Achilles Tendon Recovery #7-3 years

[@ciprianp1178]

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

[@keithgerrard5350]

Hi Evan, thanks for these videos. One year anniversary of my injury. Your videos helped my recovery. Sincere thanks

[@edhdez22]

Hey Evan! Good to hear from you. 3 years and re-rupture into it I feel close to 100%, I don't even think about the injury anymore, can do pretty much everything I used to including playing soccer. I will be posting an update now, thanks for the inspiration.

[@AskewTube]

hey bro ,how you did that 😩😩😩!!! i'm in my 5 weeks non 😔😔

[@sytrp]

Hi Evan, I've watched all your videos on Achilles Tendon Recovery and it's very informative. I'm on my 17 weeks now non-surgical. I just want to thank you for sharing your videos because it helps me a lot. 1

[@Ilyaselho]

Thank you Evan for such precious advices .I'm the 5 week non-op recovery and all your advices worked well .Can't Thank you Enough .

[@johnnyo6416]

How did your recovery go? I’m just about week 7 non op. Any regrets in not getting surgery?

[@Artbwoy]

God bless your soul, exactly two years and one week ago i found your page one the day i was told to do surgery. My rupture was about a week and a half old in a splint cast. I followed your videos and it worked out for me. It took discipline and focus and your persona and direction helped me tremendously. I don't think a month has passed since that i don't talk about your page. Earlier this year i went back to coaching U12 soccer and even played the coach v referees match. My only meds was a natural herb called Schisandra Berry power/drops. Its an super internal healer and mood control herb. Thanks a million. I too have slacked off a bit with the exercises, however i restarted spending 15 mins four times a week on the treadmill and stair climber to help with my calm muscles. I feel a lil sore when i go more than 20 minutes, so i don't overdo it. A friend of mine did the surgery route 6 months prior and she is still struggling today with stiffness. Once again thank you for everything Evan, you've been a true blessing in my life.

[@ejbvmi]

Thanks very much, Roy. I am glad to hear that posting these videos helped with your initial decision and some of your recovery. I was really frustrated right after the injury with all the conflicting information out there, and was hopeful that posting might help someone have a slightly easier time of it. A few other folks have posted about the benefits of Schisandra, but I never did take it. I may have to look into it, since it appears that I am not getting any younger. ;-) Cheers!

[@RobertHeiduk]

Evan, invaluable insights, thank you so much for your consistency. Your work gives hope and motivation for many people. Real hero. Brave man. God bless you.

[@andyking6061]

Thanks again for all these videos….it’s reassuring to see you’re in a good place, but also have stated it took a while to get there. I think I’ll be in the “slowly but surely” camp for my recovery when my boot comes off tomorrow

[@nicz8334]

Thank you, Evan. I am now in week 2 after my right Archilles tendon rupture and I took the surgical route. Appreciate you sharing the recovery processes with us. Take care!

[@ivangr3470]

Like to see you are doing great! Broke my Achilles 1 year and a half ago and your videos were among the ones I studied to take the decision not to do surgery, I even started my own KZbin channel documenting my recovery. So far so good, from month 8 of recovery I was able to start running again. thanks for what you do.

[@gueles10]

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

[@sirira]

Evan, Thanks for sharing. Came to this video right now because im suffering my own achilles injury.

[@moedabomb7994]

Thank you Evan. Really...Thanks

[@gregoryschlitter9572]

Evan, I’m 2 years post injury. Your vids have been a big help to me. I tried the nonop protocol, but muscle retracted too much to reattach, so I eventually had surgery. 2 years later, I have soreness on outside tendon, weakness, and less mass. Will follow with pt...just hoping to help some of your subscribers.

[@MrOscillot]

Looking good, Evan! Your experience mirrors mine, though I did the surgery. Glad to see that all is well with you - thanks for the update!

[@fatalradius]

If this happened to me I would also do the surgery. Recovery is much quicker I hear. Although I find it pretty amazing that an Achilles tendon can heal on its own.

[@mortenjacobsen2472]

VICTORY!!! I can't wait till I get there. Thanks again

[@tedjohnson64]

Great long-term followup report, thanks for sharing!

