how long will it take? And what can i do?

[username237]

I ruptured my achillis tendon on January 10th 05. Im still in a pretty naff way, im walking with a limp, having physio/hydrotherapy and its still really tender. The consultant at the hospital will not give me a timescale for it getting better and just says it will be a slow process. Has anyone else had this injur before? If so, how long was it before you could be active again? What exercises can people recommend in the meantime as i fear im going to become unfit!! Im gutted too, i was meant to be taking my black belt grading in Tae Kwon Do in Ma and thats a definate no-no now

can anyone make a naffed off girl happy saying it will all be fine by next week??

[Mr. Mike]

sure, it'll be fine next week! Seriously though, from what I know, this is going to take a while to heal...take it easy and get your rest...you have the rest of your life to get that BB, or try to heal because you pushed an injury.

The treatment options for a complete rupture of the tendon include surgery followed by casting, or casting alone. There are advantages and disadvantages to each technique and the options should be discussed with your physician. With surgery, the tendon is either reattached to the calcaneal bone (if it has been pulled off or avulsed) or the two ends are sewn together is the tendon has been torn in two. (Click HERE for an animation of an Achilles' tendon repair.) In most people, a cast is applied after surgery until healing is complete. Each patient must be considered individually. There are many reasons why a person may not be a suitable candidate for a surgical repair of the injury. These include, but are not limited to: poor circulation, presence of skin problems at the site of the injury, age, a sedentary lifestyle, other medical conditions that make the person a poor candidate for surgery (such as heart or lung problems). If the injury is treated non-operatively, then a cast is applied until healing is complete. The length of time required for healing is highly variable. Often it may take as long as six months for complete healing to occur.

see this link for more info:

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp09009.htm

[username237]

cheers for that!

FYI i didnt have surgery. I had 6 pots on! (pointing my foot down, then rising gradually until my foot was at 90degrees so as to stretch the tendon)

just in case anyone was interested!

[aefibird]

Good luck with your injury! Take time and be patient (not what you want to hear I know... ) because it's better to have too much time off 'just in case' than go back training too soon and cause further damage.

When I used to horseride a lot I damaged my knee. Because I had a major competition coming up I didn't give it half as much rest as I should have done and was back in the saddle far too soon - now my knee is is a bad state and I'm waiting for surgery on it. If I'd spent more time resting all those years ago it would probably not be like it is now.

BTW, good luck for when you take your BB test!

[vertigo]

Good luck with your injury! Take time and be patient (not what you want to hear I know... ) because it's better to have too much time off 'just in case' than go back training too soon and cause further damage.

Agreed. I have never been seriously injured before.. but I have seen people try to come back too soon from a serious injury (most commonly a torn ACL in basketball.. not pretty); and it usually ends up delaying the recovery procedure.

I realize that it would be tough to not come back as soon as possible... but have patience. It'll probably pay off. Good luck with your recovery.

[Jerry]

I tore the ligaments (sp?) in my right foot/ankle in September 2002. I started training again (with a slightly sensitive foot) in January 2005. So I would suggest you take it easy for about 3 to 6 months and then go to gym and slowly train that foot/ankle.

My injury was to the extend that my doctor told me that I should have rather broken my ankle ...

I cycled and ran in the off time, but my ankle is still sensitive though. I also did tae-bo not too loose my technique.

Good luck!!

[Fish]

Try and find a non-weight bearing exercise to keep your fitness going - swimming's a good one if you can manage it. You can do slow lengths for endurance and sprints for lactic tolerance.