Hi guys

I have just snapped my achillies tendon playing footie. Had the op to rejoin it and am going to be in plaster for about 6 – 9 weeks.

Physio says it is probably the end of me playing footie, which is not a problem. The problem is that i am probably not going to be able to MTB in anger for about 6 months which scuppers my Alps trip this summer.

Any body had a similar injury and could give advice on recovery and training ? Is it worth getting a tendon support brace or am i just going to right this spring and summer off and make plans for 2011 ?

Cheers

Unlucky. My mate did it but was back playing National league volleyball within 9 months. Realisticaly summer might be a tall order but you could always do Spain/Morroco in Autumn. Hope you heal well.

shit I bet that hurt! heal quick!

Did same thing playing rugby. Was wrongly diagnosed for a month(!) so tendon seperated badly and needed a graft to re-join.

2 months in plaster but was hiking round Nepal 3 months later – 5 months after the injury.

Did a lot of physio excercises and went to a swimming pool to work it with less pressure. Also did "aqua running" which kept the fitness up.

Got back to doing sports but now warm up and stretch PROPERLY before doing anything.

It's not as bad as it seems now. You can probably get back to footie if you're positive 🙂

It takes a while to get back to full fitness.Rehab is a gentle process that takes time and if not done right or rushed can lead to a rebreak.The percentage of reruptures is scarily high so take your time and listen to the professionals.

Ouch 🙁 Did it go with a bang?

I wouldn't go writing anything off just yet – football or biking this summer.

Sorry to hear that!

Just out of interest mate….did they x ray your ankle/ lower limb.

How did they make the diagnosis? Squeeze your calf etc?

Im writing an essay …in the hosp library on a beaut day !! as we speak about 'achilles tendon ruptures' so am inteseted to hear what your treatment etc was.

when mine went, we lived in a flat just came back from a 100 mile road ride and was lying in a hot bath,my missis was in kitchen with washing machine and fan oven on, and as i stepped out of the bath she came runing in as it made such a bang she heard it over everything and thought i had fell over, it was loud
10 years later it gives a bit of trouble in cold weather but its ok

brack – see if you can find the SIGN guidelines or the equivalent whichever country you are in. Wife said something about there being no clear evidence that operating was any more successful than the alternative casting method.

Yeah its a 50/ 50 split for the conservative vs surgical approach…with the latter never really 100% free of any recurrance.

Thanks for that link will try that!

Hi Chaps

Thanks for the positive replies.

The fuuny thing is that i had no pain whatsoever when it went. I had been playing footie for about an hour and a half and i was stood still waiting for the goalie to kick the ball out. It felt like somebody had smacked me in the ankle but when i turned around of course nobody was there. My left foot was kind of hanging from the bottom of my leg and i couldnt do anything with it. It was just all floppy with no pain at all. Even the doctor was puzzled by the lack of pain !!!!

I didnt have an x-ray they felt the calf muscle and there was no movement in my foot at all ! There was also an inch gap between the two halves of the tendon.

brack i have emailed you as it would be interesting to hear about your essay and any thoughts you have for recovery

cheers

swisstonyswiss

brack have just noticed you dont have an email address in your profile. Wouldnt mind a chat about what you know on achillies ruptures ??

I did mine about 7 years ago playing badminton. Similar experience to yours in that I looked around to see who had hit me but no real pain afterwards. I went down the surgical route because the risk of re-rupture is far higher with conservative treatment. The downside of the surgical route is the greater risk of infection. This is a major problem because the achilles is very poorly vascularised and infections in this area often never clear-up; antibiotics just don't reach the site of the infection. In my case bacteria got into my achilles during the repair but didn't multiply to any great extent until six years later when my leg "ballooned" (half-way through my SMBLA course). Unfortunately and entirely co-incidentally i was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at around the same time and because I couldn't start chemotherapy with an infected wound, the whole achilles tendon was removed. I had it reconstructed nine months later (last August) using the Flexor Hallucis Longus from my big toe. Anyway, this is the second time around for me and my top tips would be:
Early mobilisation–get moving as early as the orthopod will allow you.
Listen to the physio and do the exercises and stretches they prescribe as regularly and for as long as you can (not so that it's painful but it can be "uncomfortable"). The cross-tissue massage that they get you to do is really important (first time around it was introduced to me as a bit of an afterthought) it is used to break down scar tissue. Do it as much as you can to avoid lumps of scar tissue that can rub against your shoes later on. Cycling as really good, I was able to get back on my bike before I was able to walk properly. Get hold of a turbo trainer if you can, also a wobble board for getting your balance back.

BTW, infections appearing years down the line like this are incredibly rare so don't be alarmed. I have just been given the go ahead by my physio to get back on my bike so I'll give it a go this week. Hope it all goes well for you,

Jonathan

Look up papers by Professor Nicola Maffulli. He da daddy in T.A pathologies. Controversial, but the daddy. He is into conservative management in the main, and eccentric loading once physio starts.
Of the two main schools of thought, I prefer the studies that he reports and the evidence he bases them on.

I was cycling within weeks of coming out of plaster after a full rupture, walking takes longer as the ankle is very stiff, but it's walking that you need to do to free it up. You'll be a bit lop-sided for a while but it doesn't affect riding at all. Well didn't for me anyway.

I won a pair of Vans from MBUK when i screwed a cleat into a cast to try and ride when I had my rupture repaired, around the end of 96 if anyone has back issues.

Even the doctor was puzzled by the lack of pain !!!!

That bit puzzles me – the doctor being puzzled by the lack of pain. Complete rupture of anything = generally no pain.

Owwwwww its one thing I dread after a mate did his playing footy and immediately turned round to see who'd shot him, such was the pain / sensation. Plus he's a copper so thought he'd been done in revenge.