Ruptured achilles tendon
 

Has anyone else had the unfortunate experience to snap one of these?Its right foot as well, so no driving even of an automatic transmission.Duration of being ina "boot" seems to vary with evryone I talk to, including the orthopaedic doctor. Time to full recovery seems to be anything up to 18 months. They dont like to operate in England as a first step, unless one is a pro athlete(not me)/
What thinks the panel?

Never suffered myself but I think my left is at risk.

Last few weeks it's been feeling really tight and I when I move certain ways I can feel it pull in an unsettling way.

Anyone have advice on exercises or stretching I can do?

Get one of these:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M72IX86/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Completely cured my plantar facitis (sp) which is a really tight achillies or arch.

The man who played number 8 in our scrum ruptured his and had to have surgery. Even still it was always twitchy and he had to tape it heavily for any activity.

Only a partial tear. It sucks and took some time to heal. Then after that healed plantar fasciitis set in, which was even more fun.

The boot is your friend.

My wife ruptured her tendon playing soccer. Entire muscle pulled up behind the knee. She was a tremendous athlete playing in a men's hockey league, etc. Even with that drive, and an infant, she took about 1 year on crutches.

My point is that it takes awhile. She came back from that injury 100 percent.

She did not come back 100%, 80-90% max.

TA rupture the outcome is about the same if you do surgery or not, according to the literature.

that injury gives me nightmares!!

As usual Tobra's knowledge matches mine.
There goes one year of your normal life.

Ususal web forum disclaimers apply.

A couple guys I've played basketball with have had this - doesn't look like fun

Oh yeah, it is going to take 12-18 months to get close to normal.

If you use tobacco, you need to quit, like yesterday, or it will never heal worth a damn.

I did mine 10 years ago. Ruptured playing basketball. Made a quick brake for the hoop and it snapped. Took a step and fell on my face. It felt like someone hit me across the ankle with a two by four. Hurt like hell for about 30 mins.

I was in the US at the time and went to a US hospital. They stabilized it for me and I drove home to have the surgery back in Canada. I think I had to wait about 4 days for the swelling to go down. I had the percutaneous surgery - several small incisions rather than one large one. I hobbled around for about 6 weeks in a cast. Got back to active sports within about 6 months but it has never felt the same. I hear that the surgery is optional now.

The guy in the bed next to me also snapped his. He was driving and saw a woman stalled in the intersection. He got out and helped her push the car off the road and you guessed it, snapped his achilles. No good deed goes unpunished....

I hope things go well for you. One thing I would do differently is increase the amount of physio I did. I got lazy with it and returned to sports a bit early. My ankle never regained 100% full range of motion.

In 1969, I borrowed some very old snow skis for an early season day trip. Cable bindings, no forward release. I thought I'd glide over a well-covered log, but instead the tips just dug in, bringing me to an immediate stop. My body slapped the skis but miraculously I broke no bones .. however my feet had folded over, while coming half-way out of the boots.

I hadn't snapped the achilles tendons, but I had issues for years afterwards, especially with one side. I finally received a cortisone injection directly into the tear point, providing 90% relief within 24 hours (although I passed out from the pain of the injection).

I ruptured my right one playing basketball almost 9 years ago ... one end receded down around my ankle while the other end went up into my calf. Doc explained it like trying to stitch 2 mop ends ... result of the surgery was a shorter tendon that still impacts me to this day. He said breaking my leg would have been much better.

Expect a long road to recovery but stick with the physical therapy, no matter what. Stretching will be key before any activity once you are able to walk again.

Have you been on cipro?

I snapped mine playing tennis in 1993. I had it sewed back together by the 49ers doctor. I had a cast for 6 weeks. When the cast came off I couldn't move the ankle at all. So a lot of physical therapy is necessary. Within a year I was back to normal.

Snapped mine playing indoor soccer. As you get older, you lose elasticity ... stretch stretch stretch. No surgery but in a boot for months. Follow doctor's orders - no shortcuts.
Be optimistic --- I healed 100% and play racquetball to this day, many years later.
Stretch stretch stretch

Best way to avoid this injury?

A sedentary lifestyle.

I was going to ask the same thing. No one informs people of that risk...