6 years on and this series of videos is still helping people. THANK YOU SJ. I'm 4 weeks in to my rupture and at age 67 to have your optimistic, uplifting, knowledgeable commentary week by week is so unbelievably valuable. So professionally delivered and with such compassion. Thank you thank you thank you. :)

These videos are a godsend. I ruptured my Achilles tendon three days ago and I've been feeling really helpless and sorry for myself. These videos have given me practical advice on the journey ahead and what to expect, boosting my confidence and elevating my mood. I'll be watching these videos over and over again through my healing process. Thank you for sharing your journey.

Your description is spot on!! I was playing indoor volleyball and it felt like a combination of someone stepping on my heel and someone hitting me in the calf with a broomstick. I turned around to yell at the back row "WTF" but nobody was there and I knew......

Those studies on re-rupture on surgery vs non surgery are from the US where they make more money with surgery charges on your insurance. (It is hard to trust US medical sources and data where it is known for selecting the data for better financial gains.)

Good video. I fully ruptured mine playing soccer. Went to the ER, X-Ray showed nothing, waited 2 weeks (cause I thought I just caused minor damage) then saw an Orthopedic Dr, another X-Ray, one MRI, surgery 3 days later, currently 2 weeks after surgery, stitches come out in 2 days, then hard cast for 2 weeks, then boot and the start of PT. The biggest pain about all of this is the time it will take to rehab. Using crutches for 1 month, and dealing with all of the day to day tasks is most difficult. It really changes the way you think and plan your day. Best of luck.

I ruptured my achilles and the doctor told me to take the non-surgical route, eventhough I am an active guy. Thank you so much for all the info, it is literally a life saver!

Thank you so much for this video. It’s been a little over a week for me now and find this video very helpful. I’ll be going through all of your videos.

You’re a legend my friend. A real legend for this. This injury requires a lot of psychological and emotional support. So this content for us Australian non operative audience this is pure gold. Thank you 🙏🏾

Thank you for your video!!! This is spot on!! I just ruptured my Achilles and decided to go the non-surgical route and very nervous about it. Your videos are very helpful and give me some hope! Thank you!

Thank you- I’ve just done my Achilles playing rugby and it’s quite scary. These videos have helped. I hope you’re well.

6 months recovery. i am so grateful for your insights, determination and compassion in sharing your journey. i wouldn't be able to grasp anything without these. I follow and adjust from week 1 to week 12 with you. May god bless you!

This is a fantastic video. I am in the exact same situation as yourself. Day 2. Was lucky enough to be be playing basketball with an orthopaedic surgeon that recommended non surgical route. Appreciate knowing I’m not the only one.

Getting my cast off today. Non operative route for me too. I'm doing pipe welding for living so I really need to be fully restored soon. These videos really helped a lot. 10 weeks off work to start with.

I'm on the non-surgical process . It is very helpful to see someone's experience.

Hey mate, ruptured my achilles last week playing touch footy. Devastated. Appreciated the info, useful tips and will be viewing your videos while I go through this recovery. Thanks a lot. Hope you're doing well.

Just started this journey! Thanks for everything!

Excellent overview. I bought all of the items you suggested!

Just found this. Thank you for posting. It is interesting to note that I was not given the option of surgery as my rupture was less than 10mm. I did not go to a&e for a couple of days, but It’s now a week in and I have just had the boot fitted. This is so much more comfortable. I am still finding showering a challenge as we have no plastic chairs. I could just go and buy one I hear you say, but everywhere is closed due to COVID-19. I hope you are fully recovered now and back on the golf course.

I am healing from a grade 3 high ankle sprain and torn tendons in the lower ankle; lateral and medial. You have inspired though the injuries are different but the rehab is basically the same. I am going on 22 weeks and still difficult to walk, but progressing. Thanks for the inspiration.

Great series of videos! Very informative. I'm in the same boat as you. Ruptured my achilles playing a sport that i play part time and now i just want to get back to playing Golf! Going non surgical route, 2.5 weeks in and about to switch to the boot next week. Hope my recovery goes as well as yours. Cheers

Thank you so much for this I'm on my 4th day going through the non-surgical route...

Thanks SJ for you’re videos

Happy to have found this. I had a complete rupture of my left AT 5 days ago, xrays confirmed it, both ortho dr and surgeon recommended non-surgical route. Def get yourself a knee scooter. Game changer!

Just done mine, thanks for your video!

First, love your videos. Thanks for doing all of this research! Second, you should get an affiliate link with amazon for your "i walk" so we can purchase it from your channel.

Great tips! I just ruptured mine yesterday .in a full cast and going the non surgical route .

