So. Anyone who has gone through tearing their Achilles, knows how difficult recovery is. Now imagine both- how do you walk when you can barely shuffle? It’s ever so much harder with fibro on top of it- no one trusts you so you wind up not trusting yourself.

My RA has done some horrible things to my tendons. From the start it was worse around the outside of my joints than inside- until the erosions kicked in.

RA means I can’t even have HA injections let alone be a candidate for surgery. The concern about deconditioning unfortunately meant I pushed myself a few times and felt the ping of yet another micro tear. It’s not like anything else- I have enough pops and noise from tight tendons, it really isn’t the same.

I was much more conservative in my approach after that and I’m pleased I was. Yes. I need to recondition my muscles all the way up to my quads. But. That’s easy. That’s just commitment. But I’m the one who lives the fallout of pushing too hard. You can look up the kinds of surgery needed to cut out the scarred section. It’s bad enough for one. But it’s both. And I could risk amputation because of the risk of infection.

But I’ve now tested them with my two regular walks (one is very flat the other has a steep uphill section to really give my quads a workout) and an ad hoc walk today. And I can happily say I think I’m finally at the point where work to get back to my usual fitness feels safe. That’s more than two years after my first tear almost two years since my second.

I still need to keep my feet supported. While my RA means an injury gets the full force of my immune system it’s my hypermobility that can trigger the injuries. Let’s put it like this- I would not need those fake insteps you can buy to make your feet super pretty for pointe work. That is how high my instep and arches are, but it creates a kind of instability that can’t be managed entirely through strengthening. My bones are what they are after all.

If you want to stretch the top of your feet you start with putting your toe to the floor then fold your toes so the top of the ends are flat to the floor, then to the big knuckle. I could walk on my feet at that point because they are so flexible. I don’t. Not any more.

Anyway. I’ve regained so much but only by being cautious.