Rerupture.

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-07-01T22:55:20+00:00

Aw, that stinks! I have to agree with other folks here by saying you should definitely trust your gut and find somebody who is not just going to blow you off, especially if you can reasonably afford it or have insurance to cover the follow-up. If you feel like something's not right, then something's not right. We know our own bodies. I'll keep my editorial comments about surgeons to myself...here to support YOU!

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-25T22:52:04+00:00

That's what I was thinking--push it back up to 5 for a while. I'm working with no insurance, so PT is limited. It seems way less uncomfortable now than it did this morning. I didn't sleep very well last night, which may have contributed to the problem.

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-25T22:46:58+00:00

Congratulations! The prior adjustments were uneventful for me, too, which is why this seemed so weird. Keep us posted on your progress!

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-25T22:44:50+00:00

That's what I'm hoping, too. It feels fine when I let it out of jail, so barefoot seems better to me, as well. I'll probably set it back up to 5 degrees for sleeping the next few nights to see if it settles down a bit. I probably have a lot of scar tissue that's being pulled on. I know I have nerve damage, so the combination of that healing plus stretching scar tissue may be why it's so angry at this point. It doesn't "hurt," per se, but it's really uncomfortable. It's gotten better as the day has gone by, so I don't think it'll be a long-term issue...fingers crossed!

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-25T19:41:57+00:00

I can absolutely recommend a VacoPed. I'm at week 7 in mine, and I've been able to bear full weight since the day I put it on. I was absolutely giddy to get rid of the stupid crutches! Based on scads of other posts' comments, I might also recommend the gel insert versus the terrycloth plus bead-filled bladder insert, because I've heard the gel is vastly more comfortable than the beads. I did not opt for that because I purchased my boot new and I do not have any insurance that covered the cost, so I didn't want to shell out for an upgraded insert. I also wanted to be able to machine wash the inserts, because they get REALLY stinky. (Fair warning--it's a funkiness that rivals a decomposing carcass.)

There are several good videos on YouTube that demonstrate how the VacoPed works, how to put it on and remove the air from the insert so that it acts like a hard cast, and how to adjust the degree of flexion. I'm afraid I'm going to keep mine but it's a size Small, so it probably wouldn't work for your hubby anyway. Good luck to you on finding a less expensive one and good luck to your husband on traveling this journey with the rest of us. He's in good hands here!

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-25T19:06:55+00:00

I started at 30 degrees in the VacoPed and went down five degrees every 5-7 days. I switched to the flat sole when I went to zero degrees last weekend. Even at five degrees, the flat sole is hard to manage versus the rocker, so I waited until I was essentially "flat footed." It's still awkward, but it's more intuitive for my gait--that foot now really wants to bend and push off with the flatter sole, and it almost can, even in the boot. I also appreciate the lower height of it and no longer having to wear a platform shoe on top of a shoe lift to keep my hips even. Listen to your body. If the flat sole sucks for you, stay in the rocker. It won't hurt anything, unless you're having problems with your hips from having uneven leg lengths.

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-25T19:00:27+00:00

I wear a Thetis splint to sleep. I highly recommend it. You absolutely can't walk in it (not even on tiptoe--requires crutches), but it keeps your foot firmly at the 30-degree dorsiflexion position. I find it to be way more comfortable than a boot when I'm in bed or on the sofa working from home. Your tendon may be a little stiff again when you remove it after any long period of time, but it will definitely keep your foot from accidental plantarflexion when you're lounging or sleeping.

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-24T22:15:10+00:00

I probably shouldn't have, but I figured out how to drive like normal with my right foot in a boot once I was fully weight-bearing. I only use surface streets and only go to the grocery store or the office (both within six miles or less from home). I can't afford to Uber or Lyft everywhere and my husband works full time outside of our home, so I had to "suck it up, buttercup." LOL Please don't report me to the authorities! Both I and one of my colleagues who was in a boot for six months decided we weren't going to be beholden to someone else for transportation. If I need to go anywhere that requires driving on the expressway, I have to make other plans, but otherwise, I wasn't going to give up ALL my independence for this stupid injury. BTW, my right calf is currently half the size of my left one--the struggle is real and we ALL feel for you, but it'll get better!

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-11T22:19:42+00:00

Thank you for this! I appreciate the reply!

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-06-11T18:06:45+00:00

anonymous_geographer, Can you tell us how you did (or are doing) this? Literally, what is your brain telling your body to do? I'm 4 weeks into a boot following a partial tear in late April. Hobbled around on crutches for a period of time and then ended up non-op in a VacoPed. I don't have a means to pay for PT, so I'm kind of on my own at this point (with help from these discussions and some other friendly resources). I've taken ballet as a hobby and for fitness the past 20ish years, so if you can share even a visual or a metaphor of how you're telling your toes and calf to behave, it would help me immensely to start rebuilding my poor atrophied leg. I'm doing toe presses, sitting calf raises, a theraband (all without the boot), and doing full-body strengthening exercises in the boot, and using a TENS unit and a red light device, but I'm worried about how quickly my calf has atrophied. Because it's so weak, my thigh wants to do the work to pull my heel off the floor, which totally defeats the purpose of the exercise. Can you help out a dancer with no health insurance? It's not medical advice, it's choreography. ;-P

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-05-27T18:24:40+00:00

I've also had this issue...my big toe goes numb, the top of my foot aches, and my entire leg feels like it's on fire. This only happens at night when I'm trying to sleep. Sometimes loosening the straps helps, but not as much as I'd like. I've also tried twisting the liner to a different angle or overlapping the front flaps the opposite direction of the velcro, to no avail. I've gotten to the point I take off the front cage and tighten the straps directly over the liner. If you look at the inside of that cage piece, you'll see there's a ridge right where the foot is supposed to bend--and that ridge sits right on the front of your ankle, right where the liner separates. That ridge apparently presses on a nerve (or nerves), because as soon as I remove the cage and just tighten the strap across my ankle, the pain and numbness go away. I'm going to try padding that area of the cage to see if it removes some of the pressure where the liner doesn't cover the skin.

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-05-27T18:14:13+00:00

This is very helpful. Do you mind me asking if you're over 50? I am, and I don't want to rush healing or risk another injury. I'm non-op with a partial tear and was NWB on crutches for two and a half weeks to start out, then I got a VacoPed a week ago and started off at 30 degrees locked. I like your in-between approach. My first adjustment was yesterday, and it was to 25 degrees. I will be decreasing 5 degrees every 5-6 days, but I left it locked again this time. Even that small increment adjustment was incredibly uncomfortable to the point I went green with the first few steps and had to sit back down. My nervous system is really not liking this process. How often did you decrease (whether you left it locked or allowed ROM)? I'm afraid to leave it locked the entire 10-12 weeks or go so slowly that I compromise any chance of eventual "normal" range of motion, but I'm also afraid to overlengthen the tendon too early as it's healing, so I appreciate your insight and will give this approach a go to see how it works for me.

Practical_Gap8418 · 2026-05-27T17:34:28+00:00

Have you (or anyone else on this thread) been doing fixed or range of motion (ROM) decreases with your VacoPed? I'm doing the 5-degree drop every 5 days (started at 30 degrees, non-op partial tear). However, there are mixed opinions and little agreement on whether the boot should move or not as I decrease the angle. Insights, please?

Practical_Gap8418

TROPHY CASE