I’m on the Same Journey! Starting September 15th. Thanks For your videos I’m going the Non surgical route! Basketball was my Outlet now it’s a Memory.

hello, the same happened to me last night. Thx for the video. Very usefull,

Thanks for sharing your experiences ! I just ruptured my Achilles on Sunday playing first game of my basketball season. 5 minutes in I grabbed the ball and went to sprint/dribble and 'bang'. The feeling was exactly how described, where I initially thought someone had accidentally landed on my leg or kicked me, but when I looked back, everyone was metres away. Immediately hobbled to the bench and contemplated what I would do and after consultation with a physio I decided to go to the Physio the following morning . The physio confirmed with the Thompson test and generally feeling around my Achilles area that I had a rupture and was booked in to see an orthopedic surgeon the following day. During my time waiting for this appointment, I pretty much did the exact that you did and read a few online journals, studies and forums that went through the pros and cons of both surgical and conservative methods of healing the Achilles. The following day I saw the Orthopedic surgeon ( 46 hours had passed since I ruptured it, and he once again performed the Thompson test and then went through the two options available for me, and said that recent studies have shown there really is not much difference in terms of re ruptures if you were to take the conservative route over surgical, so based on this information plus the cost as I didn't have private hospital cover I chose non operative. I am planning to also do a week by week video on youtube to explain my injury and the progress through this long recovery and rehabilitation process. I am now going to watch all your videos and see if I can learn more about this ! Thanks and talk soon!

Ahh thanks for this video mate. I’m 2 Days into ruptured Achilles. Finding having a shower and getting up or down the stairs really hard so just got a chair for the shower... great video. Thanks 🙏🏼

Apparently you dramatically reduce the re-rupture rate if you do the really hard, repetitive rehab, right through to heavy eccentric heel drops with added weight. The eccentric dropping seems to get the collagen to line up properly.

Just happened to rupture mine this morning. It definitely felt like a kick to back of the leg and then went numb. Pain came 5-10mins later and have been sore since. Will look at my options Monday

Thanks pal. I ruptured my Achilles one week ago. This is helpful. 👏👏💪💪👍👍

Just tore or ruptured mine yesterday! Still don’t know for sure! Was assessed at hospital and given the boot with 5 wedges until I go back! Feeling devastated today! And found your videos! I’m a golfer and was looking forward to getting back after lock down in 2 weeks ☹️ what kind of time scale was it before you could get back to golf? And thank you for the videos 👍🏻 they will help walk me through and keep me positive 🙏

Thanks for the videos, happened playing basketball a week ago, age 34. Thinking non surgery route. Videos like this are super helpful, hope all is well

Im starting week 1. 😢 glad to see this channel

Hi, ruptured mine recently playing badminton. I thought someone hit my leg from behind and I turned around and no one was there. Thanks for all advice and explanations.

Hi and thanks for the great progress videos. I tore my achilles 48 hrs ago no real pain, one night in plaster from the minor injuries unit again no real pain, and after 24hrs I got put into a space boot. But now my foot is sooo painful. Is the pain to be expected? Only ask as no pain in the first 24hrs now its like a painful toothache on the achilles area, throbbing. Thanks i advance

What you described was exactly what happened with me. Bar the pain. Mine wasn't as bad. I avoided meds till post diagnosis

I had a recent tear but I've had this injury before. I never had it diagnosed at the time and for the most part I was able to walk it off and let it heal naturally. This latest might be the 3rd and most painful. I basically retore the scar tissue. From my understanding, they took another piece of tendon and replaced the damaged one

Witam jestem z Polski sześć tygodni temu zerwałam Achillesa miałem zabieg operacyjny Miałem Gips założony na sześć tygodni aż po same Udo Dwa dni temu ściągnęli mi Gips I mam czekać miesiąc na rehabilitację Nie wiem co mam robić Czy można samemu jakieś rehabilitację robić w domu Na własnym rękę Mam 42 lata

So many similar parts to our stories. I tend to play golf with the odd game of footy (soccer). I ruptured my achilles a few days ago playing football.

Thank-you for this

I ruptured mine while playing basketball. Then I had to drive my manual car to the ER. Tough times

Great video! I’m on my second Achilles rupture, different legs though. Surgery route. Mid 30’s, office job and went back to sport for the first time in 2 years this year, and yeah 4 minutes in bang.

After how many weeks post injury could you walk down the steps/stairs and can you please post a video of walking down the stairs...

Is it normal when I wake up in the am and get out of bed the first 30 mins I am in tremendous pain ? I’m assuming that the blood starting to circulate is causing this ?

It happened to me last week. 20 minutes into a basketball game. Im 38 and waiting to meet an orthopedist in 4 days. Best recovery to you all

How much time do you keep the foot elevated during the first two weeks? How high do you elevate it? Did they say its important to elevate the foot?

