OTB on Monday due to complete incompetence.

Hobbled around for a few days but eventually went to Inverness A&E where the lovely people there told me what I already suspected.

Now in a cast, with some crutches.

So, what’s next?

Can I repair it myself with some carbon fibre and epoxy?

Is there some kind of prize I can get for most crap holiday?

Push for surgical repair rather than letting nature take it’s course while you spend many weeks in a boot with your toes pointing to the ground. I didn’t and it took a couple of years before I was back to where I was before the rupture. I still have a noticeable smaller calf on that leg and an Achilles that is 3 times thicker and much less flexible

I snapped my left AT in two 10 years ago. Didn’t have surgery and had a vacoped boot on for about 14 weeks in various guises.

I believe they are still used and the repair process is still the same if non surgical. I went private as well (get it through work) and one of the best related surgeons in the country advised that non surgical was the best for me.

Happy to go into all sorts of details if needed, either here or privately. Main thing is to remember it won’t heal quickly. Don’t overdo it and remember to stretch and have physio long after the repair.

There’s advantages and disadvantages to surgery vs conservative treatment, but if it was my ankle I’d be asking for surgery

I ruptured mine about 20 years ago playing football. Saw a surgeon through private health and he recommended no surgery and let it heal on its own.
Whichever you choose good luck because it can be a long process.

Don’t rush it, they always take longer than you expect. You will always have a smaller calf muscle and a hopefully thicker Achilles once it has healed due to the period on immobility and the repair process in the Achilles itself. Little evidence surgical is better than conservative….decision should be based on the patient and their goals.

Mine was surgically repaired, I was 22 at the time and not “oldnpastit” 🙂

Probably 15 years ago I did mine playing badminton, positive thing about it is the recovery got me back into cycling…negative side is it’s far more expensive!

No real advice other than take it steady, settle in for the long haul as it took a fair while to heal. I can’t remember the time frames but I was in various casts at different angles for a good 3 months after surgery, was about the same again when I bought a bike to help things along.

Positive note I’ve had no issues with it since, don’t even think about it now.

Good luck and keep going!

I did mine playing footie about 15 years ago. I was lucky to see the top surgeon in that field here, who strongly recommended non-surgery. Now I can hardly tell which ankle is the bad one. Obviously the tendon is thicker on the healed one. And my calf is smaller since I didn’t use it for 12 weeks or more. But my tendon is stronger on the repaired side than the other side now apparently.

It’s a really big issue at the time. And worth persevering to make sure it heals properly. And do plenty of stretching exercises to ensure you get your range of movement back. But it is very common, and heals very well in the long term if you take care to get proper treatment. Don’t rush it – that would be my advice.

Biking and swimming are much easier to get back into than running or footie.

Did mine in February, full rupture just before my 50th birthday. Consultant offered me a choice and there were more disadvantages with surgery ( cutting off wrong leg, infection etc) and recovery time the same so had a vacuboot on for 10 weeks, tried to eat better and stopped the beer to not balloon too much. Couldn’t get up stairs, read alot and watched TV as signed off work the whole time. Really boring but not much pain after the initial injury.
Especially on an older already very knackered ankle it’s by far the longest recovery I’ve had and I’ve had more than enough. I’m currently getting over tendonitis from over doing it but its been getting better every week. Started off short walks and gentle pootles on fireroads after the boot came off now standing up on the pedals on mellow single-track, doing curb height drops and slow compressions very carefully. First time I’ve ever had my biking confidence knocked mentally from a physical injury.
Having monthly NHS physio where I’m assessed and given new exercises. Just got told to get some medial insoles and boots to take a bit of strain off the hurty bits.
No where near the leg power or ability I had before, coming up to 5 months now. Hoping to be OK to get to the Alps next year instead of this year, there’s no short term fixes, it’s a bad injury.

Not too sure why you are in a cast.
either surgical repair – or I just had mine perforated by a needle a 100 or so times – that got ride of the scar tissue, the oedema’s ( ?) and the scar tissue …
It has been fine for 5 years but surgeon says it may totally rupture at sometime in etc future.
Over night it went from being about 2.5 cm think to a normal Achilles.

Not too sure why you are in a cast.

It’s to keep the two ends of the tendon within reach of each other so that they have a chance of knitting back together

Vacuboot position is changeable though, cast isnt. I had mine changed after a month then 3 weeks then 2 weeks.

Cast will likely just be temporary until the repair decision is made.
Mine was in a cast for 2 days before going to a boot.

I found I could jam my downcast foot into a step-ladder. Was signed off work and decorated the house. Haven’t noticed much difference in the intervening 30 years apart from walking round in circles.

I had cast changes every couple of weeks changing the angle of my foot slightly…was surprised they never used a boot tbh…

Cast will likely just be temporary until the repair decision is made.

