I’m entering my 6 weeks post - op mark. Compared to last week, I’m able to walk around a lot more with less pain. In the morning or if I don’t move around much, I feel stiffness in my lower leg surrounding my achilles, but not the achilles itself. At night, I ice for about 20 minutes prior to going to sleep. The incision is pretty much healed. The peeling is completely gone; it’s still somewhat puffy.

Today at PT, I did a reevaluation of my strength and ROM. This time around, I was able to improve my dorsiflexion, and squat unassisted; however, I’m still not able to preform any calf raises. As far as exercises this week, I rode the bike for 15 minutes at a level 8 resistance. I also started running on the elliptical for 10 minutes. For the remaining time, I performed sled squats for about 10 minutes, and working on some balance exercises. Tomorrow, I have my 6 week doctor follow up, so we’ll see how that goes.

Today I had my second physical therapy session.  This session consisted of:

• bike riding for 10 minutes
• sled squats
• wedge stretching
• bending and straight leg foam rolls
• walking forward and backwards
• balancing on left and right leg

I feel pretty good after PT, and I’m glad to be out of the boot and not using crutches.  I am able to wear regular shoes without lifts. The physical therapist did say if I am out and about, it may be a good idea to use the boot. One thing I have learned is, don’t let your achilles tighten up. You don’t have to necessarily work it hard, but light stretching and range of motion.

Hello all,

This is my first entry, and I plan on providing more documentation as I continue the achilles rupture journey. First, I’ll provide some background as to how I ruptured my left achilles, the surgical process, and where I am today.

Injury

I ruptured my left achilles playing basketball. I was in a crowd of people going for a rebound. As I proceeded towards the ball, it felt like someone stepped on the back of my left heel. I lost all power in my left foot and did have any lift. I hobbled on my right foot for about 8 feet before falling to the ground. At that point, I figured I had sprang my ankle and tried to stand. I was unable to stand and realized something wasn’t right. I was able to sit down, feeling for my achilles,  and it felt like jelly.

I went to urgent care the following day. The doctor at urgent had me try to push up against his hand, which I could not. He then refereed me to an orthopedic surgeon,  and I made an appointment two days later. The surgeon preformed the Thompson test and determined it was a complete rupture. I had surgery the following day.

Just to give you a timeline  I injured it on Saturday July 30, Urgent care Sunday July 31, Orthopedic Appt August 2, Surgery August 3.

Surgery

My surgeon did a technique that I was unfamiliar with. He made a small incision ( ~4 cm) on the back of my foot and then two incisions on the back of my heel. He told me this technique allows you to recover much faster. I was looking online, but I haven’t found much information on this technique.

Post OP

I was placed in a splint after surgery for 1 week. After that week, I was placed in a boot. At the 3rd week mark, I was told to start doing band exercises. I’m currently in the 4th week, where I had my first physical therapy appointment. The physical therapist told me at 6 weeks I’ll be out of the boot and wearing shoes. He also provided me some exercises and stretches to do in between appointments. I’ll keep you updated as I make progress.