of an incision. Glad recovery is moving along for ya man!
Things are going slooow here. Leg is still having a hard time controlling blood flow. I can only be upright for 10-15min max before the foot turns purple and starts throbbing. Boot comes off the 1st hopefully. It feels good besides the blood issue. I can point my foot and retract it just barely past 90deg.

[TBS]

Hedo I've never seen the incision that high. Seems everybody else's I've seen ends on the heel. Was yours a complete or partial rupture?

When you guys start PT, take it easy the first couple of weeks and build slowly. You can see my tales and those of HTFB's overdoing it and having to stop for a period.

Given all the resorts closing, you may have picked a good year to fuck yourselves up

[XXX-er]

My buddy just did his Achilles at a ski hut but as we all know there are at least 2 doctors on any hut trip so an MD made him a patient and called for surgery, I think he basicly went right from the chopper to getting cut on

I would rather tear an achilles than have my fucked up knee

[bw_wp_hedonism]

Hedo I've never seen the incision that high. Seems everybody else's I've seen ends on the heel. Was yours a complete or partial rupture?

When you guys start PT, take it easy the first couple of weeks and build slowly. You can see my tales and those of HTFB's overdoing it and having to stop for a period.

Given all the resorts closing, you may have picked a good year to fuck yourselves up

In my understanding, I tore mine quite high up, where the tendon actually splits into two and goes to attach to the muscle. The more superficial split was torn all the way through, but the deeper one was only partially ruptured.

[bw_wp_hedonism]

Damn dude, that’s one hell of an incision. Glad recovery is moving along for ya man!
Things are going slooow here. Leg is still having a hard time controlling blood flow. I can only be upright for 10-15min max before the foot turns purple and starts throbbing. Boot comes off the 1st hopefully. It feels good besides the blood issue. I can point my foot and retract it just barely past 90deg.

Sorry to hear about the blood flow issue. I’ve thankfully avoided problems there. I’m using my big boot to sleep and occasionally around the apartment, but for going outside the doc has moved me to a smaller, more practical boot (a Künzli shoe).

[2FUNKY]

Update:
Released for walking now with my aircast on. Feels good to be somewhat mobile. Doc said the recovery is looking great and could not believe the strength I had in the strength tests. Start PT Monday.
Walking in the aircast is a pain in the ass as it’s higher than my right foot. Looking into some hiking boots to help level out my stance. Went a little crazy doing things yesterday and now I’m pretty sore today.

[eskido]

Great stuff man!!

[gepmeow]

Update:
Walking in the aircast is a pain in the ass as it’s higher than my right foot. Looking into some hiking boots to help level out my stance. Went a little crazy doing things yesterday and now I’m pretty sore today.

I bailed on the walking boot (air cast) after one week due to the uneven mojo it presented which was going to wreak havoc on my hips with one foot being so much higher than the other. I went straight to hiking boots with a real footbed, and hiking poles for stability and to present socially to those around me that I needed more space to navigate.

[2FUNKY]

Great stuff man!!

Thanks man. Feels good to be mobile without the damn crutches.

I bailed on the walking boot (air cast) after one week due to the uneven mojo it presented which was going to wreak havoc on my hips with one foot being so much higher than the other. I went straight to hiking boots with a real footbed, and hiking poles for stability and to present socially to those around me that I needed more space to navigate.

That just may happen. I have burly 10” tall Lowa hunting boots that I may transition to. Already using one touring pole with rubber foot to assist mobility. If I transition to just normal boots I will recruit the other pole.
I have also been riding the airdyne for 20min a day and doing floor workouts. Push ups, core, hip strengthening moves.

[splat]

Sounds like you're gonna be just fine, dood.
How long til it grows together enough to walk and stretch it?

[2FUNKY]

Sounds like you're gonna be just fine, dood.
How long til it grows together enough to walk and stretch it?

Doc said we will reassess in 6 weeks. Over stretching seems to be an issue and should be avoided to not loose strength or rebound.

[bw_wp_hedonism]

Awesome 2FUNKY! I’m weaning off the crutches, still take them just in case when I leave the apartment, but inside I am either without or have one for just-in-case stability help.

Ditto on the overstretch advice I got. Stretching beyond the right angle of the foot to be avoided for another I don’t know how long.

I can’t walk without the kunzli shoe, but with a pair of sneakers on, it’s about the same height, so no major issue there for me.


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[TBS]

Keep it up Hedo and 2Funky!

Today is the one year anniversary of my wreck. Everything is pretty much back to normal except I can’t yet do more than five one-legged heel raises on the repaired side. Still working on that. Have a very slight limp that may or may not go away.

[NW_SKIER]

Thats just from being old, B

[TBS]

Thanks for pointing that out C.
Yup was gonna say my soccer and Basketball days are over too, but that was true 20 years ago

[Orthoski]

I bailed on the walking boot (air cast) after one week due to the uneven mojo it presented which was going to wreak havoc on my hips with one foot being so much higher than the other. I went straight to hiking boots with a real footbed, and hiking poles for stability and to present socially to those around me that I needed more space to navigate.

