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Bilateral Gastrocnemeus Release Surgery

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coachbooher
coachbooher

I have been very active through sports my entire life, currently 42 years old now and love to jog/ run for exercise.  Marathons, mini-marathons, 10k's, etc are what I enjoy.  The last year or so I have had heal pain on the back of both heels.  X-rays show bone spurs growing right where the Achilles tendon attaches to my heels.  I then have developed Achilles tendonitis and Achilles bursitis because of this and knots on the back of both heels that are painful to touch.  For one entire year, I tried the non-surgical recommended ways like new shoes, stretching a lot, ice after excercising, gel heel inserts for shoes, topical anti-inflammatory medicine, etc.   None of these helped my problem.  Foot surgeon then recommended Bilateral Gastrocnemeus Release Surgery for both tendons at same time.  He said the problem is my Achilles tendons are so tight they are pulling on the back of my heels excessively.  To compensate, my body is trying to grow bone spurs on the back of my heels to shorten my Achilles tendons and not stretch them out as much.  Bone spurs are then causing all the heel pain problems.

Surgery was done on both legs 1 week ago.  I am in walking boots for 2 weeks and then go back to get my stitches out and remove the boots.  I will then wear regular shoes during the rest of my recovery.  The pain since the surgery has been very minimal.  I can tell where they did the cutting when I extend my knees totally straight, but still no pain, just pulling.  I have actually got on the elliptical and went really slow (2.5 mph) just to keep everything stretched out and get a little sweat going for 15-20 minutes 3 days after surgery.  No problems with it either.  I am anxious to see how I walk once getting stitches out and regular shoes back on next week.  

I will keep an update going.  Doc says I will be back to jogging in about 6-7 weeks which is promissing to say the least!  Doc also says same surgery is done for people with plantar fasciitis and Haglund's Deformity.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • nancydv
    nancydv coachbooher

    Posted

    The problem with my son is that nothing shows on his MRI or X-ray. But he does have very very tight calf muscles which seem to be pulling on his Achilles and it's causing him pain to the point where he can barely walk at times. I'm wondering if my son will eventually develop bone spurs and lead to other ailments such as in your case. How long did you wait before you had the surgery?

    • coachbooher
      coachbooher nancydv

      Posted

      I tried all the non-surgical recommendations (stretching, ice, gel wedges in shoe, topical anti-inflammatory cream, cortizone shot, etc) for one entire year and still had the painful knots on the back of my heels.  X-rays did show bone spurs on both feet right where the Achilles attaches to my heel bone. I just didn't want to go the rest of my life with a little pain in each heel every step I took when I walked.  When I jog, the pain increased.

  • emily45692
    emily45692 coachbooher

    Posted

    Hey! Glad it's all going well. I had this surgery about 4 days ok after trying EVERYTHING else for 18 months! Please keep us updated with your recovery.

    I'm in a plaster cast for 2 weeks and then go into a boot

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