Category: Cycling

A Spark of Hope

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been a couple of weeks since I started ASTYM, and it really seems to be helping. My pain at work is unchanged, but at least it doesn’t hurt as much to bike as it did before. I think work is the single biggest thing holding back my recovery, to the point where I’m going to have to start looking for a less strenuous job. Every time I start to feel better on my days off, the pain always comes back the next time I work. I can’t handle that many hours on my feet without breaks anymore. I’m so tired of living in pain every day and limping around the house when I get home.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like things are looking up. I started working on some new exercises at physical therapy which should help me to run and jump again someday. It’s amazing how hard it is to jump! My left leg does all the work, but I’m hoping the right one will step in eventually and remember how to do it. I think it probably needs a little more strength first, but I’ve been diligently doing everything at home. I’m probably one of the few people who actually likes to do the home program based on what I’ve heard other people say. I like putting on some music really loud (usually country or jpop) and working on fixing my body. It’s a half hour of my time well spent every day. On my days off work, I’ll do the program a second time before bed. If it will get me walking normally again, then running, then playing tennis, how could I not enjoy doing my homework? I’ve dealt with this injury for over two years, and while I had hoped recovering from surgery would be a little faster than it’s been, at least I’m feeling like I’m making some progress again.

My other concern as of late is that I think I found out what’s been wrong with the outside of my right ankle: sinus tarsi syndrome. I have to discuss it with a doctor, but all the symptoms match: pain on the outside of the ankle, swelling, trouble walking on uneven surfaces, degenerative changes at the subtalar joint and fluid collection (evidenced on my MRI from last summer), pain turning my foot inward… I’m not dumb enough to diagnose myself on the internet, but reputable sources say it’s often misdiagnosed, so it’s worth asking about so I can get started treating it if I do have it.. It also can weaken the Achilles tendon, which might account for some of my trouble healing. Here’s a link to the site I found with extensive information about it: Physiopedia: Sinus Tarsi Syndrome. It’d be nice to know for sure what the problem is because it’s holding me back as much as my Achilles tendon is, if not more.

Well, that’s all I have for tonight. I don’t have physical therapy this coming week because my therapist is out of the office and the other one doesn’t do ASTYM, but I’ll be picking back up again on the 29 of this month. Until next time, stay well!

A Wild Ride

On By LeraIn Cycling, LifeLeave a comment

This past week has been a roller coaster of emotion. I had my follow-up appointment with my surgeon yesterday, and I really don’t know what to think. I told him I was concerned how it was healing, and he said the same things he said last time: that this kind of recovery takes up to a whole year to be 100% better and to just be patient. He didn’t seem concerned about it at all, which I know I should take for a good sign, but that would be so much easier to do if I didn’t feel like my body was falling apart. I called my physical therapist after the appointment to discuss the appointment like he asked me to do, and he agreed to let me try a full course of ASTYM, which is 6-10 treatments, so I’ll be doing that until mid-August. I finally feel like I might have some hope back to reach my goals, which is a feeling I haven’t had in about two months. I had one of my best cycling weeks last week, which is still less than half of what I should be able to do, but it was about 20 miles more than the week before. I actually went out 5 days last week instead of just 3, and that was after only one ASYTM session! I’m hoping that with a full course of it, I can be back out a lot more. If I can break 100 miles on a work week, I’ll be thrilled, but right now I’d be happy with 75. I’d be really excited to get tennis back this year, but I know better than to push too hard too soon.

I want to take a minute to recognize my amazing physical therapy clinic. I’m not naming them to protect my privacy here, but I really would be lost without them. They’ve been so wonderful to work with, and they’re cutting me a special break to help get me back to where I need to be. I didn’t expect any special treatment, but I’m so much more grateful than I can ever express in words. Just having the chance to try something else means so much to me, because I’m not giving up until I can say I’ve tried everything.

First Week of Freedom

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been a week since I’ve gained some small freedoms, and it’s been going pretty well overall–not perfect by any means, but not too bad. I still have quite a bit of difficulty with going up and down the stairs and a little bit of difficulty with walking. I just don’t have the strength or balance yet to move normally, and I still get pain with those activities.

As far ask biking goes, I can do that mostly pain free. I’ve kept the resistance easier than I usually would, but yesterday I allowed myself to do a sprint at the end of my ride just to see how it would go. I got to 17 mph, which isn’t the best I’ve done, but it felt great flying down the road at that speed with the wind rushing past me. People who were outside last night turned to look at me. No, I’m not narcissistic; I know they just looked because that’s what people do when they see someone outside.