Were on holiday in Scotland, so getting surgery here would have been quite complicated. I’m going to attempt to call Addenbrookes to see what they think on Monday.

Getting around on crutches is quite an eye opener.

I snapped my achilles in February 2018. So had a lengthy period on crutches then. Snapped my hip in February this year, so another 12 weeks on crutches… Bit of a pro now. Seems fun for about an hour, then it’s a massive pain for weeks…

I’ve been crutch-free for over a month now, but I still often think “holy crap it’s nice to be able to carry something across a room!”.

It’ll be annoying for a fair while, sorry, but it will pass eventually. My only advice is to get good physio support. NHS were good where I am in 2018, but have been cut a lot since, so consider private if necessary and an option for you.

I went into the fracture clinic today, just to get the cast tightened up, and came home with a fancy new boot, woohoo! I can walk again!

You really do take walking for granted, until you can’t.

Being able to nonchalantly get a coffee from the kitchen at work, and then nonchalantly stroll back to my desk is amazeballs.

No operation, going to just leave it to sort itself out with the boot. My elite level basketball career may now be in jeopardy but this is a sacrifice I’m willing to make, for essentially no difference in overall outcome.

People in Scotland, PSA. I found out that the crutches they gave me in Inverness A&E are banned throughout England as they mess up your armpits. So watch out for that if you go there. They took them away from me with much tutting.

Appointment with consultant yesterday.

My foot moved when he squeezed my calf muscle, on both sides. Bizarre.

Anyway, I’ve put a crank shortener on my wife’s step-through frame, so going to give that a go.

PSA: It seems you really do need to have some kind of blood thinning medicine (Addenbrookes gave me fragmin). Astonishingly high numbers are reported with blood clots from having their lower leg immobilized for weeks on end.

Children’s Aspirin daily for thinning the blood is what I was told to use.

re blood thinners – i’ve been on enoxaparin for the last 3 weeks due to lack of mobility with tib plateau fracture.
We’ve been running a league table of who administers the jab most comfortably. The nurse in post-op recovery was the worst. A friend who has been doing covid vaxing was the best – it was done before i realised. I’m not bad, but after a couple of beers i prefer mrs Epic do it

beer also helps thin the blood…. #fact

Getting around on crutches is quite an eye opener.

I loved mine when I had a broken ankle!
Great for a bit of upper body, forearm and core strength.
stairs without a banister rail are probably best avoided though.

I have a few Books from the author of this resource – recommended

The Ready State – Achilles Pain Protocol

I was on clexane whilst in hospital for over 6 weeks, then for a couple of weeks on returning home. Couldn’t do it to myself, so MrsF did it. Very similar to an insulin pen TBH (my son ‘had’ those).

Fragmin – you just inject it yourself into the fat in your stomach.

Through good planning and foresight, I have no shortage of this!

. I found out that the crutches they gave me in Inverness A&E are banned throughout England as they mess up your armpits

I thought they stopped giving out axilla crutches in the 1950s, because brachial palsy and all that

My foot moved when he squeezed my calf muscle, on both sides. Bizarre.

Good to know your bits are stuck back together!

It’s going to be a soft callus at only four weeks though, so follow the guidance you’ve been given!

so follow the guidance you’ve been given!

Yes, so about that….

Had an ultrasound a few days ago, which showed a 25mm gap (or 1″ as Jacob Rees Mogg would have us describe it).

I’m unable to get a positive Thompson test out of that leg when doing it myself.

Out of the boot, into a normal shoe, achilles tendon appears to be reconnected, going to go for a bike ride.

Weather is quite underwhelming – so right now, my complete lack of motivation is the biggest problem!

If the timing on this thread is correct, it’s only about 8 to 10 weeks since the rupture?

Seems far too short a period to be goi g for a ride – I was in the boot for 14 weeks iirc and then another 8 weeks before I went for a ride.

Everybody is different of course, and mine was 10 years ago. Still, take it easy !

@twonks, I’m now in week 11 since the rupture.

Apparently the median time to a re-rupture is about 14 weeks, presumably around the time all the over-confident male egos start pushing themselves too far, but there’s no way I would fall into that group.

The instructions for the boot (vacoped, which btw is amazing) do say that you should be out of the boot (apart from risky activities) around week 8-9.

Consultant said I should definitely not be cycling, and should stick to walking.

But, I thought I would do my own research.

Searching on line for “re-rupture” all the people who had suffered this were “just walking in the park” or “walking upstairs”, so from that, it sounds like walking is the really hazardous activity.

To be on the safe side, I shall henceforth cycle downstairs. There’s kind of a tricky corner at the bottom, but I think it will be fine.