r/AchillesRupture

Hello all - happy to find a community, (although sad for us it exists).

Sunday: Suffered bilateral complete ruptures landing a controlled "box jump" on a springy gym floor. (For context - Did a half ironman 2 weeks ago, Was 5 weeks out from my 4th full - feeling in the best shape I've been in - in a long time and pop/pop....)

Went to the ER immediately. Officially a disposition nightmare (live alone, home is not accessible) - was admitted to the ortho service as an add-on case, they operated Tuesday (so injury to surgeey < 48 hours) and I was discharged home that evening with a wheelchair, knee scooter, walker, and two braces- completely non weight bearing. I have accessible and comprehensive medical coverage due to the nature of the work I do and the place I do it.

MRI done before the OR hadn't been read yet formally but came back after I got home (the surgeon looked at it, but there was also a talar dome injury, joint effusion and complete tear of the ATFL on the right). None of which made sense with the mechanism of injury to me.

- - - - -

I requested a rheumatology referral. Interestingly I was seen by rheum about a year ago- [in my 30s, multi-focal joint pain often out of proportion with activity / often unrelated to any use (like my thumbs or wrists will randomly hurt, feet, knees, ankles, hips). Have had nagging injuries ever since a major index injury in 2020 (torn labrum - which led to significant deconditioning) and then have never been able to stay healthy more than 4-5 months since.

- chronic fatigue/ idiopathic hypersomnia with brain fog. ]

At that evaluation (a year ago) I circled too many items on the check list, my ANA and RF were negative and they said I had fibromyalgia and anxiety and discharged me....

Curious about the likelihood of a systemic illness given the randomness/ somewhat atraumatic nature of this injury and the preceeding injuries. EDS or maybe marfans? Anyone been diagnosed with a connective tissue or autoimmune disease with this as the catalyst for evaluation? (I am long/lean but not awkward Michal Phelps big, I am hypermobile but only hit a 4 on the Brighton.) I was willing to just blame myself for being tired and lazy, and maybe a hypochondriac with all the other symptoms the last 4-5 years, but I definitely didnt exaggerate this injury, and maybe it hasnt all been in my head...

Anyone have similar experience and any breakthrough moments with their medical team?

I hope I’m allowed to post here even though I only have a partial tear and a small fracture and not a total rupture.

I’m in a boot for ten weeks, and already feeling pretty miserable. Sleeping is hard and here in the UK it’s extremely hot at the moment so it’s uncomfortable. But I’m noticing a lot of pain in my toes, I don’t know if it’s that I’m holding them differently as I’m in the boot, but it’s really quite painful, I think I’m almost holding them upwards as I’m walking (I’m allowed to walk with the assistance of my crutches).

Has anyone else experienced this? And if anyone has any tips at all for the boot I would appreciate it!

Had a trip planned before I ruptured. Flight has a connection so 2 hours to connecting flight then 2.5 to destination. In a hard cast (I posted a pic of the cast yesterday).

Doc said it was doable but not without risk. If the swelling gets too bad I’d have to go to the ER and bi-valve. He prescribed lovenox to prevent clots. Main concern is being in the air and having unbearable pressure in this cast with no give.

I bought a first class ticket so I’ll have room to move and elevate it some.

Has anyone done this before?
Am I foolish for wanting to try?

if you were on the fence about investing in the VACOped, I highly recommend checking out this review and my explanation off all the features this boot offers over standard CAM boot

https://reddit.com/link/1uo5f2n/video/o0lkfyqndfbh1/player

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I (37F) ruptured by achilles April 12 during a ballet class. I was lucky to schedule with an Ortho the next day and have surgery (speedbridge) April 17. Shout out to Dr. Bohl and his amazing team at Rush in Chicago.

These are my first steps in shoes outside of PT/my house while I was at the gym. I am still mostly in the boot and have developed a sort of Stockholm syndrome with it because it feels so much safer. But practicing at the gym has felt really good so far!

I wanted to thank this community for the immense support and stories that have really gotten me through this. Hearing that managing mental health was a huge part of recovery encouraged me to be dilligent about spending time with people I love and asking for help.

