Case study Achilles Tendon Repair – conservative approach

This 49-year-old gentleman was 8 weeks’ post Achilles tendon conservative repair when he attended Aquaphysio.

He got up from doing an interval training session and felt a sharp pain in his Achilles region. He went to A and E and they suspected ruptured Achilles Tendon and put him in a temporary cast. Next day had an ultrasound which showed the ends were together therefore he was kept in plaster casts for 1 month in plantar flexion and then transferred to a boot with 5 wedges, 1 wedge out very week.

This gentleman’s main aim was to be able to get back running. He worked as an investment banker in the city and exercised with a combination of spinning classes and running.

On initial assessment at AquaPhysio he had reduced calf bulk of 1.5 cm, he flicked his lower limb inwards when walking as well as externally rotating his hip and hitching his leg as he had such limitations in movement around his ankle.

His Achilles was very thickened and his ankle red in colour. On his first session in the pool he could practice walking properly with and we started double leg calf raises. By his 3rd session he was running on the incline pad into the current and by session 5 he was jumping on her underwater plyometric pads.

After 8 sessions, you wouldn’t know he had even ruptured his Achilles tendon as he walked with a normal gait and was able to once more single leg calf raise on that side. He had returned to cycling but not running yet.