Playing after a bad injury.

[kid2]

How long after a bad injury has it taken you to get your game back.
Im 4 weeks now in a cast and iv 4 more to go and after that a walking boot so it looks like i wont get to hit a ball for at least another month anyway until i can ditch the crutches.

At least with the boot on i can get out on the course....
Thing even though iv had this injury before on the other leg the treatment was different.....Iv never been casted and already the leg feels very stiff when the cast is being changed......

The upside is i know what ill have to do to get the strength back but its a killer not being able to get out....

 

[Hobbit]

Depends on the injury. I had an accident over 6 years ago. My swing is different because of it and my long game is poorer but I've compensated by grafting on my short game and putting - still off 5.

 

[kid2]

Depends on the injury. I had an accident over 6 years ago. My swing is different because of it and my long game is poorer but I've compensated by grafting on my short game and putting - still off 5.

Nice to know that Hobbit....This is my 2nd Achilles rupture...I did the right leg just over 2 years ago...And 4 weeks ago i did the left one....The only thing that worries me this time is im right handed so brace against my left leg in the swing.....,
Hopefully it'll be ok.

 

[Mr_T]

I know you'll be eager to gt back out there but I wouldn't go straight out as soon as you get the cast off, maybe give it a week or even 2, the last thing you want is to damage it again from getting back out there too soon, about 3 years ago I hurt the tendons in both Achilles playing rugby, it went out and played again about a week before I was supposed to, and now I have to stretch them more than they normally would need before I do any sport otherwise I get a really sharp pain, it's not worth the risk mate

 

[dave]

i slipped 2 discs in my lower back l4 and l5 about 4 years ago and i didnt hit a ball for 2 years, when i started playing again it took alot of time to get comfortable, little voice in the back of my head saying this isnt a good idea etc and not knowing if and when i was going to have a problem. took a good year of playing to get confident enough and to stop worrying my spine was going to snap mid swing. i dont give it any thought now and ive a fairly aggressive swing.

 

[SGC001]

You'll be able to do some putting, chipping and maybe pitching fairly soon.

I think left is not as bad for golf as right (right hander).

As well as the muscle mass loss, general conditioning loss, you're proprioception will have suffered so you'll be doing some balance stuff as I expect you did before.

The loss of range of movement with dorsifelxion and plantarflexion can affect the golf swing making it difficult to stay in posture (lack of dorsiflexion - you won't be able to bend as much over the knee as you did before). It will depend on your repair and will almost certainly affect you on bad lies if nothing else.You can get heel raises / gel things to help with this.

If you've had it in a cast for that long I'll be suprised if you can get the same level of muscle back, getting in a cast early and keeping weight going through it can reduce the atrophy and is important in recovery.

See the ladies/gents in O/T and they should give you some good exercises and can even tailor it to golf.

 

[kid2]

If you've had it in a cast for that long I'll be suprised if you can get the same level of muscle back, getting in a cast early and keeping weight going through it can reduce the atrophy and is important in recovery.

See the ladies/gents in O/T and they should give you some good exercises and can even tailor it to golf.

Thats whats worrying me a little Pal..You seem to have experience with the injury..This time they cast the leg .I was put straight into a walking boot with the first injury on the right leg and on my club Physio's recommendation i dumped the crutches after 2 weeks and was full weight bearing in the boot..I lost about 75% of the muscle and even now its still scrawny looking 2 years after the injury..This time though i cant walk in the cast....I was at full Plantar flex for 3 weeks then when i went back last week they tried to get the foot back to neutral and it was just too stiff the best i managed was 110 degrees..... im a week nearly now at that and ive to go back the week after next to have the cast removed so they can get it back to neutral.........

 

[SGC001]

I wouldn't worry too much about it then, it shouldn't end up much worse than that.

Golfing wise if you've always kept your left heel on the ground when swinging, it might not hurt to allow the left foot to come up off the ground, if it wants to, on the backswing, it's not a move I'd worry too much about anyway even without mobility issues.

If you do struggle with mobility afterwards ultrasound may help, I gained a bit of both plantar and dorsiflexion after that (more plantar (over 10 degrees), than dorsi), despite physios not expecting anything much.

