Achilles Tendon Rupture

[cotton]

Can you say "sucks big time?' With ski season just getting underway I ruptured my Achilles yesterday going into 3 ball. Doc says surgery, a cast for 6 weeks, then 3 to 6 months to heal. Anybody here been through this and if so, how long was it before you skied again?

[swc5150]

That sucks!! My buddy ruptured his simply doing a deep water start and he wasn't back on the water for a year. That's a nasty injury, and I wish you Godspeed on your recovery.

[bkhallpass]

Ouch. Wish you the best on your recovery.

I've know a couple people who blew out the Achilles. What I know from them is 1) it really sucks, and
2) it's not something you want to push too early and do it again.

BKH

[Beachrat]

Sorry to hear that! Not the same but I tore my bicep tendon last April....had the surgery, cast and then 4 months of physiotherapy. Post surgery the tendon is very soft and jelly like and takes a long time to heal properly to the bone as it usually only held in place by a stitch. Like bkhallpass said, you don't want to push it early as you may end up back at square one again!

[fsunolesfan25]

yes def dont rush the recovery! nothing is worse than messing it up right after its almost healed cause you wanted to ride couple months early take it easy for a while

[cotton]

Thanks guys!

[Rick]

Ditto the don't rush it

I'm still nursing a hamstring. Hurried back and reinjured it. at 57 it takes a Looong time to recover. Listen to the Physical therapist.

[ers906]

better it happened now than when this Universal Health Care goes into effect. I tore mine when I was 18 and I was still out of the water about 7 months.

[cotton]

Well, the one constant I keep hearing is the message “don’t rush it;” and I plan on listening.

Saw the doc today, surgery scheduled for this Wednesday, afterwards a week in a splint then a check up, if all looks good a cast for 3 more weeks, then a boot for 4 months. She said 9 months to heal well enough to ski again, 1 year to heal totally.

This is a humbling experience since crap like this always happens to someone else and while I never thought I was bullet proof, I work out and believed I was in pretty good shape; especially for 47.

Thanks again for the replies!

[heliskier]

Good luck. I had a complete tear of mine 2 years ago in February while playing basketball. I was blessed enough to see Dr. Lyle Cain in Birmingham who is Dr. James Andrews right hand man. I had surgery 3 days after the injury and was put on a very accelerated rehab program. It is very important to do exactly what they tell you to do. The stretching of the Achilles is so important.

I pushed everything to the max and was skiing again in mid-May,so we are talking roughly 3-4 months. No, I was not 100% . Realistically, it is probably a full year or more to get back to 100%, but I was able to salvage the season. I will be 47 in this May, so it was not like some 18 year kid.

[Daryl]

I ruptured my right Achilles at the end of July 2008 (601 days ago)...

Had surgery the next day, 12 weeks in a splint/cast, then slow physio after.

I played Hockey at the middle of March, 2009 and skied all last summer from about April 26 until November.

I took things pretty easy on the ski during the first part of the summer and went from 2 boots to one with a rear-toe-plate.

It was my right Achilles and I'm LFF - I was on RS-1 bindings - went OTF (well not really) more Over the front than out. I was going around two ball and the ski stopped, it came violently into me and hit me in the forearm (hard enough for some stitches) my front foot came out and my back one didn't. It was obvious my Achilles was ruptured - my back foot was still in the boot and the tip of the ski was floating at my nose.

But - (601 days later) I'm pretty good. I still feel the ankle (it feels tight) but I wouldn't say it really bothers me.

I'm watching all the threads on the internet about what bindings to try. A good resource is http://www.achillesblog.com/ but i just checked it and it is down right now.

Good luck - fire me any questions you might have!

Daryl

[cotton]

heliskier, that's the best news I've heard since late Saturday afternoon. Not that I plan on chasing buoys but would be happy to be walking normally again within 3 months. Thanks for sharing!

[cotton]

Daryl,

I’m using a Connelly Stoker and rear open toe on an F1 with RFF. I free skied a good bit in the 80’s but sold the Monark when our 1st child was born in 1991. Having just bought the CC and started to chase buoys last year, I felt this was all I needed as a newbie. I also thought (and really still do) that this was the best system to avoid injury.

I think there were several factors that led to my injury, but one major reason. I was wearing a dry suit with neoprene legs and both legs were all of the way down to the ankle. This put the neoprene inside the stoker and while I will never do this again, I really don’t think this alone was the problem. A gate buoy came loose and I dropped to reconnect it and took my ski off. Unfortunately I didn’t get back in the boat and re-lube the binder, but instead put the ski on in the water. I almost couldn’t get my foot in but forced it and the dry suit neoprene leg rolled up inside the binder. Going into 3 ball late I attempted a hammer turn and got too far forward. Unlike your accident, my ski came off but I believe the rolled up neoprene inside the binder delayed it enough to create the ruptured Achilles.

I had gotten passes in at 28 & 30 mph and on this last pass was at 32 mph. While my best run last year was 5 buoys at 32 mph and 1 & ½ at 32 mph this year, skiing at this speed was not what I was used to so being late with the hard turn at this unfamiliar speed created the ejection.

Glad to hear you’re back at it. I can’t wait to be myself as this is the most fun I have had in a long time, and have met some of the best folks in the world through skiing.

Thanks so much for sharing your story (and the link)!

[cotton]

Good luck. I had a complete tear of mine 2 years ago in February while playing basketball. I was blessed enough to see Dr. Lyle Cain in Birmingham who is Dr. James Andrews right hand man. I had surgery 3 days after the injury and was put on a very accelerated rehab program. It is very important to do exactly what they tell you to do. The stretching of the Achilles is so important.

I pushed everything to the max and was skiing again in mid-May,so we are talking roughly 3-4 months. No, I was not 100% . Realistically, it is probably a full year or more to get back to 100%, but I was able to salvage the season. I will be 47 in this May, so it was not like some 18 year kid.

Hey Heliskier, I just got your PM from March 24th today. Thanks so much! I replied to you as well and ask you some questions. I will keep an eye on my PM box from now on. Thank you so much!!!

[cotton]

Good luck. I had a complete tear of mine 2 years ago in February while playing basketball. I was blessed enough to see Dr. Lyle Cain in Birmingham who is Dr. James Andrews right hand man. I had surgery 3 days after the injury and was put on a very accelerated rehab program. It is very important to do exactly what they tell you to do. The stretching of the Achilles is so important.

I pushed everything to the max and was skiing again in mid-May,so we are talking roughly 3-4 months. No, I was not 100% . Realistically, it is probably a full year or more to get back to 100%, but I was able to salvage the season. I will be 47 in this May, so it was not like some 18 year kid.

Heliskier, I sent you 2 PM's but for some reason they are not showing up in my sent box. Please let me know if you don't get them. Thanks so much!