Agreed that recovery from an Achilles rupture is a challenging and long course. That being said, I would not recommend for anyone to try and get out of the boot earlier than recommended by her/his surgeon. The reason to operate on a torn Achilles tendon isn't primarily to get it to heal - that can be achieved the majority of time even without surgery. The reason is to set the muscle tendon length to the appropriate tension given that the calf muscle retracts after a tear once no longer tethered to the heel bone. Trying to accelerate the rehabilitation process beyond the recommended timeframe and before the tendon has had a chance to heal can stretch out the repair, lengthening the tendon and shortening the calf muscle and thereby predicating more significant long term (and irreversible) weakness. Many patients struggle with the height difference of a boot, especially if there are wedges in the boot. Something like an EVENup can help mitigate some of this.

Heal up and be safe!

[splat]

^^^^^^That sounds like solid advice/insight.

[bw_wp_hedonism]

I started doing heel raises as part of my physio a few weeks ago. Not easy but getting better.

Yesterday, physio told me to go ahead and try a one-footed heel raise. Holy f*ck it was hard. I got maybe a couple inches up.


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[happytimefunbox]

I started doing heel raises as part of my physio a few weeks ago. Not easy but getting better.

Yesterday, physio told me to go ahead and try a one-footed heel raise. Holy f*ck it was hard. I got maybe a couple inches up.


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I am a year and a month post op and can do a single foot heel lift with that foot almost as good as nonop leg. I had big toe tendon harvested to support my haglund fix which has contributed to a major asymmetry in calf muscle. I skied pretty hard last season and have ridden the bike pretty hard so I think I will be good to go until my next orthopedic adventure hopeful just another acl never want to do an achilles again //antijinx\\

[2FUNKY]

I started doing heel raises as part of my physio a few weeks ago. Not easy but getting better.

Yesterday, physio told me to go ahead and try a one-footed heel raise. Holy f*ck it was hard. I got maybe a couple inches up.


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Same here. Single leg raises are almost impossible on the repaired leg. I can do double standing heel raises for a count of 30. Non injured leg is definitely doing more than it’s fair share of the lifting. PT also has me going up with both and coming down on the repaired leg, wow those are difficult.
Back to work with a couple restrictions, no pole climbing or 28’ ladder work. Working all week with 2 days of PT has the Achilles pretty pissed off by Friday. Balance is still not what it was, so frustrating.
Feels so good to be somewhat mobile. Uphill cross country hiking is a no go, tried that last weekend. Level ground is fine. Fishing is even better!

[bw_wp_hedonism]

This Achilles rehab is suuuuuch a slow process. Heel raises are going well. My physio has an anti-gravity treadmill, so I’ve been interval jogging at 70% of my weight. That at least feels like progress... how are you carrying on 2Funky?


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[2FUNKY]

Making decent progress despite not being to PT for three weeks due to being out of town so much lately.
Sounds like you’re progressing nicely man! I accidentally short jogged a couple times forgetting about my achilles to no ill effects thankfully. Lol

[pfluffenmeister]

Well Fuck Me.
I didn't think it was possible to do while in a ski boot either.

Last Tuesday, Upper East Wall at A Basin.
Narrow Chutes? (Pretty sure)
Dude before me traverses skiers right two chutes over; skiers right one chute over looks good, no rock sign.
Drop aggressively, left turn: Rock, rock, rock!
Initiate right turn, land on: Rock, Big Fucking Rock!!! (Part of the mountain)
Immediate dead stop, fold left boot.
Feels like some hit the bottom of my left ski with a fucking ball-peen hammer.
HOT, liquid sensation at the bottom of the left heel spreading up the lower calf.
The hit hurt more than the rupture.
Stretched out the calf as much as I could.
Was in a bit of disbelief, although was sure what had happened (see hot liquid sensation above).

Still had the entire upper wall beneath me in shin to knee deep untracked fairly heavy snow that looked great!
Skied fall line, linked turns; albeit not as chargey as normal.
Had to restretch the calf at the traverse.
Hit the mid lift twice more as I'm unfuckingdestructible, last run groomer down to base.

Not sure about you guys but I'm known to scream now and again taking off a ski boot when uninjured.
Fuckers are tight and I have to arch my foot to initiate exit.
No fucking way I'm getting out without exquisite pain.
So I take off my right boot, use that foot to put in the clutch so I could start my car and heat up my left boot.
15 minutes and a dab later and no way am getting that boot off normally.
Staring at it, thinking "jaws of life, no way am I letting some cut of my ski boot, I wish the tongue was removable like my other boots".
(Did I mention I was wearing Kryton Pros?)
I see the Allen bolt my ski tool bag is within reach:
Remove tongue, then proceed to take off the rear cuffs and shimmy foot out of the line and clog.
Dude parked nested to me was initially perplexed:
"I have never seen anyone take apart their boot to get it off!"
"Me neither."
Thank God/Dog that I had my tools.

Driving my manual transmission WRX home was unpleasant.

Failed my home administered Thompson test.
Saw my cutter today and he said you fail those for a reason and you are completely ruptured.
Scheduled for surgery Monday.
At least it's the end of the season.

Non- helpful advice/initial reactions from coworkers who perceive themselves to be alpha males has consisted of :

"Why'd you do that?"
"You should be more careful."
"That sounds like it hurts. I wouldn't recommend it"
"Not to rub salt in the wound, but you can't push it that hard, you're not that young anymore"

I responded: "I still feel young!".

The "you should be more careful" was good advice, but I take exception with the tone in which it was delivered.