Veteran With 40 Years of Achilles Tendon injury and resulting downsides

by liz
(south carolina)

I hurt my ankles in basic training in 1975. I was hospitalized for 2 days and released with a diagnose of torn achilles.


I finish basic training in severe pain. Long story short I was let out a few months early due to my not being able to pull my weight on the flight line with all the men.

I was given honorable discharge without a medical discharge.

I was told by my civilian doctors that the damage is done.

I limped much of my life and fell many times due to the numbness in my ankles. My legs suffered and back also. I couldn't any longer hold a job. Years of pain and disconfort. I never needed anyone until I couldnt help myself.

I have dead bone large lumps on back of ankle where the tear was and a floating piece of bone.

I now knew I needed help from the Va. They can't understand why my ankles can cause all my other problems. I had 2 knee replacment and my back is pinched by a nerve goig down my leg.

I fell so many times causing a tear in my knee.

Years of this I can't understand why the veterans department can't see the cause of all my problems... Can you tell me that I am right about the ankles causing me all these problems.

People limp but this was my way of walking for all these years. I was not treated at the time of injury.

How do I get a doctor to help me and write me a letter detailing my injuries.. I am an independent woman. I never needed anyone's help.

I had a great job and insurance. In 2005 I couldnt do it anymore. I got fired more than 10 times due to my inabilities to stand and forgetfull due to pain med...My orthopetic said I was between a rock and a hard place. I'm still having a hard time rehabilitating my knees due to my hurting ankles. If I get an operation on my ankles my knees need to be completely mobile. I need your help.

My ankles are always swollen and painfull to move.

I cant sleep or bend.

I need anwers can you help.



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Joshua Answers:


Hi Liz.

I'll certainly try to help you. I could tell you that you are right, but the opinion of a massage therapist holds no weight in western medicine.

I'll help as I can.


A. It sounds like you had a SIGNIFICANT injury back in 1975. Has that loose bone chunk been loose this whole time?

You've had Process of Inflammation and a Pain Causing Dynamic in place since 1975.

That's a long time to be under attack from negative factors.


B. In short, you had a siginficant injury, this stressed your body and
used up a lot of nutrients, and you've had decades of nutritional deficiency along with a body unable to 'heal'.


C. Good luck with western medicine in this scenario. It doesn't sound like they did you right back in the 70's, I don't know how I can help you have them treat you right, now.

You've been limping for 40 years?!? If that doesn't sway your doctors, and if they can't see any connection between limping for 40 years and getting knee and back pain from it....

You had an Achilles tear significant enough to pull bone off? The military treated you poorly from the very beginning.


D. I'll give you suggestions as I would regardless of the VA.

1. Get this free ebook from my Kerri. Free Chronic Pain Relief ebook.

Follow what she outlines there.

You are absolutely deficient in Vitamin D, Magnesium, and almost certainly one or both of Vitamin B6 and B12. You might also be Gluten Intolerant now, that happens with long term nutrient deficency, and makes it slowly worse and worse.

Bone loss/low density and cartiledge loss = Vitamin D deficiency.

Can't sleep = either pain, and/or magnesium deficiency.



2. Get these two books for your back pain.

The first is '7 Steps To A Pain Free Life' by Dr. John McKenzie. I don't like the name, but it got me up off 2 months of being on the floor with ruptured disc/sciatica, in two days.

The second is 'Healing Back Pain', by Dr. John Sarno. Also for the back pain and keeping it away.



3. Start Ice Dipping your feet/lower legs in a 5 gallon bucket as described on the How To Reduce Inflammation page.

You have a huge process of inflammation chronically in place. Countering that will help with the pain.


Let's start with that. Get necessary nutrition into your body, Ice Dip your feet/lower legs, and start the simple exercises in the Mckenzie book.

That will go A LONG way to helping you feel better, so you can better deal with the VA, as well as get through your days with better quality of life.




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Please reply using the comment link below. Do not submit a new submission to answer/reply, it's too hard for me to find where it's supposed to go.

And, comments have a 3,000 character limit so you may have to comment twice.
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Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
www.TendonitisExpert.com
















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Comments for Veteran With 40 Years of Achilles Tendon injury and resulting downsides

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Feb 26, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		PART 2 - thank you for your reply - Veteran With 40 Years of Achilles Tendon injury and resulting downsides
by: Anonymous

The VA determined I am 40% disabled due to service related ankles. I cant understand this.

My case will soon go to Washington. I need a doctor to say what exactly happened to me since my ankle deal.

If I didnt have bad ankles I wouldn't have the problems with a bad back and sciatica and bad knees.

My life has been a mess. Before I got help I spent everything I had and 401 gone before asking for help. VA doesnt see much of that...

I was kicked out of the service when I was ready to do 20 years. Honorable..No medical discharge.

The floating bone in the ankle is just recent. The falls have been over the past 10 years. I cracked ribs, ripped tendon in knee. I always have taken vitamins and excersised. I still take a lot of vitamins but cant excersise. I weight lift while sitting. I'm depressed so Im trying bio identical hormones hoping that will help...

My pain meds are hard core. Without It couldn't bear the pain in my ankles. Should I try to get ankle replacement when it's hard for me to rehabilitate? Doctors arent sure.

I trusted in the Air Force and they are letting me down.. I'm hurt I put everything I have into helping myself and VA cant see I could have collected for 40 years but choose not to due to my independance and a good job. Lost.