In terms of work, that’s still very challenging. I’m working an extra day next week–four days instead of three. I’m nervous about it, not because of the number, but because one of them is nine hours. I’ve been working 6.5 hours since I got back, so it’s not a huge increase, but I struggle with the shorter shifts. I know I’m going to have a hard time with the longer one. It’s still too hard physically. I’ll see how it goes, but I’m going to have to tell my boss he needs to let me work shorter days for a while yet. He didn’t ask me if I was ready. I probably would have told him no, but I’m not going to complain to him after he’s inconvenienced himself to accommodate me. As long as he doesn’t suddenly decide to schedule me 40 hours without checking first, I’ll try to deal with it. I can’t work without the boot yet. When it’s comfortable to do so, then I’ll go back up to full time. I’ve also been considering the possibility that I’ll need a less physically demanding job in the future. I can’t risk re-injuring myself. However, until physical therapy is done, I can’t go anywhere. I need the insurance coverage to pay for the visits and the followups with the surgeon.

Speaking of physical therapy, I started working on some new exercises this week now that I don’t have to keep it still all the time. My usual therapist has been out of the office this week, so Monday I worked with the assistant I’ve seen a few times before. She’s nice and I feel like she does a good job. She had me working on pushing off with my toes so walking will become easier. Today, though, I worked with a therapist that floats to different clinics when they need her. She was a nice person, but not the therapist for me. She was too gentle with the manual therapy. I didn’t feel like I got any real benefit out of it. When my usual therapist or the assistant does it, I can move more easily afterward, but today it felt like it wasn’t even done even though she worked on it for ten minutes. The float therapist had me working on some of the new stuff I started this week, but made me feel bad for holding on to the bar to keep my balance while I was trying to stand on one leg. I did the best I could without holding on, but it was too difficult. Then, when I was leaving, she told me I should really be working more on my limp because it’s a bad habit to have. I felt so confused, because isn’t it her job to help me learn how to move my muscles and joints the right way again? The more pain and stiffness I have, the more I limp. I left in more pain today than when I started. I was just thrilled to be moving as well as I was. I’m certainly limping less than I was last week right after the boot came off. My session ended ten minutes early today; if she was that concerned about my limp, she should have helped me with it a little. There was only one other patient in there at the time. I just didn’t appreciate the way it was brought up as I was leaving. I’m glad next week I can work with my usual therapist. Today felt like a waste of time to me, and usually I feel like I’ve at least made a little progress.


Back in the Saddle

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been just a few days shy of four months since surgery. It seems so unreal! I had another post-op followup today and I’m now allowed to transition into regular shoes! I have to wear a special padded lift inside the right shoe for quite a while, but it’s so nice to not have to wear the walking boot all the time. With the amount of difficulty I’ve been having with work, the surgeon told me it would be wise to use the boot at work for extra support if needed until I recover more strength and range of motion. I’ll be bringing it along to each shift just in case I need it; I can already tell it’ll probably still be a few weeks until I can really get rid of it for good. I just keep telling myself it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I have to pace myself.

It’s amazing the difference a day can bring. I was feeling really low a few days ago, exhausted with being dependent on people for rides and not being able to do the things I wanted to do. I feel so useless at work because I’m only there 19-ish hours a week right now. I’ve been trying to push myself as much as I safely can because I don’t want to risk losing my job, but the amount that I can do is still not up to what I consider full standard. I’ve been praying for the strength to make it through the challenging days.

Then today happened: I GET TO RIDE MY BIKE AGAIN! I stupidly forgot to ask at my appointment this morning, so I had to call and get permission. I waited four long hours for the phone to ring with an answer to the message I left, and it finally did at 1:50 p.m. By 2, I was changed into my gear and pumping up the bike tires. The ride went pretty well, but my speed was awful because I have to ride in a low resistance gear. I still managed to ride 7.27 glorious miles in 41 minutes. It was cold and damp out, but there were a few moments of sun along the way. It felt amazing, like I was finally living again! I didn’t have any pain while I was riding, and I probably could have gone farther if I wasn’t sick with a slight cold. I’m trying not to do too much too soon, and I’ll ask at physical therapy how to judge what’s too much so I don’t hinder my progress.

Now if only the pain I feel with extended weight bearing at work would lessen, I’d feel a whole lot more confident about everything. I’m still ecstatic to be gaining some new freedoms, though. Things will fall into place eventually, and I’ll be ready when they do!

Two Weeks Strong

On By LeraIn Cycling, Surgery1 Comment

As my second week of therapy draws to an end, it’s hard to believe the difference in my daily life in just two weeks. No longer being reliant on crutches in most situations is wonderful. I haven’t been using them at home, but I was using them when I went out shopping because I wasn’t used to having my weight on my foot for more than a few minutes. Finally on Tuesday, I was able to go grocery shopping without the help of crutches. It was hard! I was out for about an hour and a half, but I started to get sore after just twenty minutes. My walking boot can be filled with air in the heel area to help splint things a bit, so that helped, as did leaning on the shopping cart. It was challenging, but I made it. It was so much easier to shop with two free hands and push a cart without also having to steer my scooter. So many things are simpler now that I don’t have to treat my foot like it’s glass all the time–cleaning, cooking, and laundry, to name a few. My goals for the next several weeks are driving and showering without using a stool. I can’t drive until my surgical foot can bear 100% of my weight, so it’s still going to be another two weeks or so as an estimate.

