Jul 25 2010
First time playing basketball
Last weekend was the first time that I played basketball since my ATR. I went to a retreat and played some 3 on 3 basketball on Saturday afternoon. I didn’t push things too much — mostly not hustling as much as I should on defense, but I was able to run around, dribble, and most importantly score some points. 
It was nice to be back on the court. I felt some minor twitches in my achilles, I’m not sure if it’s some mental thing or if its the stitches, the scar tissue or the tendon — but when I felt something like that, I would slow down a bit.
Also had a chance to play some bump (aka knock-out) as well — it was actually a bit strenous as I was one of the last people in one game and I wanted to win badly. I had to do a bit of planting as I ran back to the foul line to shoot quickly … but everyone turned out fine.
5 responses so far
Wow! Congratulations. I’m about a week post-op so I’ve got a long ways to go. I hurt mine playing hoops as well, but at this point, I think I’m done with b-ball for fear of doing the exact same thing to my other leg or re-injuring the same.
I’m extremely competitive and I think that casual play for me is just not in my nature. I’d probably end up over-doing it. I know something like this shouldn’t keep you from doing what you want to do, but I’m simply choosing to do lower impact sports at this stage of my life - I’m 40. How’d you get over the fear?
I will be 66 in about a month. I ruptured my AT running one year ago yesterday. Due to surgical complications I was on crutches for months and had four surgeries, each by a different surgeon. There was never any question in my mind that I would run again and compete in triathlons. Fear? I don’t think I have any, but maybe that’s because I know the tendon has healed completely, just some internal adhesion which is common with surgery and a weak calf muscle. I think you either get over the fear and get on with doing what you want to do or not. For me, the things I do like cycling, running, teaching downhill skiing, fly fishing, backpacking are all a part of my identity. If I give up any of them I become something else, something less. Everyone is different, that’s how I look at it. At one week post-op I wouldn’t be making any decisions about you will or won’t do in the future.
I’m like Gerry, but everybody’s got to make a decision they’re comfortable with. The proof that I made the right “bet” is that I’m still totally comfortable with it after I “lost” the bet — i.e., I tore the OTHER Achilles! But that was 8 years later, and I had 7 years of terrific competitive volleyball in-between, and met some great friends doing it, too. YMMV, of course.
If it’s any comfort, once this AT heals completely, you’re almost 100% guaranteed that it won’t rupture again. The other one doesn’t come with any such guarantee, unfortunately.
Another comfort is that you’ll be able to skip the surgery the second time — and maybe get a faster protocol than your Doc is planning for you this time, too! (You haven’t shared his plans with us yet, I think. Has he shared them with you?)
i am 2 years and 3 months post AT tear . i have been playing ball 2x a week with a group but last month i joined a 1 day league . i though my achilles was already well and the game is so intense with a lot of adrenaline , cant get by just watching around and i played really hard - after the game i felt like crap - like my A has been stetched a bit and i was limping for 3-4 days . anyway im better again now and still playing 2x a week but i cant imagine playing a high level / intensity game again
also i am wondering about the possibility of rapruting the other AT or a re rapture . as you know we AT sufferers are not blessed with good strong tissue genes so the possibility of injry is great .iva read an article on espn the mag where they correleate these weak achilles to a gene .
Seems weird to me, Screwdriver. I’m convinced (though I forget HOW!) that re-ruptures of fully healed ATs are rarer than lightning strikes. I think it was Doug53 who posted here somewhere that an ATR, once healed, usually “cures” AT tendonitis, too!
I pushed both of my ATs very hard after my first ATR healed, probably harder than I did before the first ATR. And I never got nervous about the healed one. (I was ALWAYS nervous about the uninjured one, until it actually popped!)
Second ruptures, of the other AT, are NOT that rare — and I’ve had one, 8 yrs after the first. A study linked from the list on the main page here says that the risk of tearing your OTHER AT in the first 2 yrs after you tore your first, is almost 200x the risk of a random un-injured person tearing theirs (their first). That’s still only 1 or 2% risk, but that’s also only in the first 2 years. . .