Ruptured Achilles Tendon

[dooleysm]

I ruptured my achilles tendon while playing basketball on Jan. 22. I had surgery to repair the tendon on the 24th. I had a bone spur on my heal that the doctor ground off while he was fixing the tendon. He said he used something called a 'patch graft' to help repair the tendon. There's a screw in my heel somewhere too.

I'm going in tomorrow morning to have the staples removed from the incision and a hard cast put on. The doctor has said that this will take a full 12 weeks of complete 'immobilization' of the tendon to heal up. Walking around on crutches and not being able to do anything is killing me. It's killing my wife too, as we've got a 2 year old and a 5 month old at home and she works 3 days a week. Fortunately, I've got a desk job, so after being off for about a week after the surgery, I've been able to return to work.

Has anyone else had this surgery? How was the recovery? How long did it take to get back to a functional state? How long to feel 'normal'? Any lasting problems?

I calculated 12 weeks to be mid-April. Things are already piling up for me to do, and that'll be right in prime garden planting time, so I know I'll have a million things to do when I finally can walk again.

 

[radman1]

After 12 weeks of immobilization, you will have literally no movement in your ankle. Consider lots of physical therapy and rehab for another 12+ weeks. Reconstructed tendon won't probably be as strong as the original, so take it easy. Was it a complete tear or partial tear?

 

[ToadHill]

I never ruptured my achilles tendon but about 10 years ago I brused it. The doctor told me it would have been better if I torn it. He said to be prepared for walking with a limp for a long time. He was right I limped for almost 18 months.

 

[dooleysm]

It was a complete tear, and in fact it pulled off part of that bone spur. In the initial x-ray you could see a chunk of bone floating up about 4 inches above my heal, it was disgusting. I think my basketball days may be over.

I was supposed to get the staples out and cast put on this morning. We got hit by a bunch of ice overnight and the doctor's office was closed until noon. I'm rescheduled for 3:20 this afternoon.

 

[dqdave1]

I think tendons dont have alot of blood fllow; that causes the long recovery time.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I tore the tendons in my right ankle but only partially playing basketball in 1996. It hurt like crazy the first few days then the pain subsided. I can't remember how long I was in a cast but I went thru graduation with the cast on. My ankle still feels different and doesn't feel as strong as my left ankle but I don't have any pain.

I can't say for certain what you are going to go thru but hopefully you will be ok and will be able to go back to your normal activities when you are healed. One thing I do remember is when they finally took the cast off there was a ton of dead skin on my leg almost like a sock. I thought it was neat but my mother disagreed

One more thing, you are lucky you got injured when you did (well, if you had to choose when you were going to get hurt that is). This way, you will be inside while you need to be resting and when you start feeling better the weather will be warming up and clearing up. I was unlucky/lucky when I recently broke my back. I am stuck in doors all winter unable to do anything which is ok as I should be back to "normal" in time for the main part of my farming. However, I am going crazy sitting around the house right now as I can't walk well enough to walk outside if it is slippery out or if there is any amount of snow. I am really looking forward to the warmer weather so I can walk outside instead of the stupid treadmill

I wish you the best and hopefully you will have a speedy recovery with no problems or setbacks. And if you need any help just ask and we will do our best to help you out.

 

[radman1]

It was a complete tear, and in fact it pulled off part of that bone spur. In the initial x-ray you could see a chunk of bone floating up about 4 inches above my heal, it was disgusting. I think my basketball days may be over.

The fact that you actually avulsed a portion of the bone may actually be a good thing. If the peice of bone is sizeable, it can may be reattached and heal faster than the tendon itself. However, it depends on many other factors as well. Most achilles tendon tears occur just before the tendon attachment and not at the insertion site. Most tears are in what is considered the critical zone. Usually the tear is just before the bone attachment. This is where the blood supply is the poorest and therefore healing is slow.

 

[dooleysm]

The doctor told me that he shaved off the part of the bone that came off, "avulsed". That was part of the huge bone spur on the back of my heal. It was a huge bone spur and has been causing me some problems for about 8 years now. I always wear out the heals of my shoes before anything else from that big spur. My calf is always real tight in the mornings and takes a while to loosen up. I have a hard time walking uphill. I'm hoping that I'll actually be better than before since the doctor was able to remove the spur.

The staple removal was not as bad as I was fearing yesterday, but still no picnic. I got the cast on with no problems, though my calf has already shrunken noticably. The doctor wants me back in 3 weeks to get a new cast, as he claims my calf will have shrunk more and this cast will be too loose.

The absolute worst part is having to sit by helplessly while my wife has to care for our 2 year old and 5 month old. Thankfully both our families are close by. I don't know how we'd manage without them.

 

[radman1]

Good luck on the rehab. Takes time and patience. It is amazing how fast muscles will shrink without being used.

 

[QuartzCreek]

I feel your pain, really. I ruptured my achilles tendon 11/03 also while playing basketball. Surgeon said it rolled up like a window shade. Was in a cast for several weeks, then a walking boot. The latter was great because I could take it off and shower rather than just taking wash offs and uncomfortable baths with my cast hanging over the edge of tub. I wasn't back to feeling normal and walking without a limp or noticeable tightness until 6/04. My surgeon said that one can recover quicker from a broken leg. Crucial piece of advice- do all of the physical therapy recommended- do not slack up here. Best of luck to you!

Mike

 

[dooleysm]

I've got another 9 days in this cast, then I think I'm getting it replaced with another similar cast for another 3 weeks. Then I think the walking boot comes after that. I'm very much looking forward to being able to take a leisurely shower. That's what I miss the most right now. It's a complete nightmare to tape a trash bag over my leg and balance on one foot in the shower.