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Joshua Comments:

Well, don't mistake my comments for legal advise, but it seems like you'll want to make the point that you should have had a medical discharge way back when.

I imagine you have documentation of 40 years of pain meds and trips to the doctor, etc.

If you couldn't perform in the military due to pain from an accident, a non-medical discharge is a clever way to avoid evidence of responsibility.....


For the record, I so appreciate your independence and desire to find a way on your own.

And, pain sucks, and makes life hard.

It might also be interesting to challenge the doctors when they say it can't be connected.

"Really? You can't see how a serious debilitating injury and 40 years of physical compensations could possibly have an effect on the human body? Really?"

Said nicely, of course.

"Significant untreated achilles tendon tear. Limping and muscle tightness, biomechanical dysfunction, chronic pain in the body. This has a short and long term effect on the body. The body is a machine, if it can't run well, it can't run well.

Doctor, you really can't see a connection?"


Aug 19, 2012
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Tore Achilles 10 years ago, still in agony
by: Billy

Hello all sufferers, I am looking for some advice and not just another horro story please. I am 41 years old, a sports teachers and tore my achillies 10 years ago. I never had surgery and 10 years later I am still I'm daily agony.

Do I get surgery? What kind of surgery?

Is there anyone else with the same predicament?
I have a ball of scar tissue at the back of heel.


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Joshua Comments:

Hi Billy.

You didn't leave your email nor click the notifications box, so I hope you find this.

Yes, lots of people are in the same predicament.

No, 10 years more isn't going to help things.

I would need more info to respond fully, but in short, you've got some work to do to heal and make the pain go away.

Is that possible? Depends on the extent of the tear, etc.

Do you need surgery? Depends on the extent of the tear, etc.
Sep 20, 2014
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Air Force active dute, bilateral plantar fasciitis, Truly worried for my future
by: Jonathan M.

I have had bilateral plantar fasciitis for 4 years. I am a 24 year old active duty member of the United States Air Force and my job requires me to stand for several hours at a time. I have equal pain in both heels.

I tried to ignore the pain for a couple years because of how unrealistic it seemed to me. It seemed unrealistic because I couldn't grasp the fact that I was experiencing unbearable pain after not even a minute of standing up. One day after working a 12 hour shift, I stopped at WalMart on the way home.

After stepping out of my car and bearing weight on my feet after a 15 minute drive, I almost passed out from the pain.

So I finally went to the doctor and went through the motions towards getting a referral to a podiatrist. I went to a physical therapist who looked at my foot, poked at it for a bit then looked at me and laughed. (sounds like something out of a movie but it happened.) He told me that he cannot help me.

My podiatrist had custom inserts made for my shoes and also gave me a cortisone shot and neither helped one bit.

After those methods failed, I was told that I would be having surgery. On November 1st, 2013, I had the surgery on my left heel first. I was absolutely ecstatic at the idea of having no pain in one of my feet. The surgery was quick and I was out of there in a couple hours. The Dr. told me that I was to ease my way back onto my foot carefully but to make sure I spent some time walking on it as much as I can. I spent a few minutes every hour doing laps around my apartment.

So after a month I was able to take off the boot they gave me. I was still sore of course. I wish I could tell you that I had got my right foot fixed as well and lived happily ever after, but the truth is that I'm in just as much pain now as I was before my left foot surgery.

It has been 10.5 months since my surgery and the pain is so bad in my left foot still that I'm afraid to get surgery on my right foot. I'm 24 years old and I can't stand flat on my feet longer than 1-2 minutes.

I am not trying to discourage anyone in any way but when I found this page I really felt that I should share my story. I have heard so many happy endings with this surgery and I am truly happy that there is actually hope for getting rid of this pain. I'm not sure if It was my doctor that didn't do the operation right or if i am THAT messed up but I hope I can find some relief.

Best of luck to you all!! :)


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Joshua Comments:

Hi Jonathan.

It sounds like you have good cause to be worried!

So...what -exactly- did the surgeon cut on? What exactly was he hoping to accomplish?

For the future, here are some questions to ask before going under a very sharp object: Quiz Your Doctor


If there wasn't anything broken, or ripped, or torn.....what exactly was the surgeon doing? How was surgery expected to make things better?

That's a rhetorical question, really.

So, you have pain and chronic pain.

Pain is ultimately caused by three factors: Too tight muscle and connective tissue, inflammation, and nutritional insufficiency/deficiency.

This page explains some of the specifics: Achilles Tendonitis Symptoms

This page explains the overall dynamic: Pain Causing Dynamic


Maybe you have bone spurs or something growing straight down from the bottom of the heel, but you didn't say anything so I'm guessing not (including that that would be very, very rare).

I'd put my money on that A. you have chronic Process of Inflammation so you're full of pain enhancing chemical, the muscles of your lower leg (whose tendons and connective tissue wraps down into the heel and foot) are A. too tight so constantly pulling on the heel and B. not working optimally so are not absorbing force like they're supposed to, and of course that drives nutritional insufficiency/deficiency.

So you may want to focus on the lower legs for a while.

I of course suggest my Reversing Achilles Tendonitis ebook. It deals with all three of those factors, will help repair the damage done by surgery, etc.

When we hurt we think that we must be injured. Maybe you are but probably your not injured, your body is just out of tune, so to speak, and you can push it back towards being functionally happy.

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