Recovering from Achilles Tendon Rupture: A Personal Timeline

I thought I’d share the highlights and milestones in each phase of my recovery so far. I’ll keep updating this as I continue healing.

I won’t lie: this healing process is long and grueling. I have worked very hard to keep progressing safely. Because of that work, I have consistently felt at least 1% better each day than the day before.

When this is the first time dealing with this injury, there is so much you learn through the healing process. I’ve put together a summary of what each week of my recovery looked like. This gives my perspective of each stage that I have encountered from one week to the next.

Full disclosure: my timeline is a little more progressive than what most protocols say. Each step of my recovery has been supported by my doctor and physical therapist. This timeline reflects what my body was able to safely handle. 

Read Achilles Tendon Recovery Week 6: Balancing Progress and Safety for the science behind my recovery rate.

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ACHILLES RUPTURE DATE: Sunday, December 15, 2024  

Read more: Sometimes You Break Yourself…Again

SURGERY: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 

Read more: Pre-op Hell and Surgery Heaven

RECOVERY PHASE ONE

Week 1 & 2 (December 18 – 31)

The first 4-5 days after surgery were very painful. After the nerve block wore off at 2:30 am, I woke up in agony. I used Percocet through the next day. I then switched to Tylenol around the clock for about a week. I also used Zquil to help with sleep.

It’s no fun wearing a cast and being immobile. I wiggled my toes and did micro-movements at the ankle inside the cast to encourage blood flow and minimize atrophy. It was all I could do to not completely freak out from feeling claustrophobic.

Read more: Navigating Post-Surgery: Tips for First Day Recovery.

TWO WEEK FOLLOW-UP: Thursday, January 2 (Day 16)

Read more: Achilles Tendon Recovery: From Cast to Boot

RECOVERY PHASE TWO

Week 3 (January 1-7)

Back to work with crutches and scooter on Friday. Used crutches until Saturday, then felt comfortable with full weight bearing in boot with 4 wedges.

At Work: Kept the knee scooter at work for the hallways. Taught dance classes in the boot. Went back to the gym for conditioning and socialization.

Physical Therapy: Started on Tuesday, January 7. Worked range of motion (ROM) and got a light Theraband for home exercises. He did the deep tissue massage to prevent scar tissue and remove swelling, which was exceedingly painful.  

I also went back to the gym for my mental, physical and social health. It was a good way to stay connected to what I love and take care of doing my PT exercises.

Read more: Overcoming Achilles Injury: My Return to the Gym

Week 4 (January 8-14)

The steri strips finally fell off of the incision site. I used Vitamin E oil to moisturize and massage the healed scar area. I wore Apolla compression socks during the day for compression and support. They worked really well for keeping swelling out of the ankle.

At night, I continued to sleep with my bare foot elevated. Every morning, while the ankle was stiff and needed warming up, it was not at all swollen.

Physical Therapy

• Started isometrics 
• Deep tissue massage the ankle, plantar fascia, Achilles and calf (very painful)
• Start trying a Frankenstein hobble walk with very small steps
• At home, use Theraband and do seated heel raises

Read more: Achilles Tendon Recovery: What Can I Do?

FOUR WEEK FOLLOW-UP: Thursday, January 16 (Day 30)

Four-week followup with doctor. He was impressed with the healing progress to date. 

• He gave me clearance to drive 
• No more boot to sleep
• Gradual removal of boot wedges over the next week
• Scar is healing well
• Start walking flat-footