I ruptured my achilles (7cm retraction) playing basketball just last week and was advised to go with the non-operative route. There's not too much information online regarding the non-operative route and I just wanted to say your videos have been really helpful and in a weird way it's comforting to see that other people are going through the same struggles that come with this injury

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Raymond - you are exactly the kind of person I was hoping to help by making these videos. Sorry to hear about your rupture, but I probably don't need to tell you that it will get better in time!

@acsk9699

3 жыл бұрын

@@achilles_rupture Thanks Scott, this is my first major injury and this past week has been pretty tough both physically and mentally and it's definitely been testing my patience :P Thankfully my doctor seems to be familiar with the more recent non-surgical protocols so I'm hopeful for a relatively fast recovery

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

@@acsk9699 mate, that first part of the process is rough! At least, it was for me too... you might've already heard me say it, but it's ok to slow down and take it easy :) Glad to hear your doc is familiar with the non-surgical protocol... I've heard stories from other achilles rupture patients whose doctors aren't familiar with the process. A recent one involved a surgeon who was recommending her patient spend about 11-12 weeks *before* starting any kind of physio/rehab. That made no sense to me at all, given the Willets protocol showed that people can start at about 2 weeks in (but then again, I'm not a doctor!).

@jterry414

Жыл бұрын

@@acsk9699any update on your recovery

@steveinoz8188

2 ай бұрын

Geez. I had 8mm and was complaining. I did read somewhere that over 5mm should be a candidate for surgery.

Hell yea my wife don't understand how much money I'm losing I'm done playing hard basketball games just shoot around for fun now I'm in week 4 Achilles rupture

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah it's just not worth the risk, hey! I explain this to people, but they kinda don't get it. Guess it takes this kind of injury to know. Wishing you well in your recovery.

Hi mate,I’m Fidelis,thanks for your videos it was really helpful and please can you share the rest of the videos please.

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Fidelis, glad that they have been helpful for you. The remaining videos are sorely overdue - alas, I keep getting drawn into other things happening lately. My work roster is going to be changing a bit in the coming weeks, though... maybe this will be a good time to get stuck into them. Thank you for nudging me!

They have different treatments in Sweden. I wasn’t allowed to do any exercises before 8 weeks, but I was alltsedan to walk after 2 weeks in the ”moln boot”.

Hello Scott , how did you overcome the disapointent and frustration during the 4th to 8th week? im 6 weeks week non op now and by Nov 23 il be on a moon boot ( 1st six weeks was on a splint grdual.change og angle to neutral every 2 weeks) im a bit excited with the moon boot so that i can start walking without crutches... physio says im progressing . he did a thompson test on during 4.5 weeks post rupture and my foot is slightly moving i was happy on that..

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

Hey mate, I think the thing to consider at this point is to be aware of any frustration and disappointment and just realise they are simply thoughts/emotions that are there, but that don't necessarily represent reality. The "novelty" is over, in a sense, and at this stage i was just really tired of it. But the only way to get past it is to continue to follow the process. Trust me, it does get better in time, and that will only happen by doing quality rehab. And if you find you're reaching for the bottle or something else as a coping mechanism, I think it's important to be aware of it and stop it before it becomes a habit. Hope I'm not off target here - just trying to help if I can!

I'm at about the same distance. I am not very patient and put another small tear in my tendon which put me back 2 weeks. My Physio said to wear the boot for another 3 weeks. And he gave some very easy "exercises" to do. But I also ride my bike and go swimming.

@achilles_rupture

2 ай бұрын

Ouch, sorry to hear about a small tear. However, thankfully two weeks set back is probably preferable to going right back to the start... at least, re-rupturing was always one of my biggest fears. I think it's hard to find that balance between pushing yourself so that you get the fatigue and growth required, but at the same time keeping it safe and knowing not to go beyond the limit. Ultimately, we all make the decisions we think are best, so fingers crossed your new exercises and any other activities are right for you and lead to good outcomes :)

I was doing well 3weeks on partial weight bearing i was walking on a tile flood slipped and reruptured it! Awaiting a scan i feel so down having to do this again

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

Oh man, I read this and my heart sank for you. Really sorry to hear this. Unfortunately that's one of the awful things with this injury - the chance of re-rupture. Maybe two things I can say might be of help: 1) You've now joined a list of plenty of other Achilles rupture patients who have re-ruptured. So whilst no one wants it to happen, it does happen and with enough frequency that you are not alone in this! 2) The worst re-rupture story I heard of was when someone was in their physiotherapy session and pushed the exercises hard enough that they re-ruptured there and then. Stay strong - I'm sure you know, but you'll get through this in time! :)

How long after your rupture did you notice movement in your ankle when doing a Thompson test? I’m at 7weeks this Wednesday n everything is looking good but ankles not moving when I do the Thompson Test.

@achilles_rupture

Жыл бұрын

Hey Jacinta, I can't remember a real point in time when I recall the Thompson test suddenly working. Rather, I seem to recall that at 2 weeks there was the slightest movement, and it progressed after that. However, I'd say if you can point your toes and you are building strength in the achilles and the calf, then that means that your tendon is attached and working! How are you doing the Thompson test? I don't recall being able to do it on myself... I just tried it then whilst kneeling on the edge of my bed and maybe got an inch of movement? If the muscle on the front of your shin is activating at all (causing dorsiflexion) then that will work against any plantar flexion.

Hello Scott. Thanks so much for your videos. I am in week 6 after 2 weeks in boot, 3weeks NWB in a boot and back to Boot NWB again. My Dr. does not want me to even start Physical Therapy until I am 8 weeks of cast/boot... I am wonder if if my Rupture gap of 2.1cm is larger than what your gap was. Do you have any information as to recovery of 2cm gap?

@achilles_rupture

Жыл бұрын

Hey Charles, I don't think it's about so much the size of the gap as to whether the tendon is ready to have load applied to it. Obviously I'm not a doctor and I don't know the specifics of your injury - really my only experience is dealing with a mid-tendinous rupture (of unknown gap size) with no tendon retraction. I am not aware of anything that says that certain size gaps benefit or don't benefit from weight bearing. But if, say, the tendon tore off the bone instead, then I'm not that familiar with the healing processes in place (maybe they're the same?). In any case, my basic understanding is that we mechanically force the broken ends of the tendon together to start with (e.g. through sugery, or through simply placing the foot in a boot in plantar flexion) and leaving it for two weeks. After two weeks, we start applying gentle force to the tendon (as tolerated) through a combination of exercises. At least, this is the key finding of the Willits 2010 study ( pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21037028/ ), and I've just found this one by Twaddle 2007 ( journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546507307503 ) which concludes something similar. On top of that, there is a meta-analysis which looked at 13 different studies and concluded that early mobilisation was key in helping patients feel more satisfied and getting them back to work/sports earlier (Brumann 2014 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020138314003155 ). That said, a study like the one by Barfod 2014 ( journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/Abstract/2014/09170/Nonoperative_Dynamic_Treatment_of_Acute_Achilles.1.aspx ) concludes there was no difference between the groups when they started at Day 1 vs Week 6 (however, the group in that study had a small sample size). Why do I present all this? Well, I personally don't absolutely know the best way forward for anyone, so all I can do is rely on the findings of experts and bolster my understanding from there. It could be possible that your doctor is operating on older information (e.g. if they did their Achilles rehab training before, say, 2010) and haven't looked at the academic literature since. So I would say you have some options: (1) Have a read of the above scientific journal articles so that you are better informed, (2) decide if you need a better expert to advise you (if so, I would suggest going for a consulatation with a sports rehab physiotherapist who keeps up to date with the latest evidence), (3) if you want to stick with your doctor, you may be able to print these out and present the articles to them to see what they think, (4) potentially spend a bit of time using Google Scholar to track down more related articles, especially with respect to early weight bearing on achilles ruptures and how that affects rehabilitation outcomes (and if you do that and find anything interesting, please let me know). Hope this helps.

@charleso1262

Жыл бұрын

@@achilles_rupture Scott, Thanks ever so much for replying. I have just printed out your response and will look up some of the specific papers you mention. In my own research, i found a 2019 Foot and Ankle conference in Tampa Florida where they conclude that early weight bearing is helpful. I think you are probably right, my Dr is just not up on the current literature on Non-surgical recovery of the Achilles Tendon. At this point, changing doctors is a bit late as I'm NWB in this boot for another 3 days and then I'm supposed to start weight bearing with a visit back to the doctor 6 days later. (No specific instructions about weight baring :( So I'm of course doing other leg and abdominal exercises to maintain some strength in my legs and abs, and have done very minimal weight bearing in my boot like standing at the kitchen counter using my injured foot for balance, but maybe gingerly hopping one step to reach something. But no walking, or anything like that. Next week, when scheduled, I will apply more pressure. In the mean time, I will look up these articles and see what they say. Thanks again, I hope your recovery went well and you are back to full strength. All the best.

@achilles_rupture

Жыл бұрын

@@charleso1262 wow, that sucks about not having any info on how to do weight bearing. I guess you might have to experiment and see. I recall the initial weight bearing I did with crutches was to place the affected foot down at the same time as when the two crutches were contacting the ground. So in my case, I would take a step with my left (unaffected) foot, then I would swing both crutches forward and around the same time as they hit the ground, I would place my right foot down. So whilst it's weight-bearing, it's not your full body. I would assume that your Achilles is probably not strong enough to take your full weight just yet without the help of crutches (unless I've misunderstood what you've said so far). Ultimately, the majority of the rehab process is an ongoing, gradual increase (as opposed to something like a broken bone, where you get to around week 6 or so, and then the cast/sling comes off and you're good to go). Unfortunately this can be a bit maddening as time progresses, but as I keep telling everyone - it's about following a quality rehab procedure and sticking with it for a long period of time.

