I tore my achilles tendon

It happened with a pogo jump over a hurdle just over two weeks ago. The same kind I’ve done 1000’s of times over the last 12 years. I’ve done box jumps, broad jumps, leapt over gates, jumped rope, done a whacky number of single leg squats etc.

Suffice to say I did not see it coming!

But it happened. I heard a pop and my mind went to the worst place.

Right after it happened, I went into damage-control mode. I looked for signs that it was not an achilles tendon tear. I didn’t want it to be that.

I thought it could be a gastroc-tear. But it felt too low. My gut knew it was worse. Initially load bearing was possible. But it worsened as inflammation kicked in and adrenalin settled.

I called my doctor-friend. She took a look. And her face slumped.

So I got an MRI. It was a full tear. The tendon was split 10 mm apart. It needed surgery to mend.

I started documenting everything. I used claude to get some added perspective and feedback. It was a great way to track the MRI, bills, medical reports, rehab and all the notes and research I was doing. And it helped me dive much deeper into some of the physics of mending tendons. And also take a more critical look at things like shoes, implants, heel lifts, suture techniques etc.

My head first went to who the surgeon would be. I narrowed down a great chap nearby. Friends had good things to say about him. The standard procedure is fairly straightforward. I’ve had clients get the torn ends stitched together after cleaning up the frayed tendon. And anchored down to the bone.

I then went through all the worst case scenarios. Do people die after this surgery? One guy did more than ten years ago from DVT.

What is the most common way to screw this up? Infections due to poor blood flow to the area. And of course sweating, water exposure etc leading to infections.

What causes the tendon to rupture again? Load it too early. And of course the knots in the stitches are the weak link.

So I went down the rabbit hole of is there a better way to tie the tendons together?

Found a company called Arthrex that makes a mechanism to repair the kind of tear I had. The combination of a tape and implant seemed to produce a more robust repair. It checked out. Outcomes were good. The tape held up better than the knots of a suture. The anchor mechanism was more robust. Screws that created a better bond between tape and bone. With time the bone would fill the threads and create a solid bond.

I then ran the literature and the product through claude. It gave me a detailed breakdown of why it made sense.

And luckily my doctor had experience using the implant. He told me I might be a candidate. But he’d have to take a call after opening up the ankle.

Rested it till d-day. Continued coaching online. Didn’t load the leg. Felt no pain. Needed no pain-killers etc. And continued reading up on the procedure etc.

I got the procedure on Saturday evening. I was under mild sedation and lower body was anesthetized. Even a groggy me kept harassing the doc whether the speed bridge would fit :D And it did fit. He did a hybrid of cleaning it up, stitches and also used the Arthrex mechanism.

Sunday evening the pain peaked out. It has rejigged my pain scale. I have a new benchmark for 9/10. Took the painkillers and anti-inflammatories to ensure the leg heals well. Especially the incision site.

Rested up at the hospital. Checked out on Monday. Tuesday morning, I was back to coaching online. Six days were spent with meds, reading, watching the Pitt and cleaning up some of our admin stuff.

The leg can’t be loaded till April 20. That’s when the sutures and staples come off. The leg will go in a boot. The boot will gradually move the foot from a straightened position to a bent position. And you learn to load it slowly.

I started training my upper body six days after surgery. Nothing fancy. Presses, curls, leg raises and dips. Plenty of hip rotation and leg extensions without putting the foot down. I don’t work up a sweat. That would be counterproductive. I’ve had to blast the AC in my room and keep it uncomfortably cold to ensure the cast doesn’t sweat. And I hop around on one leg with an abundance of caution.

The good is I am picking exercises that I would have never picked given how much I was enjoying my single arm push up and pull up varieties. Curls, presses, dips and lateral raises (soon to be included) are things I have not done in ages. My right leg is going to be strong! All the hopping around is crazy. And plenty of single leg squatting to use the toilet and getting around. The single leg squats have paid off. While not getting hurt is optimal. If you do get hurt, being strong really does reduce the indignity and friction due to the loss of capacity while injured. I’ve picked up a calf raise machine.

The bad is no jumping for a while. And I love jumping :(. I need to be on guard for a year or so. No complacence can set in. The tendon needs to be loaded very gradually. I picked up a pair of Vivobarefoot Primus shoes paired with versalifts before phasing into my beloved Luna’s again.

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