Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi All,
i'm 14 weeks and doing well but still slight limp. What I've noticed this last week is a creaking noise when climbing stairs or doing heel raises. Is this normal?
I've also noticed calf cramping returning this week although I have upped my effort on walking and heel raising.
0 likes, 32 replies
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sharon35939 breeze61
Posted
Hi Breeze,
Creaking is associated with Achilles tendinopathy sometimes, you have had a rupture so it's not surprising.
For calf cramps it will probably help to do some gentle stretching. I find using a foam roller is gentler than standing stretches, but just roll the calf muscles, don't go all the way down to the tendon. You can get foam rollers on Amazon for £10 - £20.
breeze61 sharon35939
Posted
Ive just read about tendonopathy and yes it could be the reason. I guess I will back off from pushing myself
and see how it goes and start re icing. Thanks for the suggestion. Oh, I do hate the slowness of this injury repair.
sharon35939 breeze61
Posted
I don't think the creaking means you have to back off your exercise necessarily, it just sounds a bit disconcerting! I think it happens when the tendon is lengthened or shortened, as the tendon is stiff while it is healing, so just don't rush any movement like this.
If it doesn't actually feel any worse I would proceed with caution.
Totally with you on the slowness! Not as bad as you, but my tendons have been playing up for over a year between the 2 of them (both ankles), it is driving me crazy!
breeze61 sharon35939
Posted
Thanks sharon, I'm taking it easier, There is no rush now that I am mobile, I'm able to walk around shops for an hour and that is sufficient for me at this moment.
I suffered tendonitis a lot when I was a runner in my youth and was glad when I stopped running at about 36 and lo and behold the tendonitis went to.
With this injury you have to write off any hopes of getting back to how you used to be for I would say a good 9 months or more for most people. However I might start gentle cycling on Monday, my start of week 15.
good luck
sharon35939 breeze61
Posted
You're very wise to be patient Breeze. I think I did a tear in mine, October last year. I just keep going round in circles with it, I will just start getting back to my normal activities and something miner sets it back again. It seems I can't be patient enough myself!
Good luck with yours too.
breeze61 sharon35939
Posted
Hi Sharon,
i just dont don patience, but having to bite the bullet with this injury. Keep posting and good luck.
I'm on hoiday in Spain for two weeks and I made a commitment to be walking without a limp by the end, but common sense has made me cancel it, I rather heal slower than suffer pain or possible re rupture.
sharon35939 breeze61
Posted
Sorry to hear you had to cancel your holiday Breeze, that sucks!
I am 38. I injured my left Achilles in 2009 from a ballet class. I did my right peroneal tendons Oct last year cycling one legged - I was doing all the pushing with my right leg to protect the left, which was recovering from a relapse at that time.
At the moment my right ankle is the worst. I have never been very sporty, but I used to cycle to work and do ballroom dancing. I haven't been able to do either for ages and it's so frustrating. I can't even walk without limping. If I try swimming, my ankles get pushed by the water which irritates the tendons too, so can't do that either. It gets me very down. I guess I must have tried to go back to my activities too soon, many times over. So I am learning about patience the hard way!
breeze61 sharon35939
Posted
Hi Sharon, I've just been reading through all these posts again and didn't really realise how you are going through the mill with your ongoing problems. Im in the pool everyday and like the freedom my ankles get whilst paddling through the water. After the heat of the spanish sun has gone down a bit at about 6pm I'm going to get out on my road bike with the seat lowered and not being cliped in. I just can't wait to get out on the bike. It's probably too early but I did a few weeks in my boot on a tread mill bike thing.
I hope your taking it slowly will work for you.
sharon35939 breeze61
Posted
Hi Breeze,
I cycled today for 20 minutes around my local roads, I wasn't pushing hard or under pressure. However when I got home I realised within half an hour that my right ankle felt inflammed again 🙁 A few days ago it tolerated 15 mins, so I was just trying to build up, as usual seems it was a mistake! Have to see how it is tomorrow.
I find it quite a hassle to go to a public swimming pool, particularly around work. It has irritated my ankles before, so I don't want to get in the pool and realise within 2 mins that I can't continue.
Everyone, including physios, recommend swimming and cycling when you have tendonitis, but my ankles don't seem to tolerate any exercise. Careful with your ride!
breeze61 sharon35939
Posted
Hi Sharon,
I too cycled for about 40 minutes taking it steady and it was pure joy to be back in the saddle. It doesn't seem to have affected my ankle up to 11pm at night but am icing it now before sleeping.
I really hope you can come through your difficult period.
sanjeewa97871 breeze61
Posted
I am 15 weeks post surgery. I had insertional Achilles tendanities with moderate Haglunds deformity and 80% on Achilles’ tendon at the point of insertion was removed. A significant amount of calcified bone was shaved off.
I was 4 weeks NWB after surgery and wore a CAM Boot, No cast. Thereafter 6 further weeks on crutches and CAM Boot with gradual weight bearing, So i have been wearing mostly Nike Walsking shoes with orthotics and a gel heel pad. I still have a slight limp.
I have had two bouts of significant heel and cramping (numbness and pins and needles) in the last 5 weeks. As per the surgeon who operated me that happens whenever i overdo some activity and as mentioned by Sharon the tendon is getting stretched, During these bouts i tend to go easy and ice my ankle and apply some form gel to ease the pain.
I go to the gym about 3 times a week mostly for upper body exercises. I do a light leg press and was also doing an other exercise for my quads and hamstring but stopped it after one of the bouts of significant pain. I do about 20 to 25 minutes on a stationery exercise bike initially with no resistance but now with some resistance. I also do about 45 minutes of various exercise in the pool although once again mostly involving the knee and the hip as opposed to the ankle. I also do some ankle exercises using a Thera resistance band. I also walk for about 30 minutes on the days that i don’t go the gym. As per my Fitbit i do do about 8,500 steps a day.
