Anyone ever done this?

So I was poppin fireworks out in the country with Dad & fam, and squatting on the balls of my feet while lighting a rather large box of glory.

As the fuse got lit, I spun on my left foot then lunged forward to start my sprint away from imminent danger. It was at this point I felt what I thought was a firework (or a rock) hit me in the back of my leg. I looked back to see if the box had turned over on its side and shot me, but it was upright. By the time I got to safety near the garage, I knew something was really wrong - couldn't put weight on my foot, couldn't walk on it, etc.

The next day I got a set of crutches from Wally World and was able to grind out the next 2 days in pain but finish up a mini-vacay with the kids and ol lady. First thing I did as I got back into town today was head over to the Urgent Care to find out I need an MRI but due to the amount of swelling I have to wait... I tore/popped my calf muscle. Popping fireworks. Just 2 weeks ago I was told I need progressive lenses (bifocals). Geez ..

Just hope it doesn't require surgery.

 

My educated guess is that you ruptured your achilles tendon, which generally happens as you push off with your foot to start running or jumping, mostly to folks that don't do that sort of thing on the regular, it's actually a fairly common injury in middle aged guys. Usually you hear a loud pop and it feels like someone kicked you on the back of your ankle area followed by the pain with difficulty walking and dorsiflexing your foot.

If that is the case you are looking at being out of commission for a while, they usually offer surgical repair or let it heal on it's own, but you will probably be looking at several weeks in either a cast or boot, or a mixture of both! Sorry to this happened to you.

I am not a physician and cannot diagnosis you, this is just an educated non physician guess based on your explanation. The MRI will let you know what happened, hopefully they referred you to an orthopedic doctor. Judging by the fact that it looks like they splinted you with your foot in plantar flexion that they are thinking the same thing.

If it was urgent care that told you to wait for swelling to go down for an MRI, don't, go to an orthopedic surgeon and let them decide when you can have the MRIl

Keep us updated, and sorry that happened to yoU!

 

Yikes. Hope you heal up quick, but I hope it isn’t what @dittothat is working through.

 

No bruising yet but I read that it can take up to a week to see it. Doc prescribed some feel good meds.

 

Did it feel like you got kicked in the calf? If so, you probably ruptured your Achilles as @trucksareforgirls2 said. It happens during explosive movements. Don’t worry, think of it as a good thing. Happens to all the great ones . You, me, Usain Bolt (fastest person ever), Ricky Williams (twice), Kobe.. you name it!

Also serious tho, an x-ray will tell you all you need to know. I’m praying you just tore your calf because the Achilles
injury is a major roller coaster mentally. I’m sorry, this really sucks dude.

But is it your left or right foot? If it’s your left you’ll be in better spirits because you can drive probably 2 weeks post op (if you go that route). If it’s your driving foot… well, unhook your battery and spend more time on here.

shoot me a PM with any questions. It’s a full year recovery btw

edit: just remembered you had the photo. Lucky it’s your left!

 

Oh yeah, pick up a knee scooter and toss some Mafia slaps on it! It’s a lifesaver and makes it so much easier for quick bathroom trips

 

Sorry to hear of your injury.
Hope you get it fixed and healed with little recovery time..

 

One more thing, if you don’t want to go the surgical route you need to get your foot in plantar flexion (pointing down) and need to start putting weight on it pretty quickly. Like.. this week kinda early. Weight bearing early for non-op, hold off on weight bearing if going surgery route. The two main boots are the air cast walking boot and the vacoped. Vacoped os sweet but big bucks..

Shoot me a message if you want I’ll send you my phone # and we can chat

 

Thanks bud. Once I see the Ortho I'll reach out with what I find out. So far, the PRN at Urgent says she thinks it's an upper calf muscle tear - she had me lay on my stomache while she gently pressed in different places...I almost cussed her out a couple times but did apologize. I do not think it's the Achilles based on what I read, the Teladoc video session and this latest visit. We'll see......

 

Man this sucks. Getting old ain't for pussies, that's for sure.

 

Speedy recovery Charles.

 

If I nuked the Achilles tendon, would it be possible to move my foot up and down at all? It can go up and down a little - down more freely, up causes pain in my upper calf.

 

I'm speaking from a second hand view of the injury of my wife, and from reading your posts I don't think you've nuked your Achilles.

 

@texasrho83

Sorry to hear bud, hope it's a speedy recovery and no surgery, year or two ago I was doing my warmup exercises and heard a "pop" thought it was my knee that I can usually pop like my knuckles, next day knee was the size of a watermelon, partially torn meniscus and acl, just from doing simple jumping jacks

Have you been to Advance Orthopedics off 249??? Dr. Mohr great guy, did my back surgery

 

No, never broke or tore anything in my life. This is all new to me. If I have surgery, it'll be a first too

 

If surgery is reccomended, get a second opinion. Sometimes a good sports medicine therapist can do wonders for recovery if it's not tendons needing to be repaired. Think @shawn474 could weigh in better on this though with his background.

 

Sorry, Charles. Hope you get well soon.

 

Sorry to hear. As someone said, find a good sports medicine or ortho quick. I finally got to a specialty practice for my neck and they fixed it, no surgery.
Good luck.

 

Wishing a speedy recovery

Here comes outer band of rain now

 

I just don't wanna prolong recovery exploring every little option. I'm on a timeline - I gotta fly out to OH in a couple weeks and school starts (for teachers) the first week of August.

Isn't @jewsNbrews a medical guy? Where you at? An old man has fallen and can't get up! Life alert! Life alert!

 

You need an mri to determine the extent of damage. It SOUNDS like a classic Achilles tendon tear / rupture. Depending on location of tear, extent (partial or full thickness), age, activity level, etc would determine treatment options. If it is ONLY the gastrocnemius or soleus (calf muscle) you can likely get by with extensive immobilization, non or partial weight bearing and PT. If it is an Achilles, regardless of the other stuff mentioned, you will need surgery and it will be pretty intense. Without seeing any imaging it’s all guesswork obviously. There are a couple quick tests to do to determine location and extent of injury……I would visit an orthopedic surgeon / sports PT asap. They will know best without imaging, and can order the studies

 

That sucks, Hopefully you heal up quickly.

 

This is so True!

 

Short answer, you need the MRI.

I am leaning towards some kind of tare. If it was an Achilles rupture you'd have fallen flat on your face as you turned to run as well as the physician would have known by seeing you walk and done a flexion test. Keep it elevated, ice as often as possible.

Keep us updated. Hope it's something that can heal on its own and surgery isn't needed.

 

If only I was a Lego, I'd just pull off my legs and snap on some new ones....

 

Yeah. This stupid hurricane is putting a damper on logistics to see a specialist but I'm gonna try to find one tomorrow.