ruptured my achilles tendon (1 Viewer)

[nipbac]

i ruptured my achilles tendon a couple of weeks ago playing soccer and had surgery to repair it last friday. i've made it through the initial pain and am more or less adjusted to getting around on crutches. i have my first follow up next week to adjust the angle of my foot to gradually stretch the tendon out (this will happen every two weeks for 6-8 weeks i think). my understanding is that i'll be in some sort of cast or boot for 6-8 weeks and that rehab generally takes twice as long as the casting period (12-16 weeks).

so has anybody been through this? if so, what's in store for me? in other words, what are the worst parts, any tips to make things easier or make me heal faster/better?

oh, i'm 34 years old, 5'8" 165 pounds or so.

thanks

 

[Parrothead]

ouch

 

[nipbac]

ouch

surprisingly it wasn't that bad. the initial injury had a loud pop and it felt like someone kicked me in the back of the leg. unfortunately there wasn't anybody near me so i was pretty sure what had happened. i got a little woozy and had to lie down for a bit but by the time i got to the emergency room it was a pretty mild pain as long as i stayed still. i spent a week in a boot before the surgery but the pain was never really more than a 3 or 4 (on a 1-10 scale) even though my tendon was completely ruptured.after the surgery i was pretty doped up (nerve blockers are excellent) but after the surgery drugs wore off the pain was pretty bad until i got on a regiment of percocet (maybe a 6 or 7). it's a week after the surgery and i'm pretty much off the meds and its more of a dull annoying pain unless i hit my leg on something then i can feel needle like pain where the sutures are.i'm guessing when they start to stretch the tendon out the cycle of pain will repeat and i hear that rehab / breaking the scar tissue will be some of the worst of it.

 

[nipbac]

so nobody else here has gone through this?

 

[igbomb]

ouch

surprisingly it wasn't that bad. the initial injury had a loud pop and it felt like someone kicked me in the back of the leg. unfortunately there wasn't anybody near me so i was pretty sure what had happened. i got a little woozy and had to lie down for a bit but by the time i got to the emergency room it was a pretty mild pain as long as i stayed still. i spent a week in a boot before the surgery but the pain was never really more than a 3 or 4 (on a 1-10 scale) even though my tendon was completely ruptured.after the surgery i was pretty doped up (nerve blockers are excellent) but after the surgery drugs wore off the pain was pretty bad until i got on a regiment of percocet (maybe a 6 or 7). it's a week after the surgery and i'm pretty much off the meds and its more of a dull annoying pain unless i hit my leg on something then i can feel needle like pain where the sutures are.i'm guessing when they start to stretch the tendon out the cycle of pain will repeat and i hear that rehab / breaking the scar tissue will be some of the worst of it.

Just ruptured mine on Thursday and am really dreading all of this crap. So far the pain has been almost non-existent. I'm sitting here in a boot with an appointment with the orthopedic specialist on Monday, where they will figure out all of the next steps.I have a Finance final in 12 days. If I have my surgery this next week, will I be able to concentrate enough to study for the final?

 

[nipbac]

Just ruptured mine on Thursday and am really dreading all of this crap. So far the pain has been almost non-existent. I'm sitting here in a boot with an appointment with the orthopedic specialist on Monday, where they will figure out all of the next steps.

I have a Finance final in 12 days. If I have my surgery this next week, will I be able to concentrate enough to study for the final?

I had my surgery on a friday and was back at work the next wed or thurs (i sit at a computer or in meetings most of the day).

The good drugs from the surgery wore off sat afternoon, the nerve blocker wore off sunday morning, and i was on percocet for a week or two after that.

as far as concentrating to study, i would say i could maybe have started studying something on tues (4 days after surgery) but i'm not sure how retention would have been.

You will be pretty wiped out for a while after the surgery and getting around on the crutches is a pita. however, if you've got someone around to help out with shopping/cooking so all you have to worry about is the studying it should be doable.

If you are worried about it and it's a complete tear you could probably wait until after the final to have the surgery as you can't make it any worse.

good luck

 

[Yo Mama]

Ruptured mine (complete tear) about 4-5 months ago. Not very painful (felt exactly like you said - like being kicked from behind), but long recovery.

2 months on crutches, but could take it out of the boot the last few weeks of this time to bathe, stretch, do PT exercises.

A couple more weeks in the walking boot after crutches per the doctor, but only really kept the boot on for work for about a week.