However, i am in pain if i am on my feet for too long. Last Sunday i went up and down the stairs (about 20 steps each way) in my house about 3 or 4 times within an hour and i was in pain the whole day thereafter. Usually I don’t go upstairs as my bed room is down stairs.
BTW i am from Sri Lanka( near India) and will be 59 today!. I retired about a month ago.
I have been told by my surgeon that it will take about 6 months before i should be totally pain free. As per his time table i should then be on to run or play football!. I don’t intend to do either. I just want to walk normally whilst being pain free. I have the same problem in my other foot and has been told that surgery is the only solution. I postponed this surgery for over 3 years before finally deciding yo go ahead. There are days when i wonder whether i made the correct decision.
As you say the recovery is so frustrating. I hope you and i both will ultimately be pain free.
Dear Sharon
I read your comment about using a roller as opposed to doing the heel raises, Is that a suitable substitute?. I am supposed to start on heel raises but am too scared about the pain!.
breeze61 sanjeewa97871
Posted
Hi sanjeewa,
A good post and it seems like youve had serious achilles work.It must be hard knowing you will need the other heel doing too.
I'm hoping that because I am walking through and using my calf a lot when walking that I will get to a point where I will be walking without a limp, but not going to overdo it. I would be happy to be pain free and walking without a limp at 6 months , only another 9 weeks to go.
Good luck to you and keep posting please, there's not to many people posting on here re achilles.
I had a hip replacement in december and the healing process for that is/was twice as quick as this.
I'm 69 so my healing will be slower than most and like you wont attemp any running sports as long as I can cycle, walk and swim, I'll be more than happy. If I were a youger sportsman, I would also not return to the sport that caused it, the healing process is so slow and rerupters are not worth the risk.
sharon35939 sanjeewa97871
Posted
Dear Sanjeewa,
The roller is for stretching the calf, I have found it a more gentle option if standing stretches are too much strain. If the calf muscle is too tight it will pull on your sick tendon!
Heel raises are for strengthening. I have personally had very mixed fortune with these. Apparently your pain should be under control before starting them , I don't know if this means the pain should be gone? Anyway, if you do try them, start slowly, a maximum of 4 raises (both feet) repeated every 2nd day. But I think it's really hard to tell when an injury is healed enough to start them.
A lower level of strengthening exercises is with the resistance band, maybe ask your therapist if you could try something like that before you try heel raises.
sanjeewa97871 breeze61
Posted
My wife underwent a partial knee replacement about 2 years ago and her recovery was so much smoother and she was ok within 2 to 3 months. I did mention that to my surgeon who incidentally operated on my wife as well!. He just smiled and said that basically with a knee replacement, an artificial joint is inserted hence there is support to hold everything together whilst with an Achilles’ tendon surgery you have no such support and therefore needs nature to take its course for heeling!. I suppose it does make sense although i never thought the recovery phase would be so long and so frustrating. Like you mentioned, there was not much information available for me prior to surgery for me to go on. However because of the severe pain i was undergoing for the past 3 to 4 years i was encouraged to undergo surgery. I was not in to any sports as such only walking. However about 7 years ago i used to walk for about 45 minutes every day despite having heel pain. It was plantar fasciitis that i ignored. The worst thing i did at that time was to walk on inclines as well which i now gather is the worst thing i could have done. Anyway what’s done is done. Hope you make good recovery and all the best. Will keep posting as suggested by you.
sanjeewa97871 breeze61
Posted
Thanks for the clarification. I now understand the role of the roller. I will order the roller, i am a bit worried about a recurrence of the calcification as when i went to see my surgeon after 12 weeks post surgery he took an X-ray to see how the healing was taking place and he was a bit concerned that the bone area where the shaving was done was regrowing. He prescribed some tablets which he said should suppress the re growth. I was told to take the tablets for 30 days and see him again which is in about 7 days time. Although my walk of 30 minutes is not very brisk i was wondering whether i should do some stretching exercises before i start the walk. I have read that one of the causes for my injury / condition could be that i did not do any stretching prior and post going for a walk. Any suggestions and recommendations would be helpful. As per the schedule of activities that my surgeon listed in terms of a time frame i am supposed to have started on heel raises after 12 weeks!. I have been postponing due to the concern i have with the pain. Incidentally the surgeon who operated me is an Australian based in Australia. However, he visits Sri Lanka once in 3 months and his recovery regime is rather aggressive. He was assisted by a local surgeon during surgery and it is he whom i have been consulting post surgery. He is a bit more cautious about the recovery timetable. So i am not too sure whether i should wait until i am totally pain free before i start on the heel raises. I have read that heel raises is a good form of exercises for my condition although some say that it is not that effective for people with insertional Achilles tendonities.
sharon35939 sanjeewa97871
Posted
Hi Sanjeewa,
To be honest I would only stretch/use the roller if your calf muscle feels tight. I am sure you will know if you feel it. And only roller the meaty bit of your calf, don't go down as far as the tendon, or over your calcification area!
I have seen 4 physiotherapists to try and sort my tendon issues so far. They all want me to do more exercises/stretches than I feel able to do. My big relapse on my left last year was caused by trying to do the prescribed number of heel raises, hence why I suggest caution.
If you want to try some gentler strengthening , ask your local surgeon about Theraband exercises. But I think gentle walking is one of the best ways to build up strength really.
Good luck and don't rush things!