Achilles Tendon Rupture and Recovery

I'm 12 weeks out and have done a month of PT and I still walk with a major limp and pain! I'm beginning To think I'll never walk normal again! My foot is Normally a 6 1/2 and because of the swelling, I'm in an 8 wide!

Hi skigras,

It was a long, hard journey for me as for one, I was so preoccupied with this surgery that I didn't realize how hard the recovery was going to be!  But, to answer your question - I had surgery on July 28th and just finished my second 6 week of physical therapy.  I had to do four weeks of non weight bearing activities which meant staying in bed and using a walker to hop around.  After that I spent 2 weeks in the walking boot.  My surgeon told me that he wanted me out of that boot by week 3.  As soon as I started wearing the boot I started physical theapy.  Like he wanted I was in sneakers at week 3 and came back to work on September 28th.  Now I am able to walk - normally?  Not quite but, I am 80% better than I was so I will take it.  It has taken me about two months to get to this point but remember, everyone is different .  Being that your job requires you to be on your feet 6 hours a day (that's alot) you may need to discuss with your doctor what your options are.  You may have to compromise and sit - at least for the first couple of weeks. Did you have surgery or did you go the non-surgical route?  I am making sure to be as careful as I can because after going through all I did with the surgery and recovery, I don't want to do anything to mess my foot up!

Good luck to you.

I done mine in January complete ruputre had surgery a week later then in the April got off my couch and boom went again same Achilles but in a different place it were as bad this time it was only a partial tear but got put back in the boot for 6 weeks am still off work now but I am over doin the time scale to be on the safe side I have done a lot of research and seen the top Physio and am starting to play football again now so it's took 11 months I do a lot of eccentric movements it strengthens the achillies and builds your calf muscle at the same time ye will get some pain at first but it's the best thing I have done it's all about repetition doin thing over and over again well that's my experience anyway

I am a week shy of a year and I just now feel like I'm able to do most everything I did before.  There is still discomfort and tightness so I still have to stretch and roll my calf religiously.  I know I would have had a hard time sustaining 5 days a week, 6 hours a day on my feet at the 3 month point.  I'm sorry I'm not more encouraging but I would say the risk of getting run into or bumped is still there that early in the process and you wouldn't want to re-injure it. 

Well, I had surgery on 2 August, and seem to have followed a similar protocol--out of the boot after 6 weeks. So I am about 15 weeks post op. I would say I am about 87%--a very slight limp that we believe is due to mechanics associated with some atrophy and weakness in my calf muscle. I would say that I have very little heel pain any more; it is more like occasional discomfort. I do a lot of walking, returned to the gym a couple weeks after surgery (doing what made sense and did not put my achilles at risk). I can do about everything on the list except run (haven't tried it), and single-leg heel lifts on the injured leg. BUT! I do not have a job that requires me to be on my foot chasing 10 year olds around the gym. You might want to consider some different  (larger) shoes with nice cushy soles. Certainly rigorous PT. I feel that I will be pretty close to normal by the end of the year. The strength and agility in the operative side might take a little longer.

As you can see from the various discussion threads, everyone seems to have a somewhat different recovery experience. Best wishes to you, and I hope you can get back to normal (enough) to return comfortably to work.

I had a surgery on 16 Sept and was Non weight for 6 weeks. First 3 weeks on plaster and next 3 weeks on boot, but non-weight bearing. After 6 weeks i could walk on boot and also drive and started my PT. I am now done 3 weeks PT and am able to walk without the boot since last 1 week and slowly improving. So in just about 2 months + a week I am looking good, though need to work on the strength. A lot depends on the PT trainer and your own effort. But I would say with all this you would need Meditation therapy also, as mind needs to be relaxed and that aids the healing process.

Had surgery 8/22 back to work 9/14 ofcourse wore boot 6 weeks. Back to driving 10/6 and in sneakers since. Heel pain comes and goes as well as swelling but found if you wear long socks that extend above incision no real swelling. We all heal differently I couldn't deal being out of work so long much less afford it. I still ice atleast once a day now. Otherwise all good I do therapy once every other week since most of stuff I can do at home and in gym. Goodluck otherwise.

I'm 3.5 months post Achilles rupture. Not in the boot. Full weight bearing but with some foot numbness aka nerve issues but no pain. Still in PT. I have to do a lot of walking and driving. Have some swelling at days end but I wear the cooper compression sock which helps minimize the swelling. Best of luck with gealing.

Hello,

I fully ruptured mine on 7/21 and am a middle school math teacher and I went back to work 8/24 while on crutches. After a day I got a scooter and that was a life saver. (That might be a great option for you). I am pretty much walking normally now - I can keep up with everyone and dance a bit at weddings, go down stairs while holding the hand rail trek for a bit through snow. If you have to go back to work you'll manage - I suggest bringing a folding chair with you and when you're tired have a seat. I've found that different events where I've had to push myself a bit have really helped me progress through the recovery. I'm hopeful that I'm close to running soon - working on doing 20 calf raises...I'm almost there! I also did not have surgery. Good luck!!

My daughter cut through her archilles on the 28th of January 2015. She was in a cast for 6 weeks a half cast for 4 and then the boot for another 6. She had physio twice a week for 6 months which helped a lot with her recovery. Before the injury she danced 6 days a week including and ballet and pointe. She transitioned into a shoe with wedges to gradually lower her heel but she still had heel pain for quite some time. She did a lot of Pilates and balance board exercises to help stretch it and build up her calf muscle. She was back dancing on stage in September 2015 and back in pointe shoes in November. She limped for a good 12 months with it but danced with no limp... not sure why. If she dances too much now she is prone to swelling and gets a little pain from the scar tissue and goes back to the physiotherapist for ultrasound therapy probably every 3-4 months. But she is back dancing and flipping and doing everything she was before. I guess everyone's road to recovery is slightly different but hang in there. It will get better and you will eventually loose that annoying limp.