Been walking normal now (no limp) for about a month now and stopped PT a few weeks ago. Started going back to the gym last week to do more with weights (calf raises, etc). Can do the bikes and elipticals with no probloem. At this point, just need to get my ankle/leg strength all the way back (starting to barely be able to lift my whole fat-### body off the ground on my toes with my bad leg).

Plan on starting some jogging in the next week. Starting to coach my kids soccer team this week too.

Hoping to get back to full exercise in another month or 2.

Just be patient and do lots of stretching and PT exercises to get your flexibilty back. Don't try to get back to normal stuff too soon or you can reinjure or hurt other stuff (like your knees) by overcompensating.

Good luck.

 

[Momohater]

Strained my Achilles earlier this year. It took me 3 months to start jogging pain free, these seem to linger and take a while to heal. I didn't need surgery.

 

[Blutarsky]

I went through it. I was about 42 at the time of the injury. The actual injury did not hurt as I would have expected (recall Testeverde writhing around on the field in pain after he tore his AT.) The initial pain after the surgery was extremely painful! I used a comb of alcohol and vicodin to numb myself. Somewhere around 4 days after the surgery the pain settled down.

I am a rather fast healer so I was out of a cast and in a walking boot in 4 weeks. The doctor said it was the quickest he had every seen anyone go to a walking boot.

The initial therapy was almost as painful as the surgery. Therapist will try and break down the scare tissue around the injury. I recommend saving a little vicodin for these occasions. Lots of stretching after you get out of the boot and you will be fine in about 6 months.

G/L

 

[goldenchild]

A friend of mine tore his achilles playing flag football last fall. I don't know the specifics of his particular injury, but he is planning to get back out there (playing flag) next month. I believe he is in his 40s.

Sorry not much else to add, but hope this give you some idea of a recovery time table.

 

[igbomb]

Had my surgery yesterday. I'm on vicodin and the pain is very light. My surgeon has an aggressive rehab planned. Week in a splint. Week in a cast. Two weeks in a walking cast. Then just a brace and heel lifts after that.

For now, my wife and her sister are waiting on me hand and foot. Could be worse.

 

[igbomb]

Link

That's gonna leave a mark!

(6 days post-op)

 

[igbomb]

Plan hasn't really changed. Next Thursday I get to try and see if I can take it to neutral position (foot at ninety degrees). Of course, the nurse told me that she has never seen anyone do it on the first try. If I can't, then they put a new cast on and try it again every two days until I can get to neutral. After that it's a walking cast for two weeks and then I'm back in my own shoes.

No pain right now. The new cast is much tighter than the splint was so I have to be more diligent about keeping the foot elevated or it starts to ache.

This sucks, but things could be much worse.

 

[Don't Noonan]

I ruptured my Achilles tendon playing basketball on Sunday. I jumped up for a rebound and it felt like someone landed with all of their weight on the back of my Achilles. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized that nobody landed on me and what I felt was my Achilles tearing. I met with an orthopedic surgeon today and it looks like I will have surgery next Tuesday. What sucks is that it is my right foot and there is no way I am going to be able to drive for a long time. Getting to and from work is going to be a big problem. How long before you guys were able to drive?

 

[nipbac]

I have an automatic so I was driving using only my left foot. I crossed my right foot (while it was in a cast) behind my good leg. Not the safest thing probably but my commute is only 5 minutes.

 

[T Bell]

Yup, just did this tonight on my right (gas pedal) leg at my son's soccer practice. Classic situation - planted my leg behind me to push off running and I honestly thought something heavy, like a metal mallet heavy, had impacted the back of my leg. It's not that it hurt like getting hit with a hammer, but it felt like there was that much impact to the leg. I actually looked back to see what/who had hit me, but nobody was near me. I even heard it pop. I knew immediately what it was.

FML. I'd been getting more court cases of late too. Not what I need right now.

 

[AAABatteries]

Yup, just did this tonight on my right (gas pedal) leg at my son's soccer practice. Classic situation - planted my leg behind me to push off running and I honestly thought something heavy, like a metal mallet heavy, had impacted the back of my leg. It's not that it hurt like getting hit with a hammer, but it felt like there was that much impact to the leg. I actually looked back to see what/who had hit me, but nobody was near me. I even heard it pop. I knew immediately what it was.

FML. I'd been getting more court cases of late too. Not what I need right now.

I'm pretty sure this is Wenger's fault.

