will my ATR recover in time!

hi, think you will probably make it to cornwall,iwas in plaster for 6 weeks then airboot for 4 weeks. Then straight into trainers, i have been and got some asics gel trainers as the heal of my foot is very tender, but i find these a bit heavy, so i swop and change trainers during the day. Don't think i'd risk anything else on the beach this holiday!! Good Luck

pat, thanks for the asics gel tip, they seem comfortable, and hopefully they will help me on my holidays. i am now 8 1/2 weeks post op and have had my last cast off today. However my leg feels very weak, and there is so much stiffness around the ankle. The physio assured me that the strength and movement will return fairly quickly now cast is off, but it seems hard to imagine that i will be ok for my hols in 5 weeks, anyway thanks again for the footwear tip.

I have physio twice a week at the moment, this takes the form of very deep/painfull massage, but after I can feel the stiffness has gone. It took about 4 weeks before I felt i could walk any distance, e.g. around a large supermarket!! I do toe raises then transfer weight to bad leg to slowly drop down about 6 times a day. This is to build up calf muscle and strength of tendon.

Good luck

Hi Stevec and Pat, Good to hear your both recovering. I had a complete rupture about 14 weeks ago and came out of my cast about 4 weeks ago after non operative recovery. I wasn't offered physio but given a gel splint and told to do streching excersises and to weight bear. I did as i was told and my foot was very stiff. I was unsure of how far to push it as I was given scant information (Burnley General), lo and behold I was on hols in Spain last week and it has re ruptured! I am now back in a cast and waiting for an MRI scan to see if they need to operate.(scan not till August!) I am in the neutral position so I can walk but am worried that the wait and the fact that I am walking will do more damage. So Stevec take care of your tendon and be very careful on that beach.

Hi Tom

I was six weeks walking before I was told i had a complete rupture of the A.T. then they wanted to operate, but being a coward i wasnt keen, so i was in plaster for 6 weeks then boot for 4 weeks all non weightbearing. After these 10 weeks the physio wanted a mri scan, so I went private to get one asap. The private surgeon said that 25% was now attached and that I might as well continue with physio as the risk of infection and nerve damage from an operation compared with the 10-20% improvement i would get from an op would not be worth it. The physio is a great help, and I exercise at home and have now started going to the gym. It has now been 10 weeks since I got rid of the boot and crutches and yes there is a big improvement! I may never be in the olympics or run again but as long as I can walk without a limp I will be happy...not there yet. At 50 years of age I must resign myself to not playing tennis or netball again, but i am glad to be off crutches and able to walk up and down stairs. Keep chin up and do exercises and try to get massage on that tendon..painfull but worth it. Good luck Pat

Hi Pat, I am now surprisingly out of a cast! The Doc said that he was worrird about muscule wastage if I was in a cast for much longer. I have a scan on 7th Aug so we will then know how much has re ruptured. I hope not to have surgery as the leg is feeling much better, though I am being very careful with it. I am not bending it much (dorsiflexion way) until I know what the damage is. I am going to push for some physio as every one else I see on the net seems to get it. What exactly do they do to you in your sessions?

Best Regards

Tom.

Hi Tom

In my physio sessions it is mostly 20 minutes of deep massage of the tendon by the physio himself...fairly painfull but you can walk much better after..I think it breaks down the scar tissue. He also checks to see if I have been doing my exercises at home. I have to hold onto a bar about chest height and go up onto balls of feet then remove 'good' leg and take all my weight on 'bad leg' and slowly lower heel to floor, this I have to repeat 15 times then short rest and repeat another 2 sets. This I should do 3/4 times a day at home to build up calf and strengthen tendon. Yes it is getting stronger,but I have noticed it more since going to the gym and using the leg press and the cross ramp on a low setting 3 times a week.My private consultant told me I had 9 months to recover from injury date, so I'm working hard as I am now on 7 months. I find trainers are great for walking in and have just bought some reiker sandles for the summer as they have a soft sole. Good Luck it can be done :D Pat

Hi Pat

y Had bad news today.The MRI Scan shows a complete re rupture and because it has taken so long for them to get round to the scan etc the tendon appears to have retracted. I can walk but with a pronounced limp. This may be permanant! The consultant said he can operate using the plantaris tendon to repair the Achilles but I may have less flexibility than I have now and may still have the limp. I feel that I have had shoddy treatment and am going to see a private consultant Podiatrist in a couple of weeks. The NHS seems to have writen me of at the ageof 51. I am deeply unhappy. I hope yours continues to recover well.

Tom

Hi Tom I didn't go into plaster for 6 weeks after my rupture so my tendon had/has retracted into my calf also. But after 6 weeks in plaster then 4 in a boot i had an MRI scan and they think about 25% is now attached, so the private surgeon decided not to operate as the nerve damage and risk of infection was not worth the 10% improvement I would get.. from a complicated op. He said I can get that from physio.You must get Physio I was going twice a week to the hospital. I also had a limp at first and still do if I am tired or dont concentrate on walking properly, but every week i can see an improvement. i now go to the gym 3 times a week and work on my bad leg, I use the cross ramp and leg press to strengthen it up. But you must ask if you have any tendon re attached on you MRI. Are you back in Plaster? I am 50 years of age so it can be done, the swedes use the exercise/physio method and have good results,so can we!!Pat

Hi Tom. I have just started to read this forum and your story makes me feel very lucky in my treatment! I had a complete rupture playing squash 8 days ago, and was told by my very informed and capable registrar at the John Radcliffe in Oxford, that given the largish (6mm) gap in the tendon when the foot was 'in equinas' (toes pointed) that an operation would be the right choice. It seems the key is to get as small a gap between the ends as possible, and if that can be done by manipulation of the foot, then surgery is not necessary. The smaller the gap, the less scar tissue forms, and (probably) the stronger the result. So I had my surgery last Friday (performed by the same registrar), and have been in a cast since, with my foot 'in equinas'. I'm hoping to be out of it in about 6 weeks, but will have to wait and see. It sounds to me as if your treatment has been very slapdash. I hope the outcome is better than you've been told; I would have hoped that with exercise, the muscles and tendon would adjust eventually, but I have no real knowledge. The best of luck to you! Regards, Tony

Note - Patient Admin has removed the name of the registrar from this posting.