My Achilles Tendon Rupture Story

So on Friday the 21, I have removed another layer on the heel wedge, and I felt good about it for few hours but soon the novelty wear off, and quite quickly it was gone. With one layer less I was able to make more natural step moving my foot forward a bit more, balancing on my injured leg a bit more. That really felt good when it lasts, but too soon I realized I still had this heavy boot on my leg, that I could only walk comfortably on flat and even surface. Taking a different path, steep or uneven, and it was immediately obvious that it wasn't comfortable. The next week-end, I found the time horribly long. I couldn't get a lift to the gym and I didn't have the energy to drag myself there, and to use the upper body ergometer and weight machines. Then I said maybe I should put the bike back on the trainer and do a little session on it. But as I was changing the rear wheel the derailleur hanger went off. I never saw that happening before, puzzled, I looked at it and I notic...

So today I am going down heel, and it is a good thing I guess. No I am not (yet) riding the Tour de France, and I am not talking about descending the Pyrenees (today they are cycling from Saint Girons to Foix). But I am talking about my boot (remember the one I got a week ago). As the orthopedist, ordered, I need to remove one layer of the wedge heel every Friday for the next 3 weeks. Reading through other people blog, it seems to be pretty aggressive. Well I had a slow start, as it took 10 days to get the correct diagnostic, then 4 weeks of cast non weight bearing. But since then it is moving along relatively quick, as I went straight, well it took a couple of hours, to non-weight bearing to full-weight bearing. Also it isn't really full weight as I am in a boot with the wedge heel. I can tell between the boot frame and the incline of the foot, there isn't the full weight of my body that sits on that tendon, but it isn't a competition and the good thing is to regain ...

Today, I was back into action and went to the gym. The session was short, only 35 min, and mainly upper body, but it feels good to be doing some exercise. I started with the upper body ergometer, that I couldn't try last week, then move on to the bike for 5 min on one leg; and to finish about 15 min of arm and shoulder wight training. I didn't have any problems whatsoever with the Achilles. For the rest of the body, it didn't feel easy while I was exercising it but afterwards, I really felt great. Next time I will try to push it to 45 min or so. To top-up the day Lilian Calmejane won the stage of the Tour de France in Les Rousses (not to forget the Lions who battled to draw against New Zealand). Les Rousses is full of memory for me, it is one of the ski resort where I learnt skiing, my brother broke his leg there; and as we were looking for him, I saw him in the sleigh pulled by the rescue team; my sisters went back there last summer, almost a year ago.

I am delighted, I got the boot.😃 So today I was back at the orthopedist. Like the last time he was a real gentleman, he gave me the boot. Here what happens. First he removes the cast, there are many video on YouTube and that's exactly what happens (here is one) ; so I wasn't very surprised. Once the cast off, he examines the tendon, and says " Good, it is ready for the boot. You will be able to start putting weight on it. There are 3 heel wedges, you start with the 3 of them and over the next 4 weeks and every Friday you remove one of them. Every day, 3 times a day your remove the boot, and do those exercises move feet with toes pointing downwards, move feet with toes pointing inwards, repeat ten times ". And he carries on: " In 3-4 weeks we will start physio, then after 2 weeks or so you should be able to start swimming and after another 2-3 weeks indoor cycling." It sounds not so bad, but when you do the maths, it means I will be back in the pool ...

Well, I don't know how many laps and legs there are in this treatment of my Achilles tendon rupture, but what I know is tomorrow should be the end of the 1 st leg, that was I am hopping for anyway. So hopefully, the visit to the orthopedist will be like a transition and I will be moving to the next leg which should be to get into a boot. It is a bit like if you are doing a triathlon but you don't know the distance, would it be an Olympic, half or full distance? What I know it isn't a sprint. On the other side the orthopedist could decide that I have to move around the buoy and start a second lap, namely have surgery and get a second cast. I am not ready for this. Browsing the internet, and quite frankly this is more than often a waste of time, a lot of people seems to say if you are active and want to recover quickly and to minimize re-rupture go for surgery despite possible complication otherwise go for conservative treatment. Well in my case, I wasn't really of...

Not much news, I couldn't go to the gym this week-end, I wanted to practice with the arm ergometer. So I am a bit disappointed with that. Today was IronMan Austria, another impressive performance from Jan Frodeno, and what a finish in the women pro. Conditions were good, hope one day I will be there, it really looks like a nice course, and I want to ring the bell (google it if you want to know what's is all about). This is a show that I wouldn't like to miss if I have the opportunity. The leg muscle has vanished quite a bit in the last week or so, you can really see the difference now between the two legs. So this should be my last week with a cast and move onto the boot, normally. I will see on Friday. I hope for the best, I am not prepared for being told that I need surgery, I know it is a possibility but right now I am pushing it as far back in my mind as I can. This is a show that I would like to miss if I have the opportunity.