How it happens:
If you’ve ever felt the sensation of a really taut rubber band snapping in your lower leg, it is very likely that you have torn or ruptured your Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon is a tendon in the posterior of the leg, which connects the bones of the heel to the calf muscles. It is the stretchy piece of tissue that is located behind the ankle and above the heel of your feet.
When the Achilles tendon is torn or ruptured, most people feel as if they’ve been kicked in the back of the foot or feel as if a stone has been thrown at them at the point of injury. The tear of this tendon typically occurs during sports or rigorous physical activity. I tore my Achilles tendon in my right leg while playing football in 2013. I was feeling like Messi dribbling all the guys on the field when I heard the loud pop. It sounded like “kpas”. I immediately knew something serious had occurred. By the way, this is the same injury that David Beckham had here when playing football for AC Milan in 2010, and Kobe Bryant had in 2013 playing basketball. They both had that”Did you kick me?” face.
If you feel the sensation described above, and have a similar reaction as Beckham and Kobe had, and the stretchy part of the back of the heel starts to feel mushy, it is very likely that you have torn your Achilles. It is very important for you stay off the affected foot immediately. Also, you will need to get evaluated and diagnosed by a doctor as soon as possible. Long-term lingering effects could persist if you don’t.
What to do next:
If you are not able to get to a doctor immediately, here are a few steps that you could take to help prevent long-term detrimental physical effects:
- Stay off the affected foot as soon as possible so as not to further aggravate the injury.
- Have friends help you out by acting as support to help you move as you hop on one foot. It’s cool to have friends :).
- If you are alone and have no one around to support you as you are on one foot (seriously dulling situation), you can try moving with the affected foot turned ninety degrees outwards away from the body. That way, you walk only on the bottom of the heel and won’t need to use your toes to push off. Try and get someone to help as soon as possible.
- Next, get the affected foot into a splint with the foot in a Plantar Flexion position (toes pointing downwards). The splint acts as a temporary restraint for the foot and prevents the Achilles tendon from stretching further and worsening the injury.
- When resting, keep the affected foot elevated so as to reduce swelling and ease pain.
- You would also need crutches to help you move around.
- Get to a doctor as soon as possible. She/He would give the best recommendations after. You are likely to get into a cast and then eventually into a walking boot.
The picture below shows my foot being put into a splint. I wore the splint for a day before I transitioned into a full cast.
It is important that you take this injury seriously. When treated properly, the patient is able to return back to fully participating in all physical activities they were able to do before the injury. If the Achilles tendon-tear injury is ignored, the Doctors that treated me told me that it could lead to long-term physical effects, where the injured person’s walk and posture are affected. I’m sure you’ve seen people who thought they were “kicked” while playing football start to limp around constantly, and then never seem to recover from this “kick”. They might have torn their Achilles and just didn’t get it checked out. Don’t be that person.
As a disclaimer, I am not a medical doctor. My post is based mainly on my experience from suffering from, being properly diagnosed by a doctor, and recovering from an Achilles tendon tear. You would need to consult a medical doctor, particularly a podiatrist, for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
The picture below shows the cast that I was put into after I was diagnosed with an Achilles Tendon tear.
I’ll post later on my non-surgical recovery from this Achilles tendon tear, where I transitioned into a walking boot.
