I'm on my 2nd surgery because I have 50yrs walking on club feet. 1st surgery was cut bones and straighten toes with 9 metal brackets and 18+screws. 2nd surgery was re-enforcing the brackets, cutting the heel bone and straightening with 3 huge screws, but also has tendon lengthening.... that crap hurts! I've got chronic ongoing pain. The swelling and pain never ends.

My youngest son has your name, lol. I had Achilles surgery a month ago

Guys it gets better! I'm on week 6 and just went into my boot, still can't walk really but I can put some pressure on it without it hurting and at least I can stretch and move it since it's not in the cast anymore! Thoughts and prayers!

I like the Ukrainian livery om the UH-60

I was still in permanent cast up to 2.5 weeks. After that, the doctor put my in the aircast with three 1.5cm felt wedges. That's 4.5cm thick at the heel. I hated the permanent cast because I absolutely cannot walk or do much with toes pointed all the time. It's definitely a misery for the first 2 weeks. I hated the aircast boot initially for the next 2 weeks - from weeks 3 and 4. The boot was heavy and hot! My left foot would be just soaked and wet because the insulation just doesn't breathe! The worst thing is I had to wear the aircast to bed and pretty much everywhere I went. Imagine all the germs the bottom sole of the boot picks up from the ground, especially from outside! So, to finish up week 2 for 4 days, I just did what the doctor said and just keep the boot on at all times except for taking a shower. I did change out the sock that was used for the boot to a wool blend sock. Much better and cooler! First thing you really notice, as mentioned in the video, is all the muscles are just gone or are flabby! Second thing you will notice is that all the lower leg muscles don't respond. When I saw the doctor again near the end of week 5, he told me that muscle atrophy will occur right away. The brain will shut down all muscle functionalities for injuries like this to prevent the injured area from getting more injured. The doctor said building up all the muscles similar to the other leg might take up to 2 years! The first 2 days in the aircast, I was pretty tentative with putting weight on the injured leg. So, I still used crutches. Soon after, the heel settled inside the boot with the 4.5cm inserts, I was actually able to put full weight on the foot. By 3rd week, I was pretty comfortable walking without crutches with the aircast boot on - especially going up and down the stairs. Initially, I did not wear a jogging shoe on my right foot to even up the tilt to one side. I started doing that on my 4th week. The doctor did not prescribe me for any physio for weeks 3 to 5. He just told me to start putting weight on the foot through the aircast and do Dorsiflexion up to 90-degrees from neutral foot position to neutral and then to Plantar Flexion (full pointed toes down) to neutral - 3 sets of 10 of these 3 times a day. He said that the Dorsiflexion only up to 90-degrees and not past that so I don't overstretch the tendon. So, that's what I did in addition to inversion and eversion of the foot. This is pretty much all of week 3 is to build up strength just for left foot and getting the foot and ankle muscles activated. I also tried getting the calf muscles activated but that was very hard! Luckily, I work from home and I was able to try and force contraction on my left lower leg with the foot exercises. I finally did get a bit of the calf muscle activated by the end of week 3. Week 4 was interesting after getting most of the lower leg muscles activated and I can actually "walk" out of my aircast with limping. I can put full weight on my foot (actually 100% through the heel). What does that actually mean? You hear a lot about how putting full weight bearing on your foot and faster recovery. However, the foot is actually 3 parts: heel, arch to ball of foot, toes. Well, full weight bearing on the foot means equal weight distribution on the whole foot or from heel to toes in one motion as your walk. It also means full weight bearing standing on one foot, which can be supported by the heel and/or by the ball of the foot to the toes. All the muscles in the foot to the achilles tendon up to the shin and calf - these all work together for balance and heel raises. Well, in week 4, that's not even there yet. I couldn't even do heel raises no matter how much I tried. What I did to fast track that was to sit at the top of my staircase, with my back again the wall and my left foot placed at an angle so that the ball of the foot pushes against the bannister post. I angled the foot so that the ankle is at the neutral position with knee bent. So, the injured foot is not at the right angle Dorsiflexion or plantar flexion states. The pushes to the ball and toes will activate a lot of muscles in the lower leg and foot. I did this multiple times a day for a week and noticed great improvements. Initially, I did feel soreness. I eased off when there is pain or discomfort. After a week, my left foot can do partial