[@jaysanchez9382]

thank you so much for sharing.. its been 2 yrs since i got the injury and your videos helped me a lot.. once again thank you sir.

[@vhongadagido]

Hi bro! Are you a Filipino? Its also my 2 yrs. since my injury last 2017. I also did the non-surgical method. I'm back in playing basketball may around a year after the injury but I'm worried cause I might re-injured my achilles. Are you back to your normal physical activities? I feel some pain in my heel bone where the achilles tendon attached after I playing basketball, should I worry?

[@hansen370]

I tore my right side 2018, no surgery! Recovery can be done with a boot!!!

[@somehappenings246]

Thanks for all of this Did mine two years ago Non surgical Large muscles came back well,... muscle atrophy in small muscles in feet etc and tendons in foot need work Over all muscle balance and tendon in lower leg still a process. Always wear good shoes, on feet all day But I walk more than 10 km each day, hike, back pack, bike,... You were a inspiration for me getting here So thanks again

[@ejbvmi]

I totally agree about the foot being one of the more challenging aspect of getting back to normal. I hit a plateau of 'good enough' and backed off with the deliberate effort to build back that foot strength and balance, so it took longer than it could have for me. I'm glad that you are back out there!

[@Himbe06]

Thanks for the update. Your journey has been an inspiration to me.

[@martinjefferies666]

Hi Evan. First, a huge thanks for the time and effort you put into making this really useful series of posts about your progression from the injury. I tore mine a few days ago and have the boot but won't get an ultrasound/MRI/consultation till next week (that's the UK NHS for you!) but I'm already full weight bearing so I think I got of lightly compared to you. I'm a physical therapist in UK and have a question. You mentioned all your trips to your therapist and all the exercises you were doing but I'm pretty sure you didn't mention how much if any soft tissue work was actually done by your therapist. My thinking (and 23-years experience) says that post acute, soft tissue work and joint mobilising (foot and ankle) will speedup recovery nd may have negated a lot of the long term functional/stability issues you had. Would be very interested to know how much if any you had and your thoughts on whether this helped and if more would have speeded things up. Thanks again for all the stuff you posted, far more useful than anything/everything else I've crammed into my head in the last few days.

[@alleyo4651]

Hi Evan been watching your vids and it helps me a lot.

[@barriekinnaird6495]

Hi Evan, Great to see a 3 yr update on your progress and all being back to normal. My doubles achilles snap is all fine now as well and im actually fitter on the mtb than before. However my mind still doesnt let me do any explosive movements so sports involving jumping are a no go lols. Agree fully with the underside of foot comments - 1st year was agony to walk barefooted or stand still for any length of time - can only describe it like walking over sharp stones. My calfs have never really recovered size wise but having snapped the 2 at the same time atlesst i have a matching pair lols. All the best for the future. Cheers Barrie

[@ejbvmi]

I can't imagine having to contend with rupturing both at the same time, but I'm glad to hear that you are back on the bike and fit again. Too funny about your silver lining "matching pair"... great, positive attitude!

[@chefawan2663]

Evan. Now its almost 11 months after my tendonitis rapture which has healed now but I am facing 3 problems. Stiffness of the tendon bone, pain behind the ankle and the numbness in the heal. I cannot put more load on my toe and have to walk by putting pressure on my heal. During my job a have to walk a lot every day and tk keep on moving i have to take some pain killer tablets. I have tried to get the good quality shoes but I am still looking to get more suitable shoes. Your videos are very supportive and motivational to me. Goog luck.

[@ejbvmi]

I hope that your condition improves very soon. Well-cushioned shoes should help. Hang in there, and it will get better!

[@guanleo9524]

Thank you for sharing. I’ve been reading and looking up for effective treatment of Achilles tendinitis. I’m 68 yrs and fairly active. Was medically diagnosed with Achilles enthesopathy on one foot. It swells up every 10 days for the past 6-8 months and I’m kinda worried of permanent atrophy and scarring at the insertion joint and surrounding tissues. I realised I should rest the area and abstain from weight bearing walking until it is almost pain free before I recommit to exercise to strengthening the tendon /ligament & surrounding tissues. I hope this strategy works because the acute pain kept returning on a regular basis which got me worried! I unable to walk for 4-5 days during each episode.

