Achilles Repture Still Not Healed

Another post from RogerG: 3 weeks in cast (Equinus), then 9 weeks in Vacoped, early Equinus, wedge sole etc etc; final orthopod appointment ‘ not healed’ still 5 cm gap. Apparently I have a very strong calf muscle and ? Tendon which together with scar tissue will hold it all together! As long as I don’t want to pursue any ‘explosive’ sports ! I’m 66 and have started static cycling, pushing up the tension to 10 for 30 minutes plus theraband, plus edge of step exercise. YES, I do get some swelling after excercise, but icing and elevation is a great help. The AT ends are not going to heal apparently, and I still have a limp, which is getting better by the week - 6 weeks after going into two shoes. My Orthopod says that he is happy with my progress: BUT it could take twelve months before I am walking 100%

My surgery date is this coming Wednesday and the procedure you spoke of where they use the tendon going to the big toe is the one they are going to use on me to start with. While my achilles has not ruptured yet, the MRI showed the damage to my tendon to be extensive. My surgeon says he has done about 200 of this type of surgery and has only had 3 that didn’t fully recover. I am glad you have written that you might have to have this procedure as I was beginning to wonder if my surgeon was off base. I have read most all of the blogs and no one else has described theirs like this.
I can hardly believe you have a friend who plays racquetball. I was playing 3 days a week at a highly competitive level and the surgeon told me it would be best if I never played that or tennis again after the surgery. That gives me great hope.
Hang in there. I know how hard it is to go from being super active to brought to a sudden halt. My anti spam word to post this comment was positive. Stay positive. We will all get through this I’m sure!

Sounds good. Keep us posted.

Hey Maestro, I did call to make an appointment asap when it happend, but because of the upcoming holiday the soonest I can see my doctor is Monday. But actually today the soreness went away I think I was more scared then actually hurt. However, don’t get me wrong I’m still going to see my doc on Monday anyway just to be on the safe side.

Yo, Dee, If you are that concerned then you should call your doctor. Better to be safe than sorry. You lose nothing by calling and speaking with your doctor.

Keep us posted on what happens.

Hello Pokerpun, sorry to hear about your whole situation, but I do have a question for you. What did it feel like to rerupture your atr? The reason I ask is because I think I might have reruptured mine. I originally had the surgery to repair it on November 10th so it’s only been a couple of weeks, but I had a little accident today. The bottom of my heel, ankle & calf muscle are hurting right now. Do you think it’s possible I reruptured it?

I agree one of the worst things about this whole injury is the mental part. Thanks so much for the reply. I go to doctor on Monday i will keep you posted.

Thanks so much for the support i will give you more info when i go to the foot and ankle specialist on Monday!

Hello Pokerpun,
Bad luck, it sounds a bit grim. I had a wasted 12 weeks trying to heal my achilles conservatively - it was a shattering blow to be told it hadn’t worked and I was back to square one. I’ve always thought the psychological aspects of this injury are just as hard to deal with as the physical side.

However there are hundreds of case-loads on this blog and ,as far as I can see, there aren’t any examples where no healing has taken place eventually.

Don’t get me wrong its been more of a battle for some than others but everyone seems to get on the road to recovery eventually. I reckon you need to hang on to the fact that the human body is an amazing bit of kit and healing is inevitable (eventually)

Good luck, keep sharing your frustrations it’ll make you feel much better.
Richard

Pokerpun,

Sorry to hear of your dilemma. Obviously there are many reasons that it is not healing; poor circulation, skin jacket too tight, adhesions and scarring, etc. Your getting another opinion so thats good. You didn’t say what type of MD. If not get another opinion with a podiatrist. Ask about a tendon grafting if they (heaven forbid) need to do another surgery.
Good luck and let us know what’s happening.

Doc Ross