r/AchillesRupture

Context:
Ruptured my left achilles tendon approx. 10 years ago, I don’t remember it being particularly painful or frustrating (I was a child, lived with family) and was back to sport the next season.

Ruptured my right achilles 3 weeks ago and am now in a boot (non op route) and on crutches.

I am really struggling to just, exist? I can no longer get to my normal social clubs or do the basics of living alone like cleaning, cooking, taking the bins out etc. I put together a bath bench thing yesterday and I’m still exhausted. I work from home which helps but I’m just super tired all the time. How bad would it be to just spend the weekend in bed? I’m on blood thinners so hopefully little/no risk of clots.

hey guys. i’m 5 months post op and im still dealing with a crazy amount of swelling. when did the swelling go down or go away for you guys? i wear a compression sleeve while working and that helps, but its annoying. did the swelling ever go away for you?

I’m at 9 months post rupture and I can barely do 5 reps.

The unlikely source is the show Better Call Saul:

>One day, you're gonna wake up, eat your breakfast, brush your teeth, go about your business, and sooner or later you'll realize that you haven't thought about it. And that's the moment you realize you CAN forget. And that's when it gets a whole lot easier.

Obviously the "it" is something completely different. But it works.

Hey y’all, I had a full tear and am roughly 2.5 weeks post op. They got me out the cast and into the boot with wedges, and I can’t sleep. The back of my foot hurts so bad, switching between a burning and a stinging, and goes from my heel to my incision. Now I don’t know if I’m being a baby about it, but I can feel the pain even after taking pain killers they had prescribed me earlier that I didn’t take. Post op I didn’t have much pain, so I saved the meds for future pain and I’m worried this is serious if I can still feel it. I took the damn thing off and it still hurts, just less. I’m elevating, cushioning the incision sight, taking the meds, I just don’t know what to do; is this something worth telling the doctor about or should I just tough it till it gets better? I don’t know if these factors affect my recovery, but I am a teen athlete and I am supposed to be no weight bearing for at least like another 2 weeks.

Hey all, been lurking here since I tore mine on March 25. Surgery on April 2, so just over 6 weeks post op. I was cleared for full weight bearing at my 6 week post op appointment with 3 wedges. I have no pain in my Achilles with full weight so pretty excited about that. As far as walking, I can only pretty much step forward with boot leg and then bring good leg next to it and so on. My PT was saying I should be able to step through as the boot is designed to roll so you can walk “normally.” However my issue is that for the life of me I can’t figure out how to step to make it one fluid (as possible) motion. It’s like my leg stops due to the sharp angle my foot is at with the 3 wedges. Am I crazy? Am I doing something wrong or do I need to wait until I start removing wedges to get to a more normal walking motion? I’m supposed to remove one wedge after every 2 weeks going forward.

I fully ruptured my Achilles 2 weeks ago playing basketball and I’m not doing great mentally. At all.

Waited over a week just to see a surgeon because imaging took forever. That alone almost broke me. I’m in Canada, so I’ve also written off my entire golf season, the one sport I actually look forward to all year. We get 4 good months and I get none of them.

Exercise and sweating was how I managed my mental health. Now I can’t drive, can’t weight bear, can’t do cardio, or much of anything for the next 4 weeks minimal. I have two young kids who are a handful at the best of times, and right now I’m useless to them. My wife has had to pick up everything and there’s real resentment building. I don’t blame her, but it’s another layer on top of an already heavy thing with my mental state.

I’m an active, social person. I’ve always had some FOMO, but this is different. I feel chained to my house and I’m slowly melting into anger and anxiety. I keep telling myself there are worse illnesses, I’m lucky I have a desk job and can still work, etc., and all of that is true. It just doesn’t make the day to day any easier.

The one thing that actually helped was a 20 minute call with a friend who went through this years ago. More than anything my doctor said. More than anything I’ve read. Just talking to someone who had been exactly where I am.