weight bearing with some heel raises, especially seated heel raises. The end of 4th week, I tried getting onto my recumbent exercise bike to see if I can move my ankles freely without over flexing the Dorsiflexion state of the foot. The first try was an absolute no go as the ankles and foot couldn't take it. So, I had to ice it and took a couple of ibuprofen to take the swelling down. I just rested for a day before trying the cycling again. The second time was way better and I did 5 minutes of easy spinning in the morning. I was feeling pretty good. So, I took another 5 minute spin session in the evening. So, week 4 was just continue to build on the calf muscles and trying to increase strength with heel raises to put more weight bearing on the ball of the foot. Mid 4th week was going great and I increase my spin session to 15 minutes with intervals of harder resistance - as much as the left foot can take without pain and easing off when there is some discomfort. I did this every day for the 4th week into the 5th week. Just 2 days before going see the doctor, I went downstairs without my boot on to open my front door to let in some cool morning air. I took the first step on my left injured foot and it slipped on the carpet and the foot jammed onto the hardwood floor. I was in pain for 30 seconds where the tendon is rejoined. I just rested the injured leg and let the foot dangle in neutral position until the pain dissipated after 30 seconds. I thought the tendon tore again. So, I just did some quick pinch test on the calf muscles and the foot responded. Phew! Close call! So, I put my boot back on when I need to walk and had to ice the swelling the whole day. So, the last part of week 5 was just taking it easy. Ending week 5, I did more seated heel raises, especially with a 35lb dumbbell with added body weight overtop. I believe the total weight is around 60-70lbs. This is less than half my body weight. The bike spin also increased in resistance for the duration of 15 minutes. Things are looking good. The doctor also finally prescribed me for physio and to remove one insert starting in week 6 (today on July 1st!!!) and removing another insert every 5 days until I'm flat footed inside the boot. Again, for those thinking about full weight bearing, weight bearing will be 50%-100% only on the heel of the injured foot until the heel can be lifted on the injured leg. This won't happen until probably around 10-15 weeks if you're lucky. The main thing to note at 2-8 weeks is not to flex the foot past 90-degrees in the Dorsiflexion state because you don't want the achilles tendon to be overstretched or ruptured again. Overstretching will result in not developing the necessary leg (calf) muscles and you'll likely need surgery to correct the stretched tendon, which also means restarting the whole process. This is why the doctor says to walk in the boot with inserts and the weaning starts at around 6 weeks to around 8-9 weeks. Some other words of advice: - Because the boot with the inserts raises the height of the injured leg, it's hard to walk with the boot that 5" or more taller on one side. To combat this, I did 2 things: 1) I wore a jogging shoe on my other foot. Why jogging shoes - it's because they have a higher heals than other types of athletic shoes. Joggers tend to run with more impact on the heels. 2) Bend your knee when walking with the boot and roll from heel to toe. Then, when you can support more of the body weight, roll from middle part of the boot sole to the tip. This will help strengthen more of the lower muscles. Make sure to pump the boot up to snug before doing this to nestle the achilles tendon and the ankles. By doing this, you will relieve the pain and pressure off of the heel. I mentioned this before about full weight bearing. Yes, you can take the full weight bearing in or out of the boot once your tendon has rejoined. However, all that weight is actually on the heel and not in the forefront of the foot. I can stand on a fully ruptured achilles on the heel but my point is that the sooner you can put full weight bearing on the front of your foot instead of the heel, the sooner you'll regain balance and full motion for walking, running, jumping, etc... Learn to walk in the boot with legs bent as it provides a more natural way of walking in addition to reduce the height difference and lean onto the other leg. Bending the knee while walking also reduces knee pains. The knee takes on way more pressure when it's straight down at all times. - Don't overdo any exercises and always be weary of overstretching the achilles tendon. Like I said in Evan's first video, slow and steady wins the race. Know your limits and back off on any signs of discomfort but don't get discouraged. Like any sport, rest is always necessary to heal. Ice and Ibuprofen can be your best short term friend. - Doing the toe exercises with foot inversion and eversion as early as possible. It really helps in activating some of the major muscles on the leg. Just don't exceed 90-degrees on the Dorsiflexion exercises.