Right now I'm really looking forward to doing physical therapy. Anything is better than sitting around on the couch day after day after day. The worst part is that now that the pain of the surgery is gone, I feel fine, but I can't do anything. It really makes me sad to see my wife doing all the work of keeping the house going and taking care of our 2 young sons and me not being able to help. I never thought I'd miss changing diapers, but I'd give anything to be able to do that for her right now.

 

[dooleysm]

By the way Mike, how does your achilles tendon feel now? Does it feel like you've completely regained your previous strength and range of motion? I'm afraid that my basketball days might be over. I used to play 3-4 times a week, every week, all year long. I miss it already.

 

[dooleysm]

I got my first cast removed yesterday. The doctor liked the way things were progressing. My calf has pretty much wasted away to nothing at this point. The first cast was very loose, there's almost no muscle left. I put my 2 legs side by side and it's really sad how different they are now.

I could only move my foot through about 2 inches up and down. The doctor tried to stretch it upwards and it was very tight, not painful, but tight. 3 more weeks of hard cast, then I get a walking boot. I'm pretty excited about that.

I'm was also excited to learn that my insurance is covering this surgery at 100%. I thought they would only be covering 85%, but something about it being an accidental injury causes them to cover it at 100%. I've been billed over $18k so far, so paying 15% of that was going to be a few bucks. Great news there! Maybe I can afford to take a vacation this fall when I'm healed up now!

 

[EastTexFrank]

I partially tore the Achilles tendon on my right heel playing tennis over 20 years ago. Mine was one of those borderline cases on whether to operate or not but luckily I didn't need surgery just lots and lots and lots of physio and rehab. It was a really frustrating time. We lived on the fouth floor of an apartment building with no elevator. The only way I could get up the stairs was to sit on my butt and skoot up one stair at a time. It took a long time to heal and even longer before it returned to 100% but it eventually did. Even after it heals it can shorten up during the night or during periods of inactivity to where you have to stretch and massage it so you can start walking properly. The good thing is that once it is healed, it's pretty much healed. It has never stopped me doing anything that I've wanted to do, including playing "old man's soccer" and racquetball. So, take the doctor's advice but your basketball days may not be entirely over. Anyway, we all hope so. Best of luck and work at the rehab, it'll pay off.

 

[dooleysm]

A couple days after my surgery we had some really nasty weather blow through. Tornado warnings and the whole bit. I had to scoot on down to the basement on my butt too. In the dark no less, because we lost power. That was an exciting evening.

 

[dooleysm]

I got my second cast taken off and a 'walking boot' put on last Wednesday. I've been on crutches since, as my foot is still not strong enough to walk on, even with the boot. Just today I've started using only 1 crutch to get around instead of 2, so there's definitely improvement. Right now when I walk it feels like I have a severe ankle sprain, no pain in the heel, which I guess is good.

I've been taking the boot off periodically to stretch out my angle/heel. I've noticed a big improvement in range of motion. It felt really great to take that first shower without a bag over my leg. It also feels good to take the boot off and sleep like a normal person again.

It's been slow going, but it feels much better to be able to see and feel daily improvements now. So much work that needs to be done, and with the warming temperatures, I'm getting really anxious to get at it.

 

[dooleysm]

Almost 4 months now and about a month since I've been walking without the boot. I still have a very noticable limp and can't get around real well. Well enough to get stuff done, it just takes alot longer and I have to be a bit careful. My whole ankle and heel swell up every night which is a bit uncomfortable, but it all shrinks back up by morning. Physical therapy is helping, but it's slow going.

All in all, I would not recommend this experience to anyone, but I think the worst of it is behind me.

 

[radman1]

Thanks for the update. I had wondered how you were doing. It is a slow process but will keep improving.

 

[Nasty135]

Morning Shawn, Just noticed your post and reading it I remembered the flacid calf comment( Oh how I remember!) ...thought I would give some encouragement... My first incident was on my own driveway (black ice) Slipped ,Left foot went way high in the air tried to get the right foot under me to catch myself, too late..as I pushed with the right leg trying to maintain my footing I heard these popping celery like snaps as my foot turned a hard right! This was not good I thought... But the funny thing was I tried to stand up anyway... This was less than good...Broke all tendons across the top of foot when it twisted... Doctors said I did a good job... also had a broken tib or fib which ever was the smaller of the two... 3 months in a cast surgery with hardware...(thank goodness it was through the winter) But for me he said you won't need therapy? Because there was no damage to the joint. I guess he was right because I can do anything I did before in cluding running without pain... Oh and my calf muscles are now equal in size once again...

The other incident was much less colorful, but involved wrestling with a large rock busting the longhead bicep tendon needing to be reattached in a different location with a pin...Doc said my tendons are a little smaller than expected...6mm instead of 7mm... always inadequate...

Well hope this gives some cheer to your day... It will get better and life goes on

 

[dooleysm]

I'm at about 6 weeks now without the boot. I can get around pretty well. I just recently have been able to go up and down stairs without holding a rail. I have started strengthening exercises and I can tell my calf is getting stronger. I still can't push off when I walk though, so there's a noticable limp, which gets more pronounced the faster I try to walk.

I've started going back to the gym to lift weights and do some light work on the stationary bike. I see the old crew playing basketball and I really want to get out there. Everything I've heard though says it will be many months before that is possible.

I started wearing an ankle brace every day too. Not that I need any support, but the compression keeps the swelling down. Without it, my ankle still swells up like a balloon by the end of the day.