recovery from second ATR

wow.. always wondered what the picture could look like this much time post-op. You always hear that the tendon will never be the same, but never specifically how. I’m amazed running is still an issue at 2 years. My jaw dropped. I see healthy runners all the time and think how wonderful it must be to have perfectly strong tendons… and then think if those days are done for me. At the same time I can’t deny that long distance running and I aren’t much friends despite a few years of attempted courtship. At 4 months post-op, I’m just looking forward to using the cross trainer again at high intensity intervals and burning off some of this “sitting around the house” fat I’ve put on!

Hello again Raoul,

Well done, it’s a long road isn’t it !!

Richard

Hi Robert!

Usually I feel no pain or discomfort standing on the tips of my toes except from after exercising. I certainly can feel a knot like you describe at the point of rupture though. When I touch and massage the tendon after exercise I feel sore at this point of the tendon. Earlier in the recovery process I often experienced stiffness and tightness, but ROM exercices and massage of the tendon has really helped. Now I experience tightness only when I take the first steps in the morning and sometimes after exercise. As I understand it’s normal that the tendon becomes thicker and anatomically different after rupture and surgery. As long as this doesn’t affect function or lead to discomfort or pain I wouldn’t worry so much about it.

Good luck
Raoul

Raoul,

If you are full standing on the tips of your toes without shoes and just leaning for support, do you feel any dimpling or some other squeezing sensation at the tendon point of rupture/suture? Does it feel like a hard knot now or in the past few months?

I have this sensation currently and am not sure what to make of it. I have talked to the orthopedist. I am afraid it is the (tight) suturing that has created a knot-like sensation. I look forward to your feedback.

Robert

Hello Richard!
Sorry to hear that you ruptured your tendon due to the cortisone injection you were given. The only good about it seems to be that surgery cured your tendinitis, although it must have been a long and frustrating way of healing. Doctors and physiotherapists that I have talked with have been as critical to cortisone treatment as your friend, and information on the internet also says that this is a risky treatment for achilles tendon injuries.

Best wishes
Raoul

Hello Raoul,

I too had a cortisone injection in an effort to rid myself of tendinitis - 3 months later full rupture !!. A physio friend of mine went bananas when he heard what I’d done, his view was that giving the injection was bordering on malpractice !

However rupturing does seem to have cured the tendinitis (rather an extreme cure I know)
Also the surgeon made a comment that he could, if I had been referred earlier, operated on me prior to the rupture to cure the inflammation. This would have meant a shorter recovery time and an intact ATR.

It amazes me that the medical authorities know the dangers of cortisone but continue to use it. The danger comes when it’s put into weight bearing tendons - underlining the stories one hears about cortisone working very effectively on shoulders,elbows and wrists.

All the best
Richard

Hi Tommo!
I’ve been a runner and before my first surgery I had achilles tendonitis for 5 years. I tried almost everything to get rid of it - RICE, lowering of training intensity/ freqency, alternative activities like biking and swimming, eccentric calf muscle exercises, laser treatment, ESWT (shockwave treatment) and - here’s the point - cortisone injections. What I believe is that the cortisone weakened the tendon even more than the tendonitis itself - in fact, the surgeon that did the first operation told me that the tendon looked almost like spaghetti. I will never ever have cortisone again!

Best wishes from Raoul

Good on you Raoul!

How did you do your second ATR 4 months after the first? Usually the tendon is pretty strong by then?

Tommo

Dear Raoul,

I’m glad you’re posting this second rupture, as a warning for all of us eager-beaver types. WE must all be careful, careful, careful, to avoid a re-rupture, at least the first 6 months, so far as I understand the healing process at the cellular level. Perhaps doctors should stress this more, rather than having us crow with triumph every time we do something athletic and impressive a short time after recovery. I am also at the five-month recovery period, and I do NOT take for granted that I am out of the clear. No jerky movements, no dancing, no running, just walking.

Mary

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