Interesting that the ER/ED set your foot incorrectly. I did mine 5 days ago and I overheard them say that they were going to put an “equinus block” on to set the toes pointing down. Might be worth remembering if you read this before you get such an injury (hope you don’t ever need it though!!) (This was UK though)

I have had both achillies rupture, both times playing squash. One surgical, one by natural healing. The first was in the mid 80's. I did not know what it was when it happened, just thought someone dropped something from the gallery and it hit the back of my leg. I went and saw the physio on the Monday, who then gave me a few days of ultrasound treatment! After not responding much she suggested I go to the AE department. 2 seconds in the doctors room and a hammer under the kneecap with no twitch, he said it was a rupture! So 6 days after it happened I went in for surgery. The tendon had turned to mush and the surgeon had a bit of difficulty in pulling the tendon and muscles down enough as he had to overlap the tendon so he could sew it together in good meat (not mush). I came out with a plaster cast from toe to thigh for 3 weeks and then a cast from toe to knee for about 6 weeks, I think. The surgery was necessary because I was using it for 6 days and the length of time before I went in for surgery. He reckoned it would never break again! which it didn't. The second one ruptured 10 years later, again playing squash. This time, straight to the after hours doctor who strapped it so it would move. And then to the AE the next day. This was a Thursday and although I wanted surgery, there were no surgeons available until after the weekend. I just thought that if they sewed it together it would be stronger. But having no choice, the doctor pointed the toe down as did Evans and put me in a toe to knee cast. Saw the orthopaedic surgeon the following week. He left it in the cast for a few weeks after which he then gave me the moon boot which was great as you can take it on and off, have showers etc. After the moon boot, he sent me to the orthotics department where they elevated the sole of one of my sneakers by about 20mm. So now I was in sneakers and walking around, one elevated and one normal. Another progression. They reduced this elevated sole to half after another 3-4 weeks. Rehab took a while for both although for the first one I was young and invincible and did no rehab. They have both stand-ed the test of time. No problem with either. I was playing squash again. In fact I won the club champs in my late 40's and played in masters tournaments, both regionally and nationally until I needed both hips replaced in my 60's. I am now in my 70's, playing tennis and pickleball and still the odd game of squash. All I can say is don't give up, do the rehab and you will be back to normal activities and doing whatever you want to do without any disadvantage.

