u/SerendipitousCat503

Hi everyone,

Just a bit of a rant really…

Had a bumpy last 2 weeks, so turns out what I thought was a simple repair actually required a graft, which they’d not mentioned until my first appointment with the specialist (which was 3 weeks post op), which I wasn’t thrilled about.

Means I’ve ended up back non weight bearing until week 6.

Constantly being on the crutches is ruining my shoulders and the hip on the unaffected side, sleep has been awful, I cannot get comfortable - no amount of propping myself up with pillows is helping now.

Stretching x2 daily - still feel like I’ve been hit by a car in the morning, but still absolutely no pain with my ankle since day 3 post op, make it make sense!? Moving my toes and trying to keep my ankle moving so it doesn’t stiffen up.

Hoping I can begin to weight bear to some degree at the next appointment - for the sake of my sanity.

Hiya everyone!

Hit day 14 post op - just had a read of my first week compared to my second, making a point of trying to find the progress and the little wins.

So as well as being a semi professional athlete I also work in healthcare so decided to do some reading around weight bearing and outcomes (because what else is there to do when you’re at home by yourself all day, right?) - and although is doesn’t necessarily speed up recovery time, early weight bearing has been shown to improve outcomes over all. Also found accelerated protocols drawn up by orthopaedic surgeons for accelerated rehab plans.

Had a conversation with my friend who’s in the same job as me, but also has a degree in sports rehabilitation, worked at professional rugby clubs previously and decided that for the sake of reducing muscle atrophy and my sanity (cabin fever is REAL!) I’d attempt to weight bear a couple days early. It was their experience that athletes who’d had the misfortune of Achilles rupture would weight bear ASAP providing they had the appropriate boot (VACOped), which I do - so made the decision to try, and I’ve had no issues!

*Under strict instructions to stop if I felt fatigued or any discomfort whatsoever!*

Still using crutches when out the house - not risking walking on uneven surfaces but walking round the house unaided with no pains - not taken pain relief since day 3 post op as I’ve had no pain.

Got used to the weight of the boot in bed, found that a pillow between my knees has helped the most!

Started doing upper body workouts with DB’s and KB’s and core work and I’m feeling good, doing all the toe movements, keeping my knee and hip moving as much as I can.

It’s surprised me how different rehab protocols have been reading this thread, crazy how medicine works, more than one way to skin a cat as they say!

Thanks!

Hi all,

So I’m 1/52 post op, went in on a day case so in and out in a few hours, only needed pain relief for 2 days following the op and I’ve pretty much been pain free.

Sleep for the first couple of days wasn’t great, just due to how big the VACOped is, it’s touching 1.6kg when you move the weight moving disturbs you - created a pillow track for my leg to lie on and also move my leg without disturbing me too much.

The fatigue of lumbering extra weight on your leg is taking it out of me by the end of the day, just a case of taking my time so I don’t stack it!

Angle on the boot is currently 30 degrees, been a few occasions where I’ve put some weight through the boot (mainly not trying to fall over) or to just relieve some of the load taken by my good hip very briefly whilst being stood for long-ish periods.

I’m hoping the angle of the boot is adjusted soon, so I can start weight bearing, particularly with the evidence around outcomes with early weight bearing being good for overall outcomes.

Finding it difficult doing so little, considering how active I usually am! so I’m just hoping I can progress quickly so I don’t get cabin fever!

Thanks!