I'm am doing the non operative route. I actually ruptured my other Achilles 20 years ago and did the surgery. So far the non operative is so much better but don't know my long term results at this point. At what point (perhaps not yet) did you "pass" the Thompson squeeze test? Thanks for your videos.

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

Hey mate, sorry to hear about your (second) rupture. I guess in your case that you have an idea of what is to come in terms of rehab etc, although the good thing is that we now know that early weight bearing (as tolerated) is better than late. I can't recall when the Thompson test looked healthy/normal, but I do recall in the hospital that there was little or no movement. A couple weeks after that, however, I had some slight ability to point my toes. Perhaps I might be imagining it, but I seem to recall slight movement with the early Thompson tests too. In any case, I would say that your long term results should roughly match those with surgery. My understanding is that all that surgery does is mechanically force the tendon together - the same thing happens when putting the foot in a cast/boot with plantar flexion. Heal occurs via the body laying down collagen fibres for the tendon to fix itself, and strength is gained by putting the tendon under force in the direction that strength is required (i.e. from calf to ankle). In my case, I'm approaching 3.5 years since rupture now, with no complaints about the non-surgical method. Very glad I avoided surgery!

@mblind3821

2 жыл бұрын

@@achilles_rupture Thanks so much for your reply. I'm now in week 3 and I feel like I'm cheating the system this time compared to the surgical route. This is so so much easier than surgery there is no comparison. If the results are comparable non surgical is absolutely better. I was told that for some people surgery is required if either the tear is right off the heel bone or the ends separate and sort of ball up in your calf (big separation). It is still really important to make sure you are a good candidate for the "natural" method because surgery is optimally done immediately. If you can get your doctor to do ultrasound it really shows the tear quite well. Nothing will show up on an Xray other than confirming there was no bone damage, which can happen with some tears off the heel. Good luck everyone.

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

@@mblind3821 In agreement with basically everything you've said. As far as I know, if the rupture is "mid-tendinous" (i.e. in the middle of the tendon) and there is minimal "retraction" (tendon doesn't ball-up/travel up the calf) then the non-surgical method is likely an option. If the tendon has been torn off the bone, then surgery will most likely be required. Glad to hear your are appreciating the non-surgical route (compared to surgical)! Best wishes with the rehab, and keep me updated on the way if you're able - always interested to hear how people go with non-surgical.

@HG-xv8eg

Жыл бұрын

Hopefully ur recovered please update

No more videos after this one. What was the update the next comings weeks? I'm just ruptured my Achilles yesterday and i'm thinking of the non surgical route.

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

Hey Cornell, sorry to hear you've also ruptured. Long story short: I have absoultely no regrets taking the non-surgical route. I think the main case for having surgery is if you're a high performance athlete, and only because surgery is the tried-and-true method. But my rehab went fine and was only hampered by my own inability to stay disciplined all the time. I found it pretty easy to do the exercises at first, but when I basically got back to doing everything I wanted to do, then the motivation dropped off. It's now 2.5 years after rupturing for me, and I'm still chipping away at it. My right calf is getting slowly "springier" because I've started paying it more attention again. I would say that it's a good thing to be able to avoid surgery and the complications that, although aren't likely, are still possible. You might also get a surgeon who wants to protect their "piece of art" and tells you not to risk doing much at all. Finally, your physiotherapist will probably be the most important person along the way. I can't stress how important it is to find a good one. Mine described himself as a "tendon geek". I think looking for someone who continues to further their education and training after graduating from university is a good idea. Hope that helps - let me know if you have any questions along the way :)

@petercaleca80

3 жыл бұрын

Hi did you have a problem with the foot swelling in the boot when you didn’t have it elevated..

@CornellG

3 жыл бұрын

@@petercaleca80 I had little swelling when not elevated for three weeks post op.

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

@@petercaleca80 Yes, the general idea is to keep it elevated in the early stages to prevent swelling (regardless of whether you are wearing the boot or not).

How often did you do the exercises?

@achilles_rupture

2 жыл бұрын

It depended on the type of exercise and what stage of recovery I was at. I think around this week (7) most of the exercises were daily or multiple times per day. Usually the less strenuous, the more frequent.

At what week was you out of the walking boot im 1 week in and im going for a ultrasound scan im pretty afraid but i will get through im will to go the nonsurgical route.