Great vid

Hi- thank you for your videos but was yours a full or partial rupture? What was the gap if it was a full rupture? Your recovery times suggest it was only partial.

SJ quick question...tore mine yesterday, ER splinted and TBD if partial or full tear. Based on your research/experience do you see any scenario in which i could be swimming (freediving with one fin - no SCUBA) 23 days after day of tear? I have a whale shark dive and vacation planned, would like to do anything possible to keep the trip. Thanks

Can you walk on your foot before getting by a cast? Or will this make it worse? I ruptured it couple days ago but have an interview..

Thanks so much SJ! Couple of questions: when did you stop wearing the boot at night while sleeping? And how long did it take to get used to having a cast and then a boot on all the time?

Happened to my 1 week ago today. Full rupture

Day 10 for me..happen on the 16th of September..I gotta week to decide rather I want surgery or not...what u guys think? I have a partial tear

How can i know if my Achilles non op is fully healed? I didn't feel any pain Right now. I am one year non op.

Also, how tight did you set your boot up during the day and did you loosen it at night or at any time?

How much gap did you have between the rupture?

I ruptured my Achilles three days ago same situation, playing basketball after not having played for a while, im also 33. I wanted to take the time to say thank you for making these videos. The peace of mind that it has given me is priceless. ive also chosen the non surgical route. Wish me luck! --Rob from Texas

Did you say you had a total rupture? Do you mean the tendon totally split?

Happened to me 2 days ago, total rupture during a judo training. At the first glance after the MRI my doc said, I should go with the non-operational approach because the two tenders are real close to each other. But I'm still thinkig about the surgery cuz I really want to go back to my active life-style. Altough this vide series gave me some other perspective ... and big thanks for that.

How many cm was it ruptured?

I had surgery three weeks ago to repair my ruptured achilles. I had watched a lot of your videos from Saturday morning (when I ruptured it playing basketball), until Monday afternoon when I was first able to get in to see an orthopedic specialist. I was definitely leaning towards non-surgical. He went over my options with me and said I could choose surgical or non-surgical, but advised me that because it had been a few days since the tear, there was the risk that going non-surgical would lead to the tendon being weaker for the rest of my life. I didn't realize this was an issue and don't see it being mentioned online, so I'm curious if others have heard the same. My advice for anyone that has just ruptured your achilles is to immediately get it in a boot with a heel lift or a cast so that you can have a more successful chance at the non-surgical route. I still second guess myself on the route I took, especially given the cost and hassle of surgery, but in the end I just want to heal an be normal again.

Awesome thanks man I did mine 15days ago

Finding some hope here.... Was your achilles a full or partial rupture??

Surgery is the best option in my experience since 2015 took me a 1 year 2 months to be pain free walking running just a little bit one once in while no problem mine didn’t fully heal it’s more tight than the good one but now after 3 year of respecting my achilles tendon I decided to workout my legs squats with no weights with heal support in my heal now i have pain again if you dont have surgery you will need to always respect the legs to live pain free

Hi, what was ur gap btwn ur achilles rupture Thx

Wonder what your rupture gap width was

Thank you so much for this. I am going through my 4th day. Its depressing. I also chose non surgery path and worried.

Join the Facebook group “ Achilles tendon rupture” group! It’s full of people like us sharing their progress. Has definite helped me get through this crazy process

Same thing happend to me, when i was shooting for three point. It was longer line then normal, when i jumped i feel something hit me from behind. No one was there... some kid was shooting the ball, i blamed him that he shoot me with the ball. I heard one doctor said, the tendon can snap by its self... So dont do sports after 40 years old. Never!

They took my cast off and put on a moonboot. But I still have a radiology appointment to go too.

What was your tear gap?

In what week u were able to walk?

I ruptured 70% of my achilles April 9th this year. I'm starting to walk now. I had no surgery. My girlfriend is a physiotherapist so lucky. I recommend ice every evening for 20 minutes.

Thnk u for sharing.

Same feeling man shit crazy

NHS. Everything is free. Thank God!

Thanks so much for taking the time to make these videos. I had a full rupture on my left leg playing tennis two weeks ago. A week later i figured out what it was and i immediately went to a podiatrist. Even though i had very little pain and near full range of motion with my foot and can stand on my tip toes about half way up I got the thompson test and failed, so he recommended surgery but i am really trying to avoid that and heal naturally. I am currently in a boot with 3 wedges. I have a question is it very important to immobilize my foot 24/7 or can i remove the boot when i shower if i am very carefull and kneel on a stool with my toes angled down in the shower.