 

[AAABatteries]

http://www.espnfc.com/arsenal/story/2060331/arsene-wenger-baffled-by-arsenals-midfield-injury-woes

 

[igbomb]

Yup, just did this tonight on my right (gas pedal) leg at my son's soccer practice. Classic situation - planted my leg behind me to push off running and I honestly thought something heavy, like a metal mallet heavy, had impacted the back of my leg. It's not that it hurt like getting hit with a hammer, but it felt like there was that much impact to the leg. I actually looked back to see what/who had hit me, but nobody was near me. I even heard it pop. I knew immediately what it was.

FML. I'd been getting more court cases of late too. Not what I need right now.

Makes me cringe every time I hear an Achilles injury story.

 

[dunfee555]

I have been dealing with Achilles pain for almost a year and a half. Tried to stay active nearly the whole time playing basketball and other activities, but could barely walk without a lot of pain the rest of the time. Was referred to a podiatrist about 6 months ago and, after an MRI, was diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy caused by bone spurs and a Hagland deformity in my heel, but no tear. They had me try everything from a walking boot, oral anti-inflammatories, steroid dose packs, heel lifts, PT, and fluid shots directly into my Achilles, but it's all had minimal effect. Saw an orthopedic specialist yesterday who has recommended Achilles reconstruction surgery. Has anyone dealt with this recently? What should I be expecting in terms of recovery after the surgery?

 

[FairWarning]

I have been dealing with Achilles pain for almost a year and a half. Tried to stay active nearly the whole time playing basketball and other activities, but could barely walk without a lot of pain the rest of the time. Was referred to a podiatrist about 6 months ago and, after an MRI, was diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy caused by bone spurs and a Hagland deformity in my heel, but no tear. They had me try everything from a walking boot, oral anti-inflammatories, steroid dose packs, heel lifts, PT, and fluid shots directly into my Achilles, but it's all had minimal effect. Saw an orthopedic specialist yesterday who has recommended Achilles reconstruction surgery. Has anyone dealt with this recently? What should I be expecting in terms of recovery after the surgery?

My brother had a ruptured Achilles, it was a 6+ month recovery. The part you have to watch is not messing the other one up by overcompensating.

 

[notoriousbill]

I blew my achilles years ago (20ish) playing softball. Long story short - it sucked. Mine was a total tear. Took at least 6 months to be able to walk normally. Still bothers me to this day.

This injury caused me to gain a ton of weight as well due to inactivity. I was 180ish lbs and over the course of the recovery, I prolly put on 70+ lbs. Totally sucked.

 

[nirad3]

I blew my Achilles out playing basketball almost 20 years ago. It took me a long time to recover and I've only played pick-up hoops once since. I did play "adult kickball" for a few years maybe 10-11 years ago but that's about as active as I got afterwards.

 

[Gally]

I blew my achilles years ago (20ish) playing softball. Long story short - it sucked. Mine was a total tear. Took at least 6 months to be able to walk normally. Still bothers me to this day.

This injury caused me to gain a ton of weight as well due to inactivity. I was 180ish lbs and over the course of the recovery, I prolly put on 70+ lbs. Totally sucked.

I blew my Achilles out playing basketball almost 20 years ago. It took me a long time to recover and I've only played pick-up hoops once since. I did play "adult kickball" for a few years maybe 10-11 years ago but that's about as active as I got afterwards.

I blew mine out playing basketball about 10 years ago. I had worked hard to get back into shape and was doing great. I had some achilles pain in my right achilles so was worried about that and had just gotten new basketball high tops to hopefully help with the pain. My first game playing and I blew out my left achilles. A complete tear where I didn't even need an MRI the doctor just said I have an opening tomorrow afternoon for surgery and you now have the slot. Ugh. I was in a boot/crutches for 12 weeks and then started rehab after that. It took awhile to be basically normal for walking/running but because of the layoff and the worry I stopped my workout routine and put on weight. I still haven't gotten back into working out.

I highly recommend not tearing your achilles. It is the worst.

 

[dunfee555]

That's pretty much what I expected. Everyone I've talked to about this says it completely sucks. I've done everything I could do to prevent a full tear and still having to get surgery anyways is a real bummer. I've been overweight my whole life and really ballooned up over the pandemic. Was doing really pretty well working myself back down and have lost 80+ lbs in the last year. So now I'm worried I'm going to put it all back on while I'm recovering from this procedure. Trying to get in the right mindset on what to expect before I go under the knife.