# Calcaneus recovery questions



## nomad rdr (Jul 26, 2006)

I did this to my heel 3 weeks ago. I'm due to get my cast off this Friday. The Doc has said no weight bearing for 12 weeks.

I was wondering if anybody else has broke thier heel and how soon they were back riding?


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## abqmtnbikr (Dec 8, 2005)

nomad rdr said:


> I did this to my heel 3 weeks ago. I'm due to get my cast off this Friday. The Doc has said no weight bearing for 12 weeks.
> 
> I was wondering if anybody else has broke thier heel and how soon they were back riding?
> View attachment 445812


I had a heel fracture 02/22/09 and I got the cast off last Wed.
My injury was not as severe as yours appears but still required 2 screws to pull the heel bone (calcaneus) back together.

7 wks out and I'm in a walking boot and ready to start physical therapy tomorrow.
The flexibiity has come back pretty quickly (<1 wk) but the strength is not back enough for full weight bearing yet (have to remain patient).

I walked with one crutch today and it was probably too soon, my foot has swollen up quite a bit again as a result.

Please keep me posted on your progress and I'll do the same.


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## Dad Man Walking (Sep 7, 2004)

Been there, done that. You can keep the t-shirt.

I busted mine two years ago (July 2007), was not a candidate for surgical repair because I also got a DVT in the lower leg at the same time. So they wrapped me up in splints for the first 4-5 weeks, then let me use a walking cast (but no load bearing) for the remainder of the 11 weeks I was splinted.

To your specific questions...for me, biking was (and still is) the perfect exercise because it is non load-bearing. When I was doing PT, I felt much better the days after I rode than days when I didn't ride. Even now, a long bike ride leaves no ill effects, whereas a long day on my feet (chores around the house, that type of stuff) can leave me pretty miserable for a couple of hours or more the next day. And a mellow ride after a long day can go a long way towards mitigating the "day after" soreness. (I think that a lot of my lingering problem is due to circulatory damage attributable to the blood clot, so you may have a much better prognosis in this regard.)

I was on a training stand doing light spinning within two weeks of being allowed to put weight on the foot. And I was back on rollers maybe 3-4 weeks after that. I started doing mellow road rides around that same time and around 5 months after the injury I was also back riding the MTB---absolutely nothing technical, just some nice grunt-it-out fireroad climbs.

You may not be able to snap out of your pedal right away--I ride Frogs on the MTB and they are super easy to get out of. But I still can't get out of a Speedplay X (road pedal) while I am on the bike...I have to unclip my good foot first and set that foot on the ground, then I can twist my hips enough to break the other foot free. It's become second nature though.

This injury sucks, I know what you are going through. PM me if you want to compare notes or just get some sympathy. And good luck for a speedy recovery.


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## nomad rdr (Jul 26, 2006)

Thanks for the replies! I'm trying to stay as upbeat as possible. My doctor is pretty optimistic about my injury, He said if he had to pick a calcaneus fracture he would pick mine. He said he will get me back on a bike for pysical therapy 6 weeks out of surgery and if everything looks good I'll get to trim a few weeks off of the no wieght bearing. 

Summer is coming, my heel needs to heal.


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## abqmtnbikr (Dec 8, 2005)

Stay positive and be patient.
This is a fairly common injury (Google it and even check it out on You Tube).

Had my first session of PT this morning and I didn't realize how tight everything still was until the Therapist started showing me some stretches (I had been working on it myself the week prior to PT with pretty good results).

Remember start back slowly and stay patient!

Here are a few stretches I'm doing.


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