One negative effect of my new found freedom is that my whole lower body is sore. I wrote before about how my legs are uneven with the boot on, and while it didn’t bother me too much at first, my body is rebelling now. My left hip, my lower back, and my right knee are sore. If I could get a good stretch or crack the joints, I know it would feel so much better, but I can’t seem to get any lasting relief. I think once the first lift can be removed from my boot next week, it will help things a lot because it will let my legs be more even again. 

Scar healing and some bruising from therapy. 11.5 weeks since surgery.

Today’s session seemed a little more aggressive as far as manual therapy was concerned. It was painful, but I had less stiffness afterward. I’m getting bruised up from the “massages”, but they’re so beneficial. I think the therapist was trying to make sure I left in the best possible shape I could today since I’ll be away from therapy for four weeks. I wrote before that my insurance company is stingy with its rehab benefits, so we’re making use of most of them once the boot is gone. I can do a lot of the stretching and range of motion exercises at home, so it makes sense to do it that way. He told me not to hesitate to call or stop in if something didn’t feel right or if I had questions in the meantime, so at least I’ll still have some support if I need it. He told me again this morning not to overdo things. I still think he doesn’t quite trust me 😉 My session this morning overlapped with my neighbor’s session, so we were chatting, and I think my therapist was a little taken aback when I said I rode 20-30 miles a day, or about 130 miles a week last year. I guess that number sounds high to people who aren’t bike people, but most days I just rode an hour and a half to two hours and however far I got was however far I got. I usually get in the zone when I’m riding and don’t even notice time pass. I just ride until I can’t go any farther. I’ll let my amazing new tea mug sum things up for me below:

Best mug ever, especially when filled with genmaicha.

I’m looking forward to the next phase in my recovery, and I’m starting to get antsy. At least the weather isn’t that great right now, so I’m not missing much in terms of outdoor activities, but a month from now, I’m going to want to be out there trying my best again! I might be cleared to start cycling again in 4-6 more weeks, so here’s hoping that will happen sooner rather than later!

Introductions Are In Order

On By LeraIn Cycling, Surgery2 Comments

bike lights
Riding at night is so much fun.

Cycling is my absolute favorite activity. That’s what I plan to focus a lot of this blog on, but for the next several months I want to chronicle my recovery from Achilles tendon surgery, both for myself and for anyone who can benefit from it. I hope to share tips that others in the same situation can use because I’m basically going in blind.

FSCN3349
My favorite place to ride past.

I’ve had insertional Achilles tendonosis for the past year and a half. It’s definitely been a drag. I’ve tried everything to treat this, but nothing’s worked. It’s been quite the journey to this point. I started seeing a podiatrist a little over a year ago, and from there I spent the months of November 2017-March 2018 in a combination of a walking boot, then a hard cast, then a boot again until it got worse, then a cast again and several weeks off work. The best thing the doctor I was seeing at the time did for me was finally having me try physical therapy. Until I started therapy, I was too sore to even want to try cycling, but after a couple of weeks, I was back on my bike again. I did therapy for 9 weeks, and while I improved 60-70%, the progress stalled and I was still in pain every day. It was also still a struggle to make it through a work day (I have a job where I’m on my feet all day). The therapist that I worked with recommended a different doctor to me after the podiatrist told me there was nothing more wrong with me and to come back as needed.

Switching doctors was the best move I could have made. I’ve been under the care of an orthopedic surgeon since June of this year, and it’s been a good experience. I appreciate that my surgeon didn’t rush me into surgery right away. He had me get an MRI done, which my first doctor didn’t deem necessary, and it revealed quite a lot of damage. He told me my tendon looks like it belongs to someone twice my age. With that information in mind, he told me I could try bracing again, but it would only have a 60% chance of working, or I could do surgery, which has an 80% chance of working. I wanted to avoid surgery as long as possible, so I tried the brace again, but it didn’t work and surgery was my only option left. So, after all this time, I have to do surgery after all. I know that it may not work, but I’ve been praying. If I put the time and effort into recovery and rehab, I feel certain it will be fine.

My surgery is set for December 11. My surgeon is going to take my Achilles tendon off my heel bone, clean up the damage, reattach it, and do a lengthening procedure. I won’t be able to put any weight on it at all for ten weeks, and then it’s going to be aggressive physical therapy after that. I don’t know when I can cycle again. The only thing I know for sure is that I won’t be doing 30+ mile rides for a long time. It’s going to be slow to get back into it. It’ll be even longer before I can play tennis again. I haven’t played tennis since my tendon first started hurting because I can’t even run thirty seconds without feeling pain. Cycling was my only option left for outdoor activities, and thankfully it’s something I’ve always loved. I’m hoping to challenge myself and do some shorter bike events, and a 5k at some point during 2019, but the soonest that’s likely to be is summer or fall.

I hope you will join me on this wild ride we call life. If you have any tips for me or any experiences you want to share, please do! I always love reading the comments on my blogs! I plan to update this at least once a week, so check back soon!

catcast
My cats loved it when I was in my cast earlier this year. Can’t say I felt the same way.