Thanks so much for this video. I experienced the same achilles rupture similar to what you had just almost 4 weeks ago (May 20, 2024). Mine is on the left foot, which apparently is my strong leg. So currently, I'll be going into the 4th week of recovery. Here are my experiences of my ruptured achilles tendon. When it occurred, I was actually running from start trying to get to my car in a hurry. As I pushed off on the left foot and leaned forward, the tendon must of snapped as I didn't hear anything (no popping sound). My whole body was in full tilt forward and I just fell forward really hard. My hands (fingers and palms) were totally scraped and bloodied. Long story short, I had to hop to my car as I thought I had twisted my ankle. However, since my hands were hurting so badly, I didn't actually feel any pain on my left foot. My car door and steering wheel were just smeared with blood that it did look like a crime scene LOL. My car was a stick shift. So, to drive home, it was very difficult since I couldn't flex my foot to engage the clutch fully to start the car let alone push down to get the flywheel to allow shift. It took me a few minutes to figure out that I needed to use only my left heel to get the clutch down enough to engage the shifting. I got home and tested out putting some weight on the left foot - nope - almost fell flat on my face! In terms of pain and swelling - the pain wasn't as much as my hands but it was uncomfortable when I started to rest on my couch. Ibuprofen is truly a wonder drug. I popped in 400mg (2-regular strength) pills - pain was gone within 15 minutes. There was no swelling either. I got my wife to drive me to emergency an hour later. The nurse told me my biking season was pretty much over! I kind of went into depression as I was told this will be AT LEAST 6 months of recovery and rehab if I'm lucky. The first thing the doctor and nurse did that first night was to put my left foot in a permanent fiberglass cast. It's not plaster any more but fiberglass strips that when soaked in water, will be like cloth. When the fiberglass mesh is dried, it hardens. My toes are pointed out in what's called plantar flexion so that the tendon will rejoin. What the nurse said was to point my toes as much as possible and make sure to wiggle the toes from time to time for the first two weeks. As for cleanliness, I had to bag the leg to prevent getting the cast from getting wet. The fiberglass cast can get wet but the bandages underneath cannot get soaked as it'll be harder to dry, which may cause skin irritations. After the first week, I can see my calf muscles starting to go down a bit. On my second week, I did notice I have lost quite of bit of muscle mass already and the cast was getting a bit loose at times and I can wiggle the heel a bit while pointing my toes more on the plantar flexion. And yes, my calf muscles looked exactly like yours - just a hanging loose flap that doesn't really have any twitch and unresponsive! For anyone with a two story house where your bedroom is upstairs like mine, it's either you'll make your bedroom downstairs or stay only upstairs or do what I did - learn to go up and downstairs with a permanent cast with the toes pointed down. It's impossible to walk with a cast like that since I'm on tippy toes with he cast and I pretty much have to be on tippy toes with my good foot to stay even. I tried to put pressure on my tippy toes like a ballerina - yeah, don't try it, especially going down the stairs. What I did was I had to go on my knees at the top of the stairs. Then, use my good foot to go down two steps. Put my knee with the cast down while holding onto the banister. It works. going up as well. It works out the good leg. Once you get to the top, you'll need to go on both knees at the top of the stairs and use the top banister post as leverage to get up. Just make sure you don't fall back. I always had my crutches on the opposite side leaning against the wall. At the bottom of the stairs, I have a wheelchair. I used it until I can walk with the air-cast boot. That's pretty much all I did for 2.5 weeks until I saw the specialist. He put me into an air-cast boot, similar to what you had but the boot can be pumped up to support weight (more on this later). The doctor gave me a sheet of paper that is exactly the same as what you have for the weeks of healing and therapy. For the air-cast boot, I had 3 felt inserts - each one being around 1cm thick at the heal. So, total of 3cm to raise the heal up in the boot. The boot is heavy and very uncomfortable, especially with the thick sock and the 3cm heal. The whole thing was bloody hot! Right away after getting the permanent cast off to having the air-cast boot, my whole lower leg swelled up and the areas that felt uncomfortable were the ankles, the area where the tendons overlapped on healing, and right at the top of the calf muscles where the leg bent. Raising the leg helps. I also had to sleep with the cast on the whole night as specified by the doctor and on that recovery sheet. Sleeping with the cast on was just so awkard. The leg was just super hot and sweaty. The next day, the pain behind my knee was so bad, I did have to take an ibuprofen. Again, that was my best friend as it removed any pain and swelling for a good 12 hours. What's good about the air-cast boot is that I can take it off and start to exercise my foot and calf muscles. Also, I replaced the thick hospital sock with a wool blend sock that breathes better and to prevent odor buildup. It's still warm but way better than having my foot being totally sweaty all the time! Anyway, the doctor recommended that I do some dorsiflexion with my foot to stretch the healing tendon - 90-degree, then back to neutral and then to plantar flexion. So, I've been doing this daily. So, now this is leading up to the 4th week. Each day, I do the dorsiflexion foot/toe raises at least 3 times a day (I try to do as much of this stretching to 90-degrees as I can and not going too much past it. I can really feel how tight the healing achilles tendon is). Right now with 3 days away from the start of 4th week, I can start to put full weight on my left heel. I also do resistance training by trying to raise my left heel up (using gravity while sitting down). Like what you said about listening to your body and knowing when to stop, I won't push past the point of the first sign of discomfort. Like you, I don't want to go through re-rupturing the tendon and starting all over again. Sometimes, the back of my knee feels like the calf muscles are having varicose veins. If the pain is unbearable even when raising and resting my leg up, I will pop in 400mg of Ibuprofen. But I've only had to take that miracle NSAID only a handful of times during this past 4 weeks. As for walking and taking the full weight-bearing, this is where the air-cast boot comes into its full usefulness. The boot has a pump with 3 position air chambers - one on either side of the ankles and one directly behind the lower calf on two sides of the tendon. So, what I did is to pump it up following the 1-2-3 markings on the boot after tightening the velco straps. Pump 5 times for 1 and 2 to feel the bulge on both sides of my ankles. Then, pump up #3 to fill out the back side of the boot. Then, dial back to #2 to pump up another 5 times. Then, dial to #1 and do the same. Dial to #3 to feel the boot being snug. I do this standing up while putting full pressure on my heel with the heel pressing down on those 3 inserts inside the boot. If I feel any snag on my tendon when I walk, I release all the air out and re-pump again until I feel comfortable walking without any discomfort. It feels weird at first but the air pressures help relief a bit of the muscle pains. This actually helped reformed the saggy calf muscles, believe it or not. I tried to activate muscles on my left leg by comparing to what I can do with my right foot and lower right calf muscles. There's also the dorsal tendon that contract in conjunction with the achilles tendon. So, whatever I saw on the other good leg and foot, I try to do the same to some extent on the healing leg. Initially when I first took my air-cast boot off the first time, none of the tendons and muscles responded. However, you can actually activate them with different angles or with different pressures to the ball of the toes. It took about a day or so to get some of the muscles to activate. Since I learned how to angle my foot and toes when I used to be in Tae Kwon Do, I point my toes up automatically or straighten them when for different types of kicks. Doing those toe movements and angling the foot helps to activate the different tendons and muscles to help the major ones to do the same. You'll feel it. For building up the strength, I'm just taking it day by day and I do feel the leg getting stronger. I stress out the muscles as much as I can but not past the point of pain. I definitely took walking on my feet for granted until I lost that ability with this injury. Now walking on an air-cast boot with full weight bearing without crutches is a major milestone. However, there's a saying that one nurse pointed out as I left the hospital with the air-cast in that second week - "slow and steady wins the race". This is a long process as you have said. I truly thank you for sharing this video, Evan. There are some things you've shown in the video that I'll also try. Hope this will help others as well but like what you said, listen to your body and don't overdo things to try and speed up the process. Rupturing the tendon again means back to square one. I will post in your other videos as I'm progressing.

