Achilles tendon rupture recovery

KingPuck

Hi all, I snapped achilles tendon 6 weeks ago playing tennis, had operation to sew it together and had a cast for the last six weeks. It came off today and physio starts on Monday.

Has anyone here had the same injury? If so how did recovery go? How long were you out?

For the record and as per the charter, I have had professional advise. I am not looking for medical advice just feedback.

BTW if someone finds the other half of my calf muscle there is a hefty reward.

arybvtcw0eolkf

OUCH!.

Had it myself a long, long time ago however thank god I didn't need surgery.

Most of the time spent with the physio was her breaking down scar tissue and getting mobility (full range of motion) back - it'll be damned sore & I don't envy you.

.

CdeC

Hi all,
This just happened to me rugby training and I am gutted as was really looking forward to the season.
Had surgery last week and now just waiting but really want to do the rehabilitation right. ANyone any tips from their own experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ciaran

O.P.H

By "snap" or "rupture" do you mean the full on break, as in the tendond rolled up into a ball below your calf muscle. I've heard of this happenin before and all I gotta say is ouch. Hopefully ye're physio will go well and you'll recover stronger than before, best a luck.

Man that sucks.

Can someone advise me on how to not let this happen ? Sounds like a nightmare.

Best of luck OP.

CdeC

hey guys,
ok got some feedback from a guy I worked with who is a cardiologist and ruptured an achilles playing squash. He plays at a high level so was fit and also very enthusiastic to get back quickly.
Anyway he told me that now I have a cast on not to weight bear at all, which I can't anyway. He then said this is what I should be doing.

• 1st outpatient apponitment, 2 weeks after rupture. encourage them to put a boot on. It's basically a removable cast that allows weight bearing. Will be sore at first but will get easier and can clump around the place without crutches.
• Then as soon as possible start physio maybe after 2 more weeks.(4 since Rupture). The sooner the rehab starts the better even passive manipulation of the ankle. Also he suggested forking out for a sports physio who will be working towards sports function rather than walking function that a hospital physio will do.
• He said that he was light jogging ten weeks and 6 months later he is 100% and has played squash and hasn't noticed it.#

ANyway I'll update this thread in case anyone else needs info after I'm better and PMS welcome.
Prevention I would say that I had noticed my tendon at me. Just get it treated and stretch it out and find out best way to stretch it out. A good physical threrapist will treat it and advise you.
I was careless just back from EP and went training. dehydrated and tired and pushed myself too hard.
Live and Learn

CdeC

So update,
In boot 1 week, started weight bearing and able to shuffle around the house crutch free but need them for stairs or going out.
Rang a sports physio and have an appointment for next week so he'll advise me on how soon I can start physio. Have my last outpatient on the 20th Oct so will see if I can get rid of boot.

VinnyTGM

I had tendonitis in my arms before and that was sore, I'd imagine the pain you feel is about 100 times worse.
Good to see your on the road to recovery.

CdeC

update

had last outpatient appointement at week 6 and the sugeon was happy with my progress. he said to wean myself off the boot. I pretty much took it off the minute I came home. All is going well and i start physio next thursday. I'm going to a sports physio who is apparently very good and hopefully I'll progress quickly.

I did go out boozing over bank holiday though and tripped and hurt it so in a lot of pain but didn't re-rupture.but no more partying for me until I get a bit better.

liamo

Like others posting in this thread I recently snapped my achilles. The injury happened in mid-July and I'm still a long way off full recovery.

I had surgery within 24 hours and spent six weeks in a cast. I'm now in my eight week out of the cast and am still very much in the recovery phase. I've been swimming for the last few weeks and I got the go-ahead last week to get back out on my bike. However, running is still a no-no until Dec/Jan and I still limp from time to time.

It's a nasty enough injury that takes a long time to recover from. The general consensus appears to be that it takes 12 months to get back to a pre-injury level of activity.

I'm lucky in that I had a full range of motion out of the cast. However my calf was a weedy, stringy little thing. Hardly there at all really. Still, I see progress each and every week and I'm looking forward to getting back out running in a couple of months.

I sometimes feel that I could do more than I'm doing but I've been warned again and again not to overdo it. A chap I recently spoke to re-ruptured his tendon in week 5 out of the cast and, following more surgery, spent three months in a cast. I'm determined that I'm not going to be in the 5% that suffer a re-rupture and am doing as much as I'm permitted and no more.

Best of luck KingPuck and CdeC with your respective recoveries.

paulbyrne1010

Mohamed Yellow Cocoa wrote: »

OUCH!.

