Achilles rupture recovery -- timeline and extent of recovery?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi everyone - thank you to all who take the time to read and share any thoughts. I am a relatively straight forward ATR case. 45-year old male playing basketball. Full rupture. Surgery three days later. As of today I am 23 weeks post-op. I have been pretty diligent about following all protocols throughout the process. I am seeking a sanity check on my progress to date and the extent of potential recovery.
As somewhat of a side note, my primary complication has been damage to my sural nerve both at the time of the injury (my heel was numb almost immediately) and compounded during surgery (the left edge of my foot and two small toes were also numb afterward). The shooting pain down the side of my foot went away at about 3 1/2 months and the numbness has very slowly but steadily receded. My sense is that the numbness will eventually resolve itself probably 9-12 months out at current pace but the symptoms certainly impacted by initial recovery and therefore my current condition.
Here's my status at 23 weeks. I am almost able to do a full 3 sets of 25 single leg calf raises (the long-term goal per my PT) while in a pool with water up to the top of my hips. My understanding is that water to that depth offsets a litle over half one's body weight. Outside of the pool I can do a few reps of about a half calf raise (getting heel a few inches off the ground) while gently holding onto something for balance and also offloading just a bit of weight (I am 6' 1", 190lbs). Based on the modest pace at which I am building strength and the difficulty of getting all the way up on my tip toes, I am very skeptical of my ability even with another 6-12 months of diligent rehab to get to 3 x 25 reps of anything resembling a calf raise and skeptical of my ability to ever get up to my tip toes.
I am interested in any commentary from those who have previously traveled this path about 1) where you were with regard to calf raise strength and range of motion at 5-6 months and 2) to what extent you were able to make a full recovery -- do you have a permanent deficiency compared to your uninjured side and, if so, how does that manifest itself?
Thank you.
0 likes, 3 replies
Rob9700 wahoowa7
Posted
Hello wahoowa,
I am a 67 year old male, full rupture on 29 July with minimally invasive repair surgery on 2 August. So I am about 18 weeks post op, just a little behind you. I am working on regaining strength in the foot and calf muscles, and have the same goal in terms of single-leg heel raises. I still can't do them, but I can hold my weight, and let it down. Have had similar indications with respect to sural nerve. Have some numbness in heel and on outside of ankle. However, these symptoms have improved slowly with decreased swelling, but have not disappeared. I have been concerned about sural nerve damage since the beginning, but my PT says (she has seen many of these cases) that the nerves are very slow to heal and the fact that there is progress (albeit slow) suggests that these will heal as well. I see surgeon for follow up visit in January, and will bring this up with him as well. Don't know if that helps you much, but it seems that your progress is about what can be expected with this injury.
If you check out the various discussion threads at this site I believe you will find that people's experiences with recovery is all over the map. Some have had significant difficulty, relapses, and failed surgery, others had a less difficult time. Nobody says it was easy and quick. One day when I was frustrated with the slow progress, I googled achilles injuries in pro athletes. It seems that they take at least 8 months to get back to "normal." These folks are in their 20's and early 30's and have more conditioning coaches and rehab facilities than most of us; this is their job.
So I believe I will recover fully if I exercise as suggested, and follow advice of doc and PT. I believe you will too. Best wishes for a full and speedy reocovery.
Heck630 wahoowa7
Posted
I am 4 months since I ruptured mine and had surgery. I am full weight bearing but still have good amount of atrophy to my calf. I find it very hard to stand on my toes and do calf raises without assistance. I can do 20lbs at gym and all leg exercises. I am still restricted from running and jumping. I occasionally get numbness of heel which I see is common on this blog and when I wear ankle socks I get swelling not bad but enough to switch from sneakers to crocs but believe it's my sneakers that are the issue. I can dance without issue as well. I am anxious to start light jogging but have run a few steps....... Hopefully this helps ease your mind I am told it can take a full year before you're back to normal.
nate99100 wahoowa7
Posted
Hi, good luck with your injury.
I was 2 weeks shy of 6 months after going the non-surgical approach before a re-rupture 2 weeks ago.
I was out of the boot after 12-13 weeks. Walking was hard for me, it gradually came along but my walking was nowhere near where it was before the injury and I still had a significant limp. My foot felt like a flat tire going downstairs. Per physio, I had good range of motion and the strength was coming, but I still had a lot of pain.
I could not do an isolated heel raise at 6 months. I still have some mass to the injured leg and I think I'll be able to get it back somewhat over time.
I had a full tear, as well. Did your specialist tell you about both approaches, did they suggest going non-surgical (splint, boot) over surgical?
That was the approach I was proposed with and I have my regrets following it. I
find out today or tomorrow about my results from an MRI, something I think I should have asked for immediately after the first rupture.
Good luck, don't push it.