Full Achilles rupture = surgery required

takayukih said:
https://www.reddit.com/r/10s/s/dgsIM34F70

Has anyone experienced a full Achilles rupture, went through surgery, and got back to playing at their usual level or higher? I could use some advice and tips on what you guys did to keep playing and competing
Click to expand...

Achilles tendon or calf muscle?

I was playing at net at a doubles game yesterday evening, casual one. About an hour into the game, I was just trying to move forward and felt my lower calf was hit by the ball from behind.Then I fell to the ground. I don't think I heard any popping sound. Immediately stopped. Been icing it...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
 
It's tougher on the mental side in my experience. After I torn mine and chat with others, heard a ton of people also did it. Don't know what level you were playing at. I'm just an intermediate level recreational player so it didn't ruin my tennis career at all. If you are 5.0+ frequent tournament player, then it could be very different.
here is another post sharing some of mine story.

Ruptured Right Achilles Tendon

Hey guys, I ruptured my right Achilles Tendon while sprinting to a drop shot during tennis competition on Saturday 22nd of July 2023. I had surgery to fix it on Thursday 10th of August 2023 and had my cast removed on Thursday 31st of August 2023. Has anyone successfully returned to...
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
 
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Jst21121 said:
In all honesty- how does a rupture like this happen? Is it extreme burst of speed + change of directions?
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It's a large strong tendon but the force it takes on is quite close to its limit. Often it doesn't take very dramatic move. I've heard of a case where a young woman in her early 30s fell off a bike and that was it. Another older lady trying to climb out of a ditch in the back yard and popped it. If the tendon is already lengthened in certain foot position called dorsiflexion, and then you load it with force, the rupture is most likely to happen.

I wonder how often it happens to people effectively stretch their calf muscles. The most typical cases are men around 40 playing sports without routine stretching.
 
johnmccabe said:
It's a large strong tendon but the force it takes on is quite close to its limit. Often it doesn't take very dramatic move. I've heard of a case where a young woman in her early 30s fell off a bike and that was it. Another older lady trying to climb out of a ditch in the back yard and popped it. If the tendon is already lengthened in certain foot position called dorsiflexion, and then you load it with force, the rupture is most likely to happen.

I wonder how often it happens to people effectively stretch their calf muscles. The most typical cases are men around 40 playing sports without routine stretching.
Click to expand...

Good to know...I don't stretch at all prior to any tennis matches/practice. I will incorporate it now.
 
johnmccabe said:
It's a large strong tendon but the force it takes on is quite close to its limit. Often it doesn't take very dramatic move. I've heard of a case where a young woman in her early 30s fell off a bike and that was it. Another older lady trying to climb out of a ditch in the back yard and popped it. If the tendon is already lengthened in certain foot position called dorsiflexion, and then you load it with force, the rupture is most likely to happen.

I wonder how often it happens to people effectively stretch their calf muscles. The most typical cases are men around 40 playing sports without routine stretching.
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Age 40 is when your tendons lose their elasticity and go dead.
 
travlerajm said:
Age 40 is when your tendons lose their elasticity and go dead.
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This isn't true. As you age, tendons will start to degrade, but the rate at which it happens is based on a lot of factors.

Masters track athletes show that the ability for tendons to take a lot of force production can continue for some people into their 70s. Genetics probably plays a role, but also the sedentary habits of most people is a major contributing factor.

I believe that sprint, jump, and impact training is important if you want to maintain tendon strength into and past middle age. The weight room isn't enough to do this, especially for the people who are doing steroids or HRT. Building up the muscles without also increasing tendon strength is a recipe for injury when doing athletic things. As you age recovery times and nutrition become more important in my opinion. To protect my tendons, I do depth jumps every week and try to make sure that I am getting enough in the way of collagen precursors in my diet.
 
Jst21121 said:
In all honesty- how does a rupture like this happen? Is it extreme burst of speed + change of directions?
Click to expand...

Don't know. But my guess is that there will typically (but not always) be signs of micro-tear tears on an MRI before the rupture event.
It will not just happen out of the blue, especially for rec player intensity levels.
Only one guy I have ever hit with told me had one. And he said it happened when he was routinely walking back to the baseline.
He was an older guy. So in his case, it suggests an RSI injury that was building up.
 
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takayukih said:
https://www.reddit.com/r/10s/s/dgsIM34F70

Has anyone experienced a full Achilles rupture, went through surgery, and got back to playing at their usual level or higher? I could use some advice and tips on what you guys did to keep playing and competing
Click to expand...

I ruptured mine in my late 30's....back to a good level and don't notice it at all a few years later. Probably took me 18 -24 months before I didn't notice it or think about it at all
 
My brother had a complete Achilles tendon rupture last year, and it was really tough. He had to undergo surgery to repair it, and the recovery was quite long and intense. In the first few days after the surgery, he couldn’t put his foot down and had to wear a special boot. After the procedure, he started a very rigorous physical therapy program, but with a lot of patience and hard work, he managed to regain his mobility.
Now, after a few months, he is almost fully recovered and feels even better than before. If anyone needs recommendations, he was treated at dallasfootanklesurgeon, a clinic in Dallas renowned for foot and ankle surgery with true professionals.
 
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I had an achilles detachment that required surgery (not a rupture).

8 weeks post-surgery = non-weight bearing. I was back on the court in 8 months after intense PT, strength training and stability exercises.

The return to court activity was more mental than anything. Making the cross-over step on a FH volley was the most difficult for me. It didn't cause pain but the mental confidence to make the step was difficult. As someone else mentioned, everything was back to normal (for an older 4.5 NTRP guy) in about 18-24 months.

OP- pay special attention to your footwear choices (stack height, cushioning in the achilles area) and your insole choices (if applicable).

You can make a full recovery but it takes effort.
 
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