In reply to fifth:
Scott,
Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you.
I had an op on my right ankle in 2010. It wasn't just for a Peroneus Brevis split, though. The main triggers were removal of a Haglund's Spur from my heel, with de-calcification of the inner side of the Achilles tendon and also surgery to create a channel behind my ankle for the Peroneus Longus tendon to run in (it had become dislocated and was riding up onto my ankle).
The Brevis split was (apparently) the most minor of the corrections required....similar to yous I expect: a 2 cm longitudinally in the middle of the tendon.
The op went well, and I had 6 weeks in a cast, non load-bearing. What they didn't tell me until AFTER the op was that for the first 4 weeks of this I'd have to inject Heparin into my belly every day (clotting prevention measure). The first few days of doing this was terrible for me but after that it became "normal" and I didn't worry about it.
I was also not prepared for the long haul to full recovery. After the cast, I was in a "boot" for another 6 weeks, which preculded driving. It was load-bearing and I started to walk on it, but it was a slow business before I was able to walk significant distances.
Following that was about 8 weeks of physio, where I gradually improved joint mobility and strengthened the leg again.
However, discomfort persisted and I wasn't able to do a great deal of strenuous activity throughout 2011 (climbing was possible, on short climbs, mainly indoors, but became uncomfortable afte a while. Running was pretty much out....I did no races in 2011 at all. Hill walking in summer boots was OK, with poles, but Winter mountaineering was a big challenge in stiff boots, and even as late as Feb 2012 I wasn't able to go out for 2 consecutive days.
In fact, discomfort persisted into 2012, and a further MRI scan then showed that although the Achilles and Longus parts of the op had gone well, the Brevis was healing VERY slowly and was the cause of most of my continuing problems. Apparently these longitudinal splits can take ages to heal...and I'm also pushing 60 which adds to healing time! I had another course of physio and also took it very easy....walking a lot, but not on tricky terrain. There was a possibility of another op on the Brevis, but the physio and activity slow-down seemed to do the trick....I'd probably been trying to do too much too soon which impacted very significantly on the Brevis healing time.
The first time I felt happy in winter hills was Feb 2013, when I managed a couple of Munros with long walk-ins, and some decent routes in Wales. I ran a half-marathon in 2013, too. Last year I managed 3 half marathons, a 10 miler and 6 or 7 10 k races, some over rough terrain, so reckon I'm a s good as I'm going to get now. Everything seems fine in that ankle ( I can still "feel" the screws in the Achilles but it's not "discomfort"....I just know they're there).
I stress that the Achilles and Longus interventions healed quite quickly and it was the Brevis that took the time. My physio bollocked me royally on the second course of physio as she said it was obvious I'd been trying to do too much too soon and contributed significantly to the delayed healing of the Brevis.
Re keeping strong while non-load-bearing immediately post-op: I mostly did upper body workout stuff, with some single leg squats. I also did some resistance work on the non-load-bearing upper leg to try and keep some muscle tone in the quads and hamstrings, at least. It worked to an extent, but my calves on that leg were pretty wasted when the pot came off!
Sorry if this reads quite negative, but I guess the main thing is not to do what I did and delay healing/ full recovery by trying to get back into things too eagerly.
