Listen. Learn. Execute
It's been a while and a lot has happened. A virus has brought the world to a stand still. There is no toilet paper anywhere. School is out for the spring. I can walk 4 weeks after surgery. I know the last one not as earth shaking as the previous changes, however when you consider i'm not supposed to be walking for another 6 weeks it may slightly compare.
When dealing with life shaking events like a world altering virus or catastrophic injury its always good to first know all the facts of the situation or as many as you can know. With my recovery 3 weeks in a splint and 6 in a boot with a wedge, but why? Why are we doing it that way? Its always good to ask why. Ask your trainer, doctor, mechanic, etc. Ask why so you can understand the process and to see if this person knows what they are doing. I always encourage my clients to ask why we do things the way we do. With my recovery the boot isn't so i wont re-injure my achilles. Its to make sure my calf doesn't heal too long, which is important simply because when the muscle is too long it doesn't work.
After the why you must look and see if the why is supported by studies, or if you are adhering to an outdated philosophy. In my case studies show going too fast cause re-injury and too much immobilization makes gaining strength and range of motion hard. Thats why you must know your limit. Swelling or pain is the general sign that you have gone too far. I'm going to be completely honest first day out of my splint my ankle blew up. I pushed to hard too fast. I let my desire to get back to normal override my training and common sense. It happens to all of us at times.
In the end after seeing that I over did it, I didn't run and put my boot on afraid that I may tear my achilles again. I slowed down my approach, lots of stretching, rolling, and massaging. Getting the fascia and muscle to loosen up and working on the scar tissue that has formed. Because I asked the doctor why so I understand i'm not at risk for re-injury. I looked into whats was safe to do, and i found my limit. When you take time listen, learn, and execute you can do almost anything you set your mind too.