[@beckylv123]

Evan, Thank you for saying you were GLAD you did not do surgery. I tore my Achilles Tendon only two weeks ago and literally the night before surgery, after watching and reading blogs of people previously gone through this kind of injury I decided not to do the surgery. I have caught a lot of backlash from my family and friends but I just couldn't see that big of difference in the recovery and outcome to go through all the pain and expense of a surgery which had it own set of cons. Infection, nerve damage and from what I learned only 10% more risk of re-injury than if I had done surgery. It was like chances of re-injury with surgery 4% and 14% without. First to me, those are VERY LOW odds of re-injury anyway. I will be getting a cast tomorrow and the dr said I would be in that for 6-8 weeks then a boot. I, like you am finding out that uses the crutches make even the simplest of things difficult as far as picking things up or just moving around. This is my first injury like this and I know it will be a long recovery. One question I would like to ask is do you have a limp at year 3? That was one of my concerns with not doing the surgery was the Dr. said if it did not grow back properly I could be left with a limp. Anyway, glad to see you are feeling good about things and I guess I will begin this long recovery period with the hopes it will all turn out fine. :)

[@ejbvmi]

Becky, I'm sorry that I didn't see your comment when you posted it. How is your recovery coming along? At year 3, I was essentially back to a normal stride without any limp, and the balance and foot strength concerns that took a long time to iron out were resolved. I hope that your recovery is tracking well.

[@ninobrown8961]

Thanks

[@financialadvisor1000]

I tore my Achilles and went non surgical. 11 months later walking into Starbucks it reruptured. Went surgical and it’s been completely different. It just feels stronger now. Also, scar tissue is the enemy. So when they put the tendon back together surgically, there’s less scar tissue on the actual moving tendon. Maybe there’s some exterior scar tissue but when you go non surgical, it’s basically mended together through scar tissue. That’s not good in terms of he tendon functioning as close to normal as possible. Get the surgery, minimize scar tissue and get back to weight bearing and athletics with a faster return. Put me down for pro-surgery.

[@NeloAngelo89]

AliveAgain Very true, i had surgery 3 weeks ago, the doctor told me to rest for 3 more weeks then he will set me up for surgery. DId you try to weight bare as tolerable as soon as possible or did you rest it for 5-6 weeks after surgery?

[@jamesfuduric5313]

Hi Evan. Thanks for your videos. I’m 8 months post rupture nonsurgical route. Ruptured playing racquetball at age 71. Doing fairly well and back to walking up hills and a little running, biking and elliptical. Calf strength about 60% of good leg. My question is whether you developed any knee pain on your injured side as you increased your exercise? Never had that before even running marathons.

[@ejbvmi]

The imbalance in my stride affected my knees a little in the very short term, but my hip was my real problem area. I really wanted to get active again, but did not realize how off my running dynamics were, and how much that would affect my joints. The hip on my injured side took more running impact while running than pre-injury, and that led to some long-term issues that have caused me to shift mostly to cycling and swimming. I love running, but my hips no longer tolerate it as well as they did before this injury. I hope that you are doing better!

[@PK-rf4hq]

Hi Evan. Thanks for all your videos. I just ruptured my Achilles yesterday and they put me in a boot but unfortunately I can’t even get the MRI until Tuesday. In the meantime I would like to set my foot to the right position because I would like to go the non operative route. Any advice on how many centimeters of padding I can put below my hill to get to the right flexation degree?

[@antoniolaveglia3873]

Hey Evan, thanks for all the videos, they really helped me with non op. Any tips on how to get dorsiflexion and balance back. I’m 5 months out and dorsiflexion could be better. What kinds of stretching did you do? Also, I work at a hospital and do rounds that involves lots of standing. Tips for good sneakers you suggest? Exact brand and shoe. Thanks a bunch

[@ejbvmi]

Apologies for taking forever to reply. I don't track KZbin like I used to. If your experience has been anything like mine, your foot may still not be 100% back to normal. I find that my Achilles is fine now (maybe just a slight bit of tension at the dorsiflexion extreme), but that the sole of my foot is always waiting to bark at me. Skechers memory foam shoes are helpful, and I have some Salomon boots that are also very good. Generally, though, it has been about avoiding cushion-less shoes, finding ones that prevent pressure points on the sole of my foot, and focusing on building the sole muscles with towel drills and balanced walking. I hope that you have all that behind you, but if not... I hope these words are of some use.