Anybody sufferig from insomnia due to this trauma?

I couldn’t believed I am watching this video from 8 years ago!! Thank you!!! I had surgery and doing the reps for your video

i ruptured my achilles last night. So just watching all of these other people’s stories

Man, you’re amazing!! Also the Brampton, brilliant!! Love those bikes!

Amazingly information. Im grateful for you taking the time to share. I have Faith that i will go non surgical and will recover well

Hi, Evan. Thank you very much for documenting your experience. I have a question for you. This comes from a person that is 44 years old an ruptured his achilles tendon 7 days ago. Don't worry, I took care of it since day 2, in part thanks to your videos. I have to make the decision to go op or non-op. Do you regret your decision to choose non-op, after 7 years of having posted this last video? What would you recommend from your experience, personally? Thank you kindly for your help.

Anyone who’s dealing with this knows how painful this is, I’m here for you. I am sorry you’re dealing with this and I pray for your earliest healthiest recovery . I know the pain seems unimaginable. You’ll feel better each day including a new day tomorrow . Keep going! You got this.

Hi Evan. Your videos are still helping and encouraging other people. Thank you for sharing and documenting your journey. 👍

Apart from excercise do you apply any madicine or oil?

I am n week 14 now it's tuff but still going my segury was 2february

Have you ever taken a flouroquinolone?

Rehab during week 2 is insanely early

Evan, it sounds like you did NOT have a complete rupture, hence your ability to heal without surgery. I had a complete rupture (following the use of Levaquin antibiotic for my appendectomy). Do not use if you're either over 65 or have been on steroids!. It was so much a complete rupture so that there was a 4" gap, and I needed a donor Achilles tendon tissue to be grafted, followed by cast-wearing, wheelchair, no weight bearing for about a month, then slow transition to wearing a brace and walking with a walker. Two and a half years later, I still walk funny, and have peripheral neurophaty - numbness, tingling, and occasional toe spasms. I'm glad for you that your course of recovery is easier, but it may be different for each of us. I will watch your other videos. Thanks.

