Achilles tendon...

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kingking
kingking Posts: 64 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Went to see the doctor yesterday...My foot pain isn't plantar fasciitis, but is instead a damaged Achilles tendon. It's probably partially torn.

Treatment is straight-forward, but is going to severely limit my workouts for a number of weeks (between three and twelve weeks, depending). <groan> And I had settled into such a nice routine of getting exercise over the past month. Grrrrr.

Blog entry with more details here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/kingking/view/my-achilles-heel-19540

Replies

  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    What led the doc to believe it was partially torn? That's typically not something they'll diagnose without an MRI.

    A very common AT injury I see is tendinitis of the AT.
  • paddymc
    paddymc Posts: 19 Member
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    I have killer plantar in both feet, my advice is get in the pool. Best way to keep your cardio up that you've worked so hard on and still be resting that foot. Best of luck to you!! You WILL get through this!!
  • StrengthInPain
    StrengthInPain Posts: 155 Member
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    What led the doc to believe it was partially torn? That's typically not something they'll diagnose without an MRI.

    A very common AT injury I see is tendinitis of the AT.

    sometimes depending on where it is torn u can actually feel a dip in the tendon. There are also quite a few diagnosic things u can do , and an MRI would confirm the findings. Will you be going to phyical therapy??
  • 1Sweets
    1Sweets Posts: 395
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    I have a diagnosed Bursa & have been through "therepy" which is electric stim & massage with some electric tool. The PT said there that I could use my recumbent bike IF I keep my foot flat on the peddle. I don't feel any pain when I do so. I'm still able to get my cardio. I've been feeling better so decided to get a Elliptical & boom my other ankle hurts now. Seems like a domino effect. Now I've backed off my new exercise toy (elliptical) & back on the recumbent....:happy:
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    sometimes depending on where it is torn u can actually feel a dip in the tendon. There are also quite a few diagnosic things u can do , and an MRI would confirm the findings. Will you be going to phyical therapy??

    A dip generally doesn't occur unless there's a full tear. Sometimes a full tear will lead to the muscle coiling up, even. But I haven't heard of such a thing with a partial tear.

    Also, what other diagnostics are you referring to, for my own curiosity. I'm here to learn just as much as anything else. I work closely with two physiotherapists and two orthos when dealing with my injured athletes and this would be news to me.

    I know if there's significant bruising and swelling or if there's a pop or snap at the point of injury it could indicate a rupture, but even then it's highly questionable without an MRI - at least that's what I've come to know through my experience.
  • catherine1979
    catherine1979 Posts: 704 Member
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    sometimes depending on where it is torn u can actually feel a dip in the tendon. There are also quite a few diagnosic things u can do , and an MRI would confirm the findings. Will you be going to phyical therapy??

    A dip generally doesn't occur unless there's a full tear. Sometimes a full tear will lead to the muscle coiling up, even. But I haven't heard of such a thing with a partial tear.

    Also, what other diagnostics are you referring to, for my own curiosity. I'm here to learn just as much as anything else. I work closely with two physiotherapists and two orthos when dealing with my injured athletes and this would be news to me.

    I know if there's significant bruising and swelling or if there's a pop or snap at the point of injury it could indicate a rupture, but even then it's highly questionable without an MRI - at least that's what I've come to know through my experience.

    You can get a fairly reliable (+/- 90%) accurate diagnosis of a rupture with the Thompson test... basically you squeeze the calf above the insertion point of the Achilles, at the gastrocnemius. The foot won't lift if there's a rupture.

    ETA: Sorry to hear about your injury, I wish you a speedy recovery.
  • StrengthInPain
    StrengthInPain Posts: 155 Member
    Options
    sometimes depending on where it is torn u can actually feel a dip in the tendon. There are also quite a few diagnosic things u can do , and an MRI would confirm the findings. Will you be going to phyical therapy??

    A dip generally doesn't occur unless there's a full tear. Sometimes a full tear will lead to the muscle coiling up, even. But I haven't heard of such a thing with a partial tear.

    Also, what other diagnostics are you referring to, for my own curiosity. I'm here to learn just as much as anything else. I work closely with two physiotherapists and two orthos when dealing with my injured athletes and this would be news to me.

    I know if there's significant bruising and swelling or if there's a pop or snap at the point of injury it could indicate a rupture, but even then it's highly questionable without an MRI - at least that's what I've come to know through my experience.

    You can get a fairly reliable (+/- 90%) accurate diagnosis of a rupture with the Thompson test... basically you squeeze the calf above the insertion point of the Achilles, at the gastrocnemius. The foot won't lift if there's a rupture.

    ETA: Sorry to hear about your injury, I wish you a speedy recovery.

    That's one of the diagnostic tests, the Thompson. I'm sure there are others out there as well. And yes, if it was fully torn, the muscle belly would coil up and there would be immediate bruising and swelling. As for the dip, I've only ever felt it when there was a full rupture myself, but I'm still a student, so I am relying on the experience of my professor who is my source. Basically what i was taught is that because the Achilles is so superficial and directly under the skin, you can feel the borders of it pretty easily. So if the torn fibers are more superficial, you will be able to feel an "inconsistency" within the tendon.
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    Thanks for the information guys!

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