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear about your rupture. You're in the worst part of the whole process right now, but trust me, it does get better in time. Fingers crossed for your ultrasound. Keep in mind (if you haven't already) that the non-surgical option may only be available if your rupture is in the middle of the tendon and if the tendon hasn't retracted up the calf. The ultrasound will tell your doctor more. As for your question: I was completely out of the boot by week 13. That said, I was walking around indoors without the boot leading up to that point, and then when I was without the boot out on the street it was a little terrifying. The recovery process is gradual - unfortunately it's not like a broken bone that is back to full strength all on its own by 6 weeks or so. Stay strong, ask lots of questions, do your exercises and keep moving forward. You'll get there :)

@MotivationOfTheMind

3 жыл бұрын

@@achilles_rupture Thanks For The Support.

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

@@MotivationOfTheMind you're welcome. We're all in this together :)

Yo! I’m about 2 years since my tear and non surgical recovery. How have you healed? Mine still feels weird? Significantly weaker still and I can’t just over all tell it’s still not the same? I’m a weekend warrior and terrified to step out on the basketball court again. Please if you can share your recovery now days

@achilles_rupture

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Mario, I'm about 2.5 years after my tear now. Yes, mine is still different and my right (affected) calf is still smaller than the left. I still don't have the same ability to bounce on my right like I can on my left. I still do standing calf raises at the gym, but not as often as I should if I really want to progress. I guess if I was in your position, I would find a good sports physiotherapist who can have a poke and a prod. If you're super worried, you can also get an ultrasound to measure the thickness of your achilles tendons. From what I understand, they should have a thickness (apparently it's depth, as opposed to width) of 8mm. When I ruptured my right achilles, I had my left one ultrasounded and it was 4mm, so it's highly likely my right was similar. However, with the right physio exercises, you can strengthen up and thicken your tendons - my last measurement was 6mm! As for basketball and court sports, well I'll never play them again, but that's just my personal preference. As far as I know, you can certainly train up to it, but it might take a while - tendons take a different kind of work than muscles to build and strengthen. Hope that helps!

I’m in day 51 yet I can’t walk with the boot and my Achilles feels to tight to even sit my foot properly in the boot it’s non op and it’s kinda frustrating cos other people are walking in boots at week 6

@achilles_rupture

Жыл бұрын

Hey Leonard, that sounds frustrating indeed. One of the weird things I've found about this injury is that different people experience significantly different things, some times. That said, I think it's a good thing that your Achilles feels tight (because if it's loose, then it's healed long, and then you have a difficult decision to make). What has your doctor/physio said about your situation? Have you gotten a second opinion? My understanding is that after week 6, the tendon has mostly done it's "healing" (laying down new tissue), and so the next part because about strengthening the tendon. I seem to recall before week 6, the furthest I ever went into dorsiflexion was at 90 degrees to the shin. After that, there were seated exercises where I pulled the heel back under the chair to the point where it was stretching, but with only enough force under the heel to squash a bug (i.e. gentle and done over time). I'm not sure if you've been recommended you do any of these exercises? With respect to walking, were you walking in the boot with crutches as well? I recall starting with gentle weight on the affected foot in the moon boot along with crutches as tolerated (i.e. too much pain/fatigue and I would stop putting weight on the foot).

@leonardgerschommawika8020

Жыл бұрын

@@achilles_rupture thank you for the reply I’ve been walking in the boot but I had one wedge but the doctor told me to remove it and walk with the boot only but my heel isn’t touching the boot but mu front foot is and it’s kinda hurting at the lower part of the Achilles the only excerise I was told to do is the one of the toes movement and lowering my foot down and bringing it back to its normal position I see the physio in 2 weeks time which would be week 10

@achilles_rupture

Жыл бұрын

@@leonardgerschommawika8020 it sounds to me like if your heel isn't touching the boot, then a lot of (most?) of your weight will be going into the achilles (which is tight), causing the pain. I think you have a few options here, which are ultimately your choice: (1) Follow your doctor's advice and persist with the pain, maybe it will go away, maybe it won't, maybe you'll continue to progress or maybe it will slow you down, (2) book in to see your doctor and explain the situation, (3) keep the weight off (and therefore not cause pain) and wait to see your physio, (4) call your physio and explain you are in pain following doctor's orders and would really like to increase the priority of your appointment and have it moved sooner (you can often call up in the morning and asked to get put on the waiting list, just in case someone cancels that day... receptionists sometimes have a hard time of filling the gaps caused by cancellations, so they are likely to call you back if you say you can make it to any available appointment that day if one becomes available etc), (5) take the risk and work on something different (e.g. the stretch I mentioned earlier, or something that someone else has described), (6) book in to see a completely different doctor or physio for a second opinion, and probably many more options. Your call - only you will know what you're happy to do, what risks or financial/time costs you're willing to take on. Hope that helps :)