Too late now, but the iwalk 3.0 was a life saver. Day after the repture and I could do 95% of my normal daily tasks.

Great video Evan , I also went non surgical . I find showering most precarious and walking up stairs

Thanks a lot for putting all these videos together Evan, really helpful and appreciated !

Thanks a lot for all the information Evan, super useful video !

Hi, Evan! Thank you so much for good info and a lot of wise perspectives on the journey towards recovery. I tore my twndon tree weeks ago efter a comback to fighting, living in Sweden and in my 50is. Regards Amadeo

Thanks for your experience. Very happy for your recovery and advice. I am on my journey, 12 weeks, following some of your recommendations.

Thanks Evan, your videos are still helping. I am 12 week post rupture non surgical care. I still have edema around ankles at the end of day goes away with foot elevation overnight. what was your experience if can recall.

2 weeks in and it’s the worst.. hating the crutches.. thank you for the video!! Very informative! Just bought a shower chair!

Thank you

I want to start by thanking you Evan.You have given me hope.I ruptured my achilles playing volleyball.I was in denial thinking i could self heal with out seeing a med. Professional.I went to a same day clinic. They gave me a boot but no wedges.I haven,t seen the orthopedic spcialist yet.This is my first week.You have been going through the same experiences as me.Good luck in your road to recovery. God bless.

true brother appreciate it 🙏🏾

Were you able to drive by removing your foot off walk-in cast? How about showering?

Hello Evan, so it took you 2 weeks from rupture to PT? Cast only stayed on your foot for 2 weeks?

When it first happened were you able to move your foot forward and backwards? Dr saying its a sprain but i think its worse

I went through two useless doctors...the third had me operated on 12 hours after getting the MRI. Did everything wrong for two weks till then.

Thank you so much for this video…. My orthopedic suggested surgery right away. and no other options and they chose a non-surgical route. Thank you for your video.

Was your heel numb and prickly at this stage? I'm at 10.5 weeks and still can't feel about an inch of my heel! It's the most annoying part!

I am two weeks in, it’s my second rodeo after a first rupture in 2015! I am so glad i came across your videos, it’s nice to have this information!!

i had the same injury n i ddnt have a proper protocol i thought its something minor n i will get better as time goes but i see now that my calf is not growing when am training so i dnt what to do, do i need to go for surgery or not?

No that was so helpful Evan. Ty

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVAN THIS REALLY HELP ME ALOT ❤

I'm writing this again because I got a "returned error" the first time I wrote it. I recently strained my Achilles tendon, I've done that many times before. It's not torn, there is no bruising, just swelling, stiffness, and pain. I recently began taking R Lipoic Acid, 300 mg. It is a nutrient that helps with general healing. 600 mg was the recommended dose, but the pills are not cheap, 300 mg is what I can afford. R Lipoic Acid is not a pain reliever med, but it has been very effective at relieving the pain in my tendon for the day. My strain has been healing much faster than my previous injuries. I learned about R Lipoic Acid in a video about its general healing properties, by Keto coach, Dr. Berg, here on KZbin. R is the natural form, S and L are manufactured forms and not recommended.

Ruptured my achillles tendon 6 weeks back and I fully subscribe to the advice given in this video incl. (but not limited to) the first 2 weeks on crutches - personal logistics (coffee, clothing, food ..) becomes extremely tricky. At this point I am in a walker boot with only a single splint to go before re-training and what a pleasure it is to move around (I even took my bicycle for a spin wearing the boot but don't tell anyone)

I'm at this exact stage rn with a partial tear... But I've still got pins and needles in my heal!

Week 5 boot. When will the doctor give me physical therapy??? Swelling comes and goes.

Thanks Bruce.❤

Thank you so much. It is so nice just to hear Somebody Else. That's going through it and how it's working, thanks again.

Try carrying a fetus ( twins, triplets, etc. ) around for 9 months.

Thank you Evan 🙏