Hello
My girlfriend, got hit by a carder, while cycling, fell of her bike, and the achilles tendon ruptured......
At the hospital (Denmark, copenhagen) they put a cast, on the whole backside of her lower leg, all the way
to the toes, but only on the backside, and they taped it in.
They say the tendon will grow back itself, and in about 2 weeks, she be put in a thing called a "walker" .. some kind of supportive thing wrapping the leg.
Anybody had/or know anything about this, anything about operations, rehab, good, bad, and how to get back on a bike, and also running, i will be thankful for.
Thanks
Jesper Welling
I had exactly this. Ruptured my left AT clean in two after an off on the MTB.
Rode home 6 miles using pressure on my sole only and then got the OH to take me down to A+E.
Had a temporary cast put on to point my toes down and line up the tendon.
The next day went back and was advised not to have surgery, instead opting for the conservative repair of putting my lower leg in a rigid plastic boot with inflatable support and adjustable ankle position.
For the first 8 weeks my toes were pointing very much downwards, then my foot was brought up a few degrees at a time over the next 8 weeks until after 16 I took it off completely and walked again.
The stretching is very unnerving at first as it knits together very tightly and has a limited range of movement.
Mine went ok and at the time I also went private to see if they would operate. The consultant said that these new boots (Vacoped) were the best thing unless I was a 20 something olympic athelete (It was my 40th birthday present to myself ! )
All in all went very well although it needs to be stretched twice every day for 5 minutes or so each time, or else I get a very stiff lower leg.
I was back on a bike after 17 weeks and back in the gym squatting after 12 months. Now it is stronger than my right but still needs the stretches as above.
Hope this helps.
Jesper,
I snapped my Achilles whilst skiing about two years ago. I was put in a below the knee cast with foot pointing down and finished my holiday before flying home. I saw a specialist here in the UK and discussed the surgical vs non surgical routes. The surgeon's recommendation was surgery so I went with that option. I was in a cast non weight-bearing for two weeks post surgery, and then six weeks in a boot (full weight bearing) with heel lifts, reducing the lift every two weeks. Back into normal shoes eight weeks after the op.
You can see how my recovery went from my diary here http://achillesblog.com/nick19/. I found http://achillesblog.com a great source on information about the various options and rehab.
It's a frustrating journey at times, particularly if you're used to being active. But I'm back skiing, cycling, running without any problems. Hope your girlfriend recovers well and quickly (albeit with Achilles tendons, that's measured in week and months!).
I ruptured my left tendon 6 years ago. Did not see anyone about it for 3 weeks as I could not step up on to my toes. Straight in for surgery to clean up scar tissue. Back slab cast put on to below the knee with toes pointing down. I had two further casts after about two weeks each with foot realigned. Total time in cast was about 7 weeks. Not 100% but has healed well enough.