Had it myself a long, long time ago however thank god I didn't need surgery.

Most of the time spent with the physio was her breaking down scar tissue and getting mobility (full range of motion) back - it'll be damned sore & I don't envy you.

.

Hey, quick question. If you didnt have surgery how did you get scar tissue?

I snapped my achilles tendon 5 months ago. I have been advised not to return until March this year to any impact sport. Plenty of recumber biking in the gym, walking and swimming.

One piece of advice, get immediate professional advice with any injury and do as they tell you.

KingPuck

Hi All,

About 6 months on and I'm back on the saddle. Calf muscle is back where it was, tendon is still about twice it's original thickness but i'm assuming that's the way it will be. Back on treadmill for last month doing about 5-8K per session. can be tight enough in the morning for few minutes.

Got a guy with a new laser treatment system for about 6 sessions. Painfull at times but it broke down the scar tissue like there was no tomorrow. Great job. Seemingly it's the new version of ultrasound. Not playing football or anything yet but it's not far away now.

Anyway best of luck to the rest of ye misfortunates. If it does happen to anyone else, immediate attention is king.

CdeC

Hi guys,
Update, I had my final surgical apppointment today and was given the all clear to run. Calf is still very weak and is taking forever to strengthen. Still though all is well and looking forward to getting back to sport.

@kingpuck, any chance of more info on that laser treatment. Is it worth it and where might be a good place to go.

KingPuck

Hi cdec, hope you got those details. Back football training. I'm doing everything bar sprints at the moment.

About 2 weeks ago we were doing laps and I pushed my self a bit hard for the last couple. I felt a twinge in my right calf (supposedly my good leg). I have taken it easy for the last 3 sessions since. When the rest of the lads are doing sprints I would normally do laps.

I guess it is important to remember about your good leg aswell as it will have been out of action for the same length of time. Subconciously your good leg will compensate for your bad and may be prone to injury as a result.

Can anyone, with good experience of this injury, comment on the length of time required to go from injury back to full match fitness? I gave up fags a year ago, feel fit enough but am afraid to exert too much pressure on my tendon and calf. My tendon, for hte record is still about twice thickness of before but feels real good. It's my calf muscles are aching after training.

liamo

Hi KingPuck,

Like yourself, I've recently returned to training after an Achilles rupture in July. I started cycling a few weeks ago and (gentle) running yesterday.

I've been getting similar aches in my legs (calf, quads, hamstrings) simply because of the length of time away from training. Essentially, you have to build your fitness from scratch again.

I'm still being very careful with my injured leg and am not prepared to put too much stress on it just yet. I'm not ready to sprint on it and, even when I am, I certainly won't be going from a standing start to a full sprint. If I were you I'd consult a physio to ask about how hard you can push it. The last thing you want is a re-rupture.

As for returning to full fitness, that's hard to say. It's estimated that it takes a year from the time of the injury to return to pre-injury levels of activity. The fitness itself could take longer again. As for me, I expect to be back at triathlon in mid summer but I don't expect to have regained my pre-injury level of fitness for a number of months after that. So for me, it will be 15-16 months.

Good luck with the recovery (both injury and fitness).

kiloughter

Hi there. Ruptured my left achilles tendon in the gym on May 8th. Had surgery and was in a cast for 6 weeks until June 20th. Consultant said it was healing nicely. In a boot for two weeks initially with two crutches but then just one. Started walking with one crutch and no boot on July 5th. In between June 20th and July 5th had two physio sessions. The transition from boot to no boot is noticeable with a marked limp. Couple of questions for those who have experienced same. Does the limp disappear over time? Does it go through various levels of soreness? When should i leave the one crutch aside? The consultant said after i come off the boot to use the one crutch initially for balance. When is it advisable to start driving start and climbing stairs etc? Thanks for any words of wisdom.

double GG

Only your physio/cosultant should tell you this, but you should really be on crutches/ using a crutch till the limp is basically gone.

The limp is probably from tight muscles in the area, Gastroc, soleus, peroneals etc. which causes you to alter your gait.

I'd advise another session with our physio and he can answer all your questions as he knows exactly how you are doing, how it's healed etc.

kiloughter

Cheers double GG. Using one crutch at the moment and hoping to see my physio this week.

kiloughter

5 months on and going ok. Not back to running yet but cycling in the gym and doing physio exercises although not daily but 2 out of every 3 days. Just in last few days feel a bit of pain in lower calf/ankle area. Not bad pain by any means but wondering if different feelings of pain are part of the recovery process.