Achilles tendon rupture: Anyone with experience of Conservative treatment?

[swagman]

Hi there i seen your story and sadly i have the experience you are looking for I ruptured my right Achilles in mid February 2006 my 2nd day of planned living in the USA well anyway to cut the story short I thought i just had a badly sprained ankle to start with and as i had no medical insurance didnt go and see a doctor by the 4th week i booked into see a doctor after diagnosing the injury myself from information i found on the web, the doctor confirmed my achilles had ruptured and referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon whose $7500 fee was required to be paid b4 i Had the operation so i decided to fly back home to Australia I made an appointment to see my local gp b4 leaving the states eventually hobbled through 2 many airports to get home seen doc he referred me to surgeon got in straight away and that is most unusual in australia especially if you dont play afl anyway back to the story booked in for surgery very next day getting close to 6 weeks post injury anyway into hospital i went got the needle on the table expecting to wake up with a cast on my leg but to my surprise was woken up by anaesthetist informing me that the operation was not a success as they couldnt get the oxygen tube down my windpipe and i ended up in HDU for a couple of days where i was told by the surgeon that he must now treat my rupture non surgically after that i spent 3 weeks in plaster followed by 4 weeks wearing a moon boot which i would only use when walking and take of while sitting or relaxing it was 8 months after the injury that i could start putting any real weight on my foot and feel that i was stable its now 13 months since i injured it and i am doing pool walking, sitting and standing calf raises and i would say that i have another 6 months of exercising it ahead of me b4 i can say that it is better and all i can say to you is hang in there and dont over do it you will be able to feel when its getting better there is no doctor on this planet who could give an accurate date for an achilles being better I have heard that heat is good for the tendon lots of water and not to much alcohol foods that contain copper will help with collagen repair and xylitol found in some artificial sweeteners helps increase elasticity also make sure you keep the good leg well exercised and stretch the calf muscles to help prevent muscle apathy in the bad leg

[Gramor]

Just to add my personal story, I had a complete rupture of my left achilles tendon while playing basketball 3 weeks ago.
After a very sharp pain that lasted for a couple of minutes, pain was gone and I was still able to walk without bending my foot and leg straight and was helped to a local gym trainer that put ice.
I slept well that night, but next morning I knew that something was wrong because I couldnt press the clutch pedal.
Because i was at a remote island with no orthopaedist I spent 5 days going to work in my basketball shoes.
On day 3 a physicotherapist had a look on my foot and told me that I should see an orthopaedist. Meanwhile my foot had become quite swollen all around the ankle with some signs of haematoma around the heel area.
On day 4 the orthopaedist misdiagnosed it as an achilles strain because the Thompson's test still produced a reaction and he just told me to wear always my basketball shoe and put inside a silicon heel rise.
On day six I was at a hospital and the doctor put my foot in plaster slightly pointing down and told me to use crutches which I did on next day; on day 16 I had an MRI that showed complete rupture.
On day 18 I saw another orthopaedist that confirmed the rupture and told me that although most surgeons favor the operation he will first try natural healing with the foot inside a special removable boot (brace boot) set at 30 degrees plantarflexion that I also wear while sleeping and only take off to have a sitted shower with extra care. In a month I will have an ultrasound scan to check progress. He also gave me 2 months sick-leave from work.
That's all for now, I 'll try to update on my progress for other people that opt for the non-operative approach because I know how important it is when you sit at home to read on the web about your problem and see what others did. Good luck and sympathy on everyone with the same problem!

[Gramor]

Here I am 10 months after the injury for an update. Initially the magnetic scans had shown 3.5 to 4 cm gap in the tendon, yet I did not have a surgical operation.
It took 5 months to take off the brace boot. Since then I am able to walk, drive, bike-ride, at first not so well, now better but I still have a slight limping when I walk and I cannot lift myself on my toes using only the injured foot. Also I do not feel comfortable or confident to run. I made the mistake not to start physiotherapy early after taking off the brace boot and I was getting unflexible and stiff; but now after just two weeks of physiotherapy I see a huge improvement in flexibility. The physiotherapist said it is more difficult now to get rid of the scar tissue around the closed gap than it would have been if I went earlier.
I was stepping on the foot, always wearing the brace boot, right from the second month when I gradually phased down on using the crutches.
Good luck on anyone going through this injury, be patient and know that although it will be an uncomfortable period in your life, remember it is still not as serious as other injuries that are also a lot more painful for example injuries of the spine when nerves are pressed or injuries of the wrist etc.