Wobble boards are quite useful too, and the toe scrunching exercises / band work is always worth doing.

Everyone I've seen with this injury has the injured leg end up smaller, possibly not the worst thing in the world as I wouldn't want the muscle overpowering the mend. The other thing to bear in mind is how muscles grow through exercise. We get most of that when we're growing up, but the basic mechanism means that we can see a lot of strength gains before the muscle mass itself starts to increase.

I also had a friend who'd snapped his and he ripped his calf muscle out on his other leg, the doctor said that this injury would lead to the leg been weaker than the other leg. However, after 2 weeks that was stronger than the leg he'd snapped his achilles on.

 

[Achilles]

Evening Kid. Took me a while to get back into things as you may remember from last year, and moving to a tougher course at the same time slowed me down, but I made sure I took it steady. I had surgery at the start of February and went out for a few holes at the end of April having had the greenlight from my physio. Resisted the temptation to play 18 holes from the off, and I struggled playing 9 to start with. Fitness took ages to get back but my swing wasn't too shabby. Not wanting to put too much pressure on my left side (the side I ruptured) meant I was paying a lot more attention to my balance which in turn had me hitting it sweet more often than not. Unfortunately that didn't last as I then started to go after shots. It probably took me about 2 months after that first round back before I felt relatively happy with my game.

A year later and I still have some occassional aches after a round but nothing overly painful. Hope you get out on the course soon amigo and as my mum would say "be careful and don't rush it"!

 

[kid2]

Evening Kid. Took me a while to get back into things as you may remember from last year, and moving to a tougher course at the same time slowed me down, but I made sure I took it steady. I had surgery at the start of February and went out for a few holes at the end of April having had the greenlight from my physio. Resisted the temptation to play 18 holes from the off, and I struggled playing 9 to start with. Fitness took ages to get back but my swing wasn't too shabby. Not wanting to put too much pressure on my left side (the side I ruptured) meant I was paying a lot more attention to my balance which in turn had me hitting it sweet more often than not. Unfortunately that didn't last as I then started to go after shots. It probably took me about 2 months after that first round back before I felt relatively happy with my game.

A year later and I still have some occassional aches after a round but nothing overly painful. Hope you get out on the course soon amigo and as my mum would say "be careful and don't rush it"!

I remember it well Pal....How are you now......Im gone past finding this a funny incident with me.....Now having ruptured both it really does mean i need to slow down a bit look outside the box and really see that 28 yrs of playing footie really have taken their toll on my legs....

Time to concentrate on my golf totally now

 

[Achilles]

I remember it well Pal....How are you now......Im gone past finding this a funny incident with me.....Now having ruptured both it really does mean i need to slow down a bit look outside the box and really see that 28 yrs of playing footie really have taken their toll on my legs....

Time to concentrate on my golf totally now

Don't think it's something I ever found funny, so you're obviously more laid back than I was. The Achilles itself is pretty much back to normal thanks mate. I do have the odd twinge now and again and my legs tend to ache like feck after footy, and sometimes after golf. Talking of footy, I'm pretty much done with it now. The thought of a second rupture scares the utter crap out of me, and having only played a few games with the guys from work, I've already noticed that I'm staying away from tackles and any sprints after the ball. Wasn't 100% sure about going back in the first place.

Totally agree about concentrating on the golf. It took me long enough to take it up in the first place, so be silly to risk mising out on any more!

 

[Imurg]

When I shattered my right ankle I didn't play for year.
9 weeks without putting any weight on the right leg made it pretty weak.
The ankle was still recovering and I really didn't feel capable of playing.
After nearly a year I felt strong enough to go to the range and gently hit balls, gradually building up the swing speed.
Part of the issue with playing was that I literally couldn't walk far enough to get round a course.
Once I'd had a few range sessions I went out solo a few times before restarting comps.
Still get pain from the ankle - they reckoned I would be lucky to get 50% movement back, luckily it seems I've got about 75% back and it doesn't hinder play.
Take your time Kid, you want to be sure it's fixed.

 

[kid2]

Take your time Kid, you want to be sure it's fixed.

I know Murg.......Its the impatience thats choking me.....And to be honest im probably one of the most patient people that i know ......
Looks like im gonna have to get the short game of Seve for a few months.