Function Progression Running - Week 4

Still wore boot during day, but not in the evenings or to sleep.

M - 1 mile
Th - 1.5 miles
Sat  - 2 miles

Weekly total of 4.5 miles

Function Progression Running - Week 3

Still wore boot, but not to sleep.

M - 1 mile
W - 1 miles
Sat - 1.5 miles

Weekly total of 3.5 miles

Function Progression Running - Week 2

Still wore boot, but not to sleep.

M - .5 miles
W - .75 miles
F  - 1 mile
Sun - 1 mile

Weekly total of 3.25 miles

Function Progression Running - Week 1

Still wore boot, but not to sleep.

M - .5 miles
W - .5 miles
F  - .75 miles
Sun - 1 mile

Weekly total of 2.75 miles

12 Weeks in the Boot Complete - Time to Start Running

After 12 weeks in the boot, I have decided to start the functional progression for running.  It starts pretty conservatively.

Surgery - Cancelled

I was scheduled to have surgery on Friday, March 28th, however, I decided to cancel it.  In the days leading up to the surgery, I talked with Dr. Porter and Chad (surgical assistant) (via phone and email), and he suggested that I try running to see if the pain is still present.  In the week leading up to the surgery I ran several times, most notably a 20 min run, and 30 min up-tempo run.  Neither run was painful.  I could tell I was out of shape, and had gained some weight.  I noticed my Achilles throughout the run, but it wasn't painful, but I could tell it was there (sorta tough to explain).

It appeared as though my Achilles had responded positively to the boot, so the surgery was put on hold.  I was told to wear the boot for 1 more month, and then to start the functional progression to running.

Follow-Up Appointment - MRI

On Thursday, Feb 6th, I decided to head back to Dr. Porter's office because my heel was still bothering me.  I had been doing the exercises on a regular basis, but the pain was still there.  He reevaluated me, and noticed that my dorsiflexion angle improved.  Since this didn't fix the problem, he suggested that an MRI would be the next step to diagnosing the injury.  After my visit with Dr. Porter, I got the MRI.

On Friday, Feb 7th, Dr. Porter called me and said that I had a torn Achilles.  He said that I should not do any more stretching, and that it should be immobilized immediately.  Generally speaking, I feel Dr. Porter views surgery as a last resort, but that is what he was recommending for me.  He shared that it could heal on it's own, but often times it doesn't.  Due to the fact that I'm a teacher, and didn't want to be out of the classroom for that long.  I decided I would try immobilization for 7 weeks (with the thought that maybe it would respond favorably to the immobilization) and if it still wasn't getting better, I would have the surgery during spring break.  A boot was put on.