[@lorolsson7970]

Hello Evan ... I m now 4 and 1/2 months after full Achilles tendon rupture....April 10, 2019....to August 30, 2019. I m on the normal weight bearing... non-surgical protocol as well. I m just about walking normally....but still have some issues with stairs and single heel lifts... I can hike all day... just did a 10 miler up at elevation. Wondering now if I can get the thickness/scar tissue reduced by some adjunct physical protocol!???... thanks for ALL your video info!

[@alphajagtuning]

Hi Evan ! Thanks for the update! I'm at 2 years after my rapture which happened during beach volleyball. went non surgical route. During the recovery about 2 month in, Dr told me healing doesn't look too good and it might not ever fully recover. I decided to stick with non surgical . Now two years in I can walk totally normal and can run at medium speed. I do play competitive beach volleyball two , three times per week and this is where the foot deficiency is noticable. I have never been able to recover full strength yet and can not do a single heel raise , but I'm. Getting to the point where I can lift about 70% of my weight. How are you heel raises in comparison?

[@ejbvmi]

Sorry that I have not been keeping up with comments. I also felt and saw asymmetry between the injured and uninjured leg for a long time. In my case, it was because I was complacent about "good enough" and did not put in the work to really focus on building that injured leg back up. I'm 7 years post-injury, and even though there is a small difference in calf circumference, the imbalance is no longer obvious. With disciplined work on building that leg and foot back to their former selves, I'm sure you either have or will be much faster.

[@vividleaky8678]

I'm not injured but when I squeeze my achilles if feels weird

[@shadhenderson6000]

Hey Evan, I've just begun my journey of recovery. what is your view on blood thinners? Not currently taking any but wondering if it's necessary. Did you take any? thanks

[@ejbvmi]

I never took any. I would not go so far as saying that I am against that precaution, but felt it was a low enough risk.

[@vhongadagido]

Hi Evan. Its my 2 yrs. since my injury last 2017. I'm back in playing basketball may around a year after the injury but I'm worried cause I might re-injured my achilles. I feel some pain in my heel bone where the achilles tendon attached after I playing basketball, should I worry?

[@nicholaswells7672]

Hey Evan, how long did it take for your achilles gap to fill in/refill? I'm at 8 weeks post rupture and the gap is still present, though seems to be steadily filling.

[@ejbvmi]

I just saw this. Apologies for the slow response. I was told that it was mostly healed after a few weeks, but still vulnerable for a few months. After I went back into two shoes, I felt twinges in the tendon if I overdid it, and I took that as a hint to give it a rest. I hope that you are doing well with your own recovery!

[@tiehnporesources7078]

What type or brand of ankle brace do you recommend post rehab

[@JakDac]

Expat in OZ on week 9

[@helloiamcharlie5801]

u only had a partial tear right?

[@gladiatortruckreviews]

Hello Evan, I am 6 weeks into my Non operative rupture. I will be non weight bearing for a total of full 12 weeks. My rupture was 2.6 CM (1 inch). I have pushed for early weight bearing but my Ortho won’t agree. I am 24 years old, very active and tore mine playing basketball. Any tips to prevent a re rupture ?

[@EddyG0rdo]

Jay Gill how are you doing now?

[@ejbvmi]

Apologies for not seeing your question sooner. I hope that your recovery has proceeded well!

[@nadeelzahid19]

Did you take any blood thinners? Whilst in the cast/boot?

[@ejbvmi]

I did not.

[@gabbygonzaga552]

was your tear a complete retracted tear? Did it reattach without surgery?

[@ejbvmi]

It was a complete rupture, and healed completely without surgery. My doc used an analogy of spaghetti noodles that had been bound together in a bundle. The rupture was not a cut through the bundle. Instead, the rupture caused the noodles to lose adhesion and slide away from one another. Placing the foot in a boot toe-down allowed the strands to overlap and heal back together at the same length as pre-injury. I hope that your own recovery is going well!

[@RolandB514]

Evan need a update