David @ DHPT

A while back I wrote a blog post about my journey with mental illness.  I talked about my struggles with anxiety and depression and how I had sought help to get through these issues after trying to help myself and not quite succeeding. Last year I had some troubles again.  Around October/November I had another bout of depression which really knocked me back.  But what surprised me was not that I had another bout of depression - that's happened before and I have dealt with it - what surprised me about it was the completely different feelings that were associated with it this time around. If you'll indulge me, let's take a step back and I'll explain how we got to this point. In February 2018 I ruptured my Achilles while sparring with a couple of mates, I knew as soon as it happened that I'd done my Achilles, I just felt it go.  It was annoying but I worked my way through it and got back to training.  Way too early as it happens.  I went back to trainin...

So in February this year I suffered a complete rupture of my Achilles Tendon while doing some sparring with some friends.  This was one of the most painful injuries and frustrating rehabilitation protocols I have had to go through (and I've been through a few!).  But it came with a silver lining. In my first Krav Maga training session back after being cleared by my hospital physio, I took a step back and pop, it ruptured again.  While the re-injury was very frustrating - in fact it is possibly the most upset over an injury I have ever been - having been through it once before has taught me a few things. The first thing I learned was that I am able to ask for what I want in terms of a cast, in some aspects at least.  When you rupture your Achilles Tendon you are put in what is known as an equinous cast.  This basically sets your cast in a position with your toes pointing down to bring the two ends of the tendon as close as possible. While I could not...

It's been a while since I have written a post about my Achilles tendon rupture rehab so I thought I would bash out a few quick words on where things are at in my recovery. For the last month or so I have been able to walk around in normal shoes again, which for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of rupturing their Achilles is quite a milestone!  Having your toes pointed at the floor for 3 months or so has definitely been a bit of a pain, its amazing how a simple change in the way you hold your foot can cause a whole lot of other issues. As a result of the normal shoes, my back, hip and knee pain have vanished almost instantly - a pretty clear sign that they were having to compensate for the change in my gait pattern.  Really just confirming what I already thought was the case.  But good to know that it wasn't anything more serious. Something that I hadn't really thought too much about (but should have really) was the loss in my balance, especially the loss...