achilles

[samilou]

I tore my achilles tendon yesterday and have now got a cast i was told this would be on for 6 weeks my toes are pointing towards the floor and was told after the cast was removed they would move the foot up a bit more and put another cast on this and then do the same again a few weeks later, is this what usually happens and will i need and sort of physio afterwards.  Many Thanks for any answers.

[samilou]

Many thanks for your reply.

[KennKoala]

I snapped my achilles and spent a week without a cast or wrapping. After the surgery I was in a cast and learned how to flex my calf muscle without straining the tendon. At 6 weeks the cast came off and I got a "boot" (think Twilight's Bella.) That lasted less than a week, I took it off, gave it to the doc and went back to work. I was told I should've stayed off for 10 weeks at least. I'm convinced that the 'exercises' I did whilst in the cast accelerated my healing, but going back to normal duties too soon had left me with a noticable limp. My physio involved electro-stimulation, which I emulated at home by brain to muscle signals. That lasted 4 weeks. (If you're given an option to take 10 weeks or more off, take it.)