Feb 20 2012
How it happened
Rupturing my Achilles only increased the amount of items that I need to complete on an everyday basis. Regardless I have decided to procrastinate even more and start a blog detailing my Achilles tendon rupture.
First, a bit about myself.
My name is Kevin and I am 23 years old and exercise is daily ritual I can’t do without. It’s the part of my day where I can reset, clear my mind and have that personal time to collect my thoughts. Of course, the endorphins that are released during exercise is a big plus too.
Anyways, I ruptured my left Achilles tendon on Sunday night, 12/Feb/2012. I was doing a circuit of shuttle runs, farmer’s walk, and jump rope when I heard a big "pop" while doing some double unders.
I thought I bumped into a dumbbell behind me but there was nothing there when I looked. I immediately lost balance in my left foot and couldn’t help but kneel down. I could feel a numbing sensation in my left achilles and when I went to feel it, I couldn’t feel it. That’s when I began to panic.
My first logical thought was, "crap, how long til I can work out again?" (OK maybe not that logical but you exercise addicts will understand) It then ran through my mind that maybe this was pretty serious. I limped back to my car and quickly drove home and applied RICE.
I didn’t feel any more incapacitated than a sprained ankle so I carried out my activities as usual while limping. In retrospect, I probably should have gone to the ER that night.
There was some pain, but it was tolerable so sleeping was not an issue. I decided I would go to a walk in clinic first thing in the morning.
Thanks for the blog, KM! If you can, install the little “ATR Timeline Widget”, so we can all quickly see your FAQ answers — like where you are, which leg, when you did it, what stage you’re at, etc. It’s linked from the Main Page.
Thanks Norm!
Um hervorzuheben, die Integration von Alt und Neu, Levis Shop im Besonderen Druck Totem des unregelmäßigen
Hi KiloMike,
Your blog is truly inspiring, I just completely rupture my Achilles tendon 2 weeks ago but the doctor advised against surgery so here I’m with foot in a cast pointing down. But I’m not totally convinced that this can be treated conservatively. Did you have a complete rupture or just partial?. I’m Planning to see different doctor for second opinion. Ofcourse I would prefer non surgery if it can be successfully done.
Cheers,
Jordi
Hey Jordi
Nothing wrong with replying to an old post but go to the Achillesblog home page achillesblog.com and start again for current posts. Lots of guides too. Go to achillesblog/cecilia for recent findings about non-operative trends and just how quick and sustainable they are.
Also start your own blog here, following instructions on the home page, not forgetting to include timeline. Adding country too helps to show where the trends are for for almost 100% surgery, and where non-op is considered first.
If you are up to it, you want an aggressive non-op rehab schedule, a modern boot by week 3 if you don’t have it already, start weight bearing around that time, and into shoes on both feet by week 8 or 9 - this is not just a wishful scenario, for most who follow this, it works, very well. Early physiotherapy and plenty of safe exercises - you want to keep as much mobility as possible, and keep down the atrophy in the affected leg.
Buffie
Jordi, +1 to what Buffie said.
The newest and best studies prove that non-op treatment can deliver optimum results, PROVIDED that a fast modern protocol is followed. Older slower “conservative casting” approaches are less safe, with much higher rerupture rates than fast modern non-op or surgical.
So ironically, going fast is safe, but going nuts isn’t, so it’s very important to stay close to a protocol that’s been proven to deliver the results. There still aren’t any guarantees, with any treatment, but that’s life…
As ATRBuff said, Cecilia has summarized (& linked to) the 3 best new studies, at AchillesBlog.com/Cecilia/protocols. The best non-op results may be still to come, if somebody can combine Wallace’s hands-on approach (customizing the boot angle to the specific rupture) with the slightly faster protocols from Canada and Britain.
Many people (even professionals) assume that non-op is most appropriate for partial ruptures, or maybe for complete ATRs with smaller gaps. But the studies are ALL about COMPLETE ATRs, and the one gap-size analysis I’ve seen indicates that non-op works just as well on the biggest gaps as on the smaller ones. If the evidence is clear but contrary to your theories or prior guesses, I say go with the evidence!