Understanding rehab for a ruptured Achilles.
Rehabilitation for a ruptured Achilles is a long process. Everyone told me this, the doctors, physiotherapists and friends who had ruptured their Achilles. Perhaps one of the longest required for an injury. My doctor told me it could take as long as 24 months to recover. If I was lucky as short as six, but generally around 12. A calculation in my head determined that there was a possibility I could race next season. Immediately I cemented this as my goal. Without this, rehab for the sake of rehab would be tough. So there it was, I would learn to run again.
As soon as I could, I started fronting up to training. This would be mainly upper body and core stability sessions in the gym. Initially I would hop around with my crutches. Then I would hop around in my boot. Being back with the squad was wonderful. They were preparing to race the State and Australian Championships. I got a buzz out of simply being around them. They were inspirational.
There were a lot of other rehab exercises that I had to commit to. One thing that was made crystal clear to me was to “Do every exercise you are given, listen to your physiotherapist and do everything they say.” Ingrained in my mind, this message became the foundation blocks for the beginning of my rehab. My physiotherapist was amazing. Initially I saw him every two or three weeks. Soon this stretched out to four. We would talk about every facet of the injury. Including how my mind was coping.
Seeing the physiotherapist was exciting, representing the next step in the recovery process. Some sessions were great, others I would be in tears. Every time I saw him, I would walk away with a handful of exercises to do. These would take anywhere up to an hour each day. Being back at work this meant getting up and hour earlier just so I could do them. It was a strenuous process and sometimes I didn’t want get up. But every day I got up. I would hear the voices in my head and the message “Do every exercise you are given, listen to your physiotherapist and do everything they say.” I’m still doing the exercises today 12 months later!