Just partially ruptured my left Achilles on Thanksgiving morning. Ruptured the right Achilles 3 years ago.

I’m 24 and I have been finding your videos incredibly helpful/inspiring, really helped in this tricky time. I’m still torn between surgery vs no surgery but won’t get offered surgery till 5 weeks after injury occurrence date - would appreciate your thoughts?

The easy mistake to make is stepping onto your bad leg. It feels more natural to lead with your bad leg, but (say) coming downstairs, you need to keep the bad leg's foot flat, and lead with the good leg.

This is very helpful definitely. I ruptured my Achilles about a week and a half ago, went to the emergency room the same night and they ended up putting my foot in a cast, foot not pointing down, however I went to the specialist within 48 hrs and they ended up putting me in a boot with foot pointing down at about 20 degrees or so. I am going for non surgical and hopefully this works. My biggest challenge is shower, and going to the restroom. Is it ok to put the leg down while in the shower or toilet ? Also, it is normal to still have little pain in different areas of foot including where it ruptured given the fact that foot is in one position for a long time ? lastly, when elevating foot, I am scared to put pressure so i keep it tilted on one side so there is no pressure, is this something you had trouble with ?

Hi SJ, from all your research, is there a big distinction for partial vs full tear? Read a few sites saying nonsurgical route is only for partial tears. Would appreciate thoughts from anyone who had a full rupture and still went the nonsurgical route.

If you’re reading the comments, they going just a tad bit overboard with the pain description lol. Completely ruptured mine about 5 weeks ago. It hurt, but definitely wasn’t the worst pain ever. Also stopped hurting after about 15 mins, then there was just a lot of tightness. Dudes must have a low pain tolerance 🤷🏽‍♂️

Hi SJ. Watched this twice now but can't find mention of if they scanned/ultrasound the area and how big was the gap on your rupture?

I ruptured my Achilles about two years ago during a soccer game and never paid any attention to it until today! 02/20/2020 as of right now my right knee and right hip/glute are very weak and my right knee is not well aligned. It's a very annoying and nagging pain. Do you guys think I have to have to get surgery? Or is there any other way I can fix my Achilles? PS. I really hope I don't need any surgery, I was planning on joining the USMC sometime this month 😟

I have not ruptured my achilles tendon

Hey SJ I ruptured my Achilles partial tear not a full rupture where my calve went behind my knee, I went and seen a specialist and he wanted to do surgery straight away and I opted non surgery but he thought it was a bad idea but I kept pushing for non surgery and he put the guilt trip on. My physio said I should get a second or third opinion from another specialist. Your information is great. I am in a boot I am on week 5 walking with my body weight and it’s fine. My physio doesn’t want to touch my fort for rehab till I get a second opinion. I am strong on non surgical and I hope to get back to doing what I do as per normal.

I’m going through this now

Thanks for your valuable video. I am 59 years old just ruptured my Achilles tendon and want to take non-surgical route and avoid surgery. I am going to Indonesia for awhile and don't want to risk surgery complications while I am overseas. I am very upset I moved my foot the wrong way going up stairs and that's all it took. It was on the verge of rupturing due to sore tendon from exercising but never realized it would go out after feeling a pop. Thankfully, I can still walk around with a limp and move my foot around, but climbing stairs is very difficult without pain. I will keep everybody posted on my progress. I have an orthro boot which immensely helps with mobility.

Hi SJ. Just wondering if yours was a complete tear or just partial? Just torn mine and it is a complete tear. So contemplating if will go surgical or non-surgical. cheers.

When are you able to drive again when rupture is on the right foot ?

It's such a painful injury. I'm also going through a recovery process in which I'm vlogging on my channel. Check them after you're done with this video. Btw great video bro. 👌🏽

Just tore my Achilles the other day sounds like the surgery is the best route but I am a little nervous never had sugery before I’ll see how it goes.

Hey mate. Was yours a full rupture? Would love to chat if possible pls

I got my achilles tendon ruptured 5days ago. I went to emergency and doctor did the thompson test said that it is ruptured. They sent me home with cast. I did ultrsound today. Doctor said it is completely ruptured and 4cm apart. I get to see orthopedic speciallist a week from now hope my achilles tendon is also can be repaired in non-surgical way.

i ruptured mine 8 weeks ago I started walking in shoes at 7 weeks slowly but walking!! GO NON SURGICAL AND DO NOT GET A CAST GET THE WALKING CAM BOOT. and watch EVAN BROWN'S VIDEOS he has everything documented and shows all the the therapy exercises has videos out to a year post rupture.

How many centimeters was it ruptured ? I’m freaking out thinking about my Achilles but I have no pain but felt everything you would the day it happened