Which made me wonder, is there anything out there that connects people at the same stage of this injury? Not Reddit (love this sub but it’s not quite the same), more like 1:1 or small group, matched by where you are in the timeline. Somewhere to share notes, gear, rehab protocols, the mental stuff, all of it. If something like that doesn’t exist, I’d build it. Because I cannot handle how draining and isolated I feel and I can’t be alone here. Does anyone know if this exists or would any of you actually use that? Or is venting on here enough? I have a therapist but it’s not the same. I can’t find empathy from people that haven’t first hand experienced what it’s like going through what you are actually dealing with.

Either way, would love to hear from anyone a few months ahead of me on what helped you get through the early weeks and those currently in this phase with anything getting you through the dark times.

Thanks

Hi everyone - I’m on day 6 of my Achilles rupture. I was out in a cast on day 5 - opted against surgery - and today my foot is burning insanely in cast. From my ankle and heel. Has anyone experienced this? I just left a voicemail to podiatrist but figured I’d check in this community. Thanks all for this platform : community.

I’m about 6 days post op most of my pain has gone away besides like your given uncomfortableness. I am losing my mind just sitting on my butt all day. Can I work out or anything at all while I’m in a soft cast and non weight bearing? Any recommendations on what you did if so?

Any tradesman suffered this injury? How are you coping now that your back in work? im 8 weeks in and moving reasonably well I go back next month. I work as a gas engineer, im just wondering if people were able to go back into work and prosper.

Ruptured my achilles this past weekend. Going the non op route. When did yall start PT?

As said in the title, I (M24) managed to tear my left achilles tendon for competition prep. This was during a yoke pushing event. It’s kinda funny how nothing felt off that day, like my sleep and food were good, and warm ups went great. Oh well, it happened.

Right now, I’m going for the surgery route and will get my MRI’s done this Friday. I’m optimistic about recovery post op and this will surely test my skill and knowledge as a graduating PT student. I’ll still consult with the pros/my mentors if ever I need some clarity, which I’m grateful to have.

Anyway, hoping for the best. To anyone else going through this, you all have my well wishes!

Edit 1 (05/20/26): I appreciate all the well wishes! It’s nice to know I’m not alone in this. We will all get better for sure. Right now I’m just focusing on my studies and finishing up before graduation. Might make this thread sort of a log book for the progress. I think that can kinda help mentally lolll.

Transitioned to the boot yesterday! All the advice and good words on the sub are already paying off - thanks!

Only 10% weight bearing to start; but that is a bigger quality of life improvement than it sounds like.

I had a partial tear on may 2nd whilst playing tennis for the first time in 13 years. The doctor confirmed that I had some tearing. He told me to come back in 2 weeks (this Thursday) but that if I had no pain I could cancel.

Knowing what I know now I feel that this is insufficient. I can do bilateral raises quite easily but unilateral raises hare still painful. Walking is generally 90% ok but after trying unilateral raises on Sunday my pain has gotten worse over the last few days.

I’m guessing my tear was not too bad given the doctor’s attitude but is just letting it heal on its own ever the correct advice? And should I be doing rehab?

A final question are my tennis and hiking days over, being almost 60?

Hey everyone, I ruptured my Achilles tendon this weekend playing basketball and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I have my first doctor appointment this Wednesday, but I wanted to ask if anyone has advice for someone going through this for the first time.

I’m mainly looking for recommendations on anything I can buy to help keep my ankle elevated above my heart more comfortably.

Also open to any general advice for the early stage of recovery, things to ask the doctor on Wednesday, or mistakes you made that you’d avoid next time. Thanks in advance.

Всім доброго дня, в мене сталася така ситуація, повний розрив ахілового сухожилля, і мені зробили операцію, і вот на 5-й день після операції, я випадково став на ту ногу, з початку був різкий біль але через 20хв перестало боліти, зараз трошки пече в тому місці де оперували, чи могло воно повторно розірватись, і який відсоток? Нога в гіпсі зафіксована, гіпс залишився цілий.