A few things that helped get me through the last few months in addition to lurking on reddit (some might say to an obsessive degree...):

1. The person outside Trader Joes on Roosevelt when I was about a week post-op. They clocked me on my knee scooter and said "if you ruptured your achilles I want you to know it gets better". This has stuck with me and reminded me to lean into the kindness of strangers. It really does get better.
2. My incredible PT - I hang on her everyword and tell her EVERYTHING about my progress. For a socially anxious girl this felt deeply vulnerable. But PT is really the foundation of recovery and I am so grateful my insurance is covering it without being dicks. I was straight forward and told her how important movement and exercise is to my mental health. She made it a priority to teach me exercises I could do at the gym which really helped my confidence in getting back into a regular exercise routine.
3. TAKING TIME OFF WORK. I am a primary care doctor, it was so hard to convince myself to take time away because medical training has damaged my brain. I ended up going back post-op week 4, which was a little too early but the time away was so important and really allowed my to focus 100% on my recovery. I have remarkable coworkers who covered for me while I was away and I had to remind myself that I would absolutely do this for them - allow them to do this for you.
4. Activating my support system. My mom was in town when it happened and she extended her time to stay with us. She helped cook, take me to appointments and we had time to dive into projects like recovering an ugly footstool I have.

I called friends to come hang out, they brought me snacks and stories and magazines and hugs. They picked me up and we went to lunch. Accessible restaurants are your friend! Get outside and get a sandwich.

My husband has been an absolute star through this on going journey. We made sure to go on dates and found ways to get outside even if I only lasted like 10 minutes on a walk (aka scoot) to the library.

5. My shower chair - I love it. Took it out of the shower finally cause I graduated to feeling comfortable standing and washing my feet! But its still near the bathroom because I find sitting in the shower actually very nice and dare I say luxurious.

My goals are to be able to get back into dance and ballet class next spring. This has been a helpful driver for my recovery but I am being patient and finding ways to move my body in the meantime. If there are any dancers on here I would love to hear your story too!

Thanks again to this glorious community. Here's to learning to walk again!

ETA: fixed weird formatting -ok its still weird but alas Im leaving it alone now.

Writing this as I feel a tad helpless. Ruptured Achilles Friday evening jumping off a diving board.

ER doctor told me to see an ortho which won’t be until Monday morning. They didn’t provide me any type of brace so I’m just resting with my foot elevated nervous for the coming couple of weeks.

For those of you out there how long after the rupture did your surgery take place?

Any sock recommendations for my foot in the boot? Looking for something loose fitting and breathable in the boot. Tried on my normal socks and they were too snug and cut off too much circulation.

18 mm gap with thin stand of tendon holding together, no pain in Vacoped boot

I was offered surgery this coming Monday but weighing everything opted for non surgery route ( hopefully I’ve picked right course of action) if it does rupture again I’ll definitely need surgery and tendon donated from elsewhere on body,, this Reddit has been a great aid on learning about the issue but also all the optimism on everyone going forward

Regards to all

After 14 weeks, finally able to be get off boot and full weight bearing last week but it hasn’t been easy. My leg is swollen after walking for a few minutes. I had to go back to my hometown and decided to continue pyshiotherapy there at one of the hospital here and the physiotherapist was shocked that my doctor decided to go for the non op routes as it was a full 0.8 cm rupture - she never experienced a non op patient before and told me that my recovery process will be longer than those that was went through operation.

My doctor mentioned that by mid aug I should be able to do some light exercise like running but my physiotherapist disagrees

So I am spiralling cause the actual recovery begin when you are off boot and trying to learn to walk again. Everything hurts and not being able to release my outlet as sports use to be a way for me to release stress.
And for now walking hurts and my leg keep swelling . It is exhausting, not sure if I should have gone for surgery instead . But being here in this Reddit channel gives me hope. Any one from non op able to share their experience- does it get better?

I'm currently over 5 weeks post-op and getting ready to build my next pedalboard before my next show, at the end of August. Every pedalboard setup I've used in the past has at least one wah or a volume pedal. This next one I'm building is no different.

If there are any guitar/bass players in here, please share your experience after 12 weeks post-op if you felt that you had issues using a wah or volume pedal with your once dominant foot.

Thank you in advance.

Is there anyway to rebuild and strengthen the calf muscles if you healed “too long”. I’m pretty convinced this is my issue. My Gastrocnemius sits higher and is very small compared to my other leg.

I am 6 years post injury, I’ve had 2 surgeries with the last one about 2-2 1/2 years ago. My strength and push off is still limited as well as weak. I’ve seen 3 specialists and really have gotten nowhere.

So I’m coming up on 7 months post rupture/surgery…I’ve been back in the gym full time sine June and everything is going great! Doing heavier loads on leg day. Calf and tendon getting stronger by the day. Only thing that sucks is I can’t really go hard on hamstring leg curls. The pressure and rubbing on the Achilles from the pad makes it difficult. At least there’s other hamstring exercises but I can’t really isolate like the leg curls. I may put a towel in between my Achilles and the pad next time and see how that goes.

Anyways, I hope everyone is recovering well!