I was anxious to get underway. An ER nurse, whose husband
went through this same process, said that I shouldn't wait too long. Her
husband waited two months and then experienced issues with range of motion. My
cast came off at the five-week mark and I hoped to get right to rehab.
Timing Proves
Difficult
The rehab facility is my personal Cheers – everyone there knows my name (I do play rugby, after all).
But it was booked for ten days before I could even get an initial consultation.
Luckily, Dr. O'Connor cleared me for the pool immediately.
He wanted me in the pool 5-6 times per week while also completing physical
therapy three times per week. Having 8-9 appointments per week might sound
excessive, but after the limitations of recovery, being active was a dream. Up
to this point, my workouts were relegated to either going around my
neighborhood on crutches at a brisk pace, or using the rowing machine with my
casted leg held in the air.
My advice is to schedule appointments before you are
cleared. If, for some reason, your physician decides to delay your trip to
rehab, you can cancel them. If I had the chance to do this over again, I would
have scheduled rehab for the day after my follow-up. At the time of the
casting, Dr. O'Connor had indicated that he planned to be aggressive.
Getting Started with
Aqua Therapy
 For me, aqua therapy meant
walking in a pool. That was all I was allowed to do until the five-week mark, when
I could try walking on my own (in the boot). Thankfully, I was also cleared to
do laps after I finished 20-25 minutes of walking in chest-deep water. Initially,
swimming proved to be painful whereas walking did not, save for the occasional
crackling in my ankle (my bet is from lack of use.) Laps did get easier as I
kept at them, hoping not to lose what cardio fitness I had.
The Grind of Physical
Therapy
If there is one activity that can humble a person recovering
from an injury, it has to be physical therapy. I think this must be more so the
case if you're an athlete. My legs have been uncommonly strong my entire life.
I even sported the nickname "Quadzilla" when I played college rugby.
So it's a reality check when you can't do even the simplest
and lightest of motions in rehab. It's also a reminder that everyone starts
somewhere. Any physical activity is a starting point. No one gets stronger and
fitter staring at a screen. I refuse to have any reaction but to embrace this
challenge and stay positive. If my time living in China taught me anything, it was
how a negative Chi (life energy) can slow healing. Being aware of frustrations
is important in developing a plan to get the best of them.
Swelling and Stubbornness
For me, swelling was still a serious problem - and more
serious than I realized. My toes looked relatively normal, so I assumed that I
was doing okay. When the physical therapist measured the circumference of my
ankle and calf, however, she found serious swelling and atrophy, respectively.
This led to 20 minutes per session of ice along with electrostimulation, which
uses electrical current to force muscle contraction and move fluid away from
the area of swelling.
The most reasonable cause for my condition was that I had
retuned to regular life as much as I could, refusing to slow down or reduce
hours at work. That's because I am stubborn goat. Getting voltage pushed
through my leg was the penance I had to pay. Thankfully, it's not painful.
Rehab with Revenge
If you have not discovered CrossFit training and are
interested in adding strength, speed, endurance, and explosiveness in extremely
intense/short duration workouts (25-45 minutes), then you need to check it out.
One of my buddies turned me onto it after transforming himself into a sculpted
(but not bulky) beast. The reason I bring this up is that according to
physiologists who work for this company, getting back on the horse as soon as
possible is the key to strengthening your body against further injury.
In their "Rehab with
Revenge" video lecture series, there was even a discussion of something
known as latent bisymmetrical strengthening. For some reason, when someone
works out a healthy limb, the other one also gets stronger even if it isn't
used. This is more clearly seen in the legs than the arms, but it is true for
all four limbs.
Personally, this was an important aspect of regaining health
and one of the reasons I believe that I'm ahead of schedule with healing.
Stationary life is the antithesis of health. As long as your body can handle it
and you stay within the parameters allowed by your physician, working-out has been
proven to speed recovery, at least in my case. According to many sources, it
also reduces the likelihood of depression, which can be common when anyone
cannot engage in activities that he or she enjoys.
So get up and get after it! While your body will eventually
heal itself, it will do it a lot faster if you help it by working out.
Related Readings
(please note that hyperlinks
will not work until future blogs are posted):
Part 1 - My Achilles Heel - Achilles Tendon Rupture
Part 2 - To Cut or Not To Cut? Not Even a Question!
Part 3 - Sew Happy Together
Part 4 - Casting
Call
Part 5 - The
Process of Getting a Handicapped Parking Permit
Part 6 - The
Orthopedic Boot(y) Call
Part 7 - I'm
Going to Rehab
Part 8 - Preparing for the Breast Cancer Run
Part 9 - Results from the Breast Cancer Run
Resources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043
www.crossfit.com
| 
Re: I’m Going to Rehab (Achilles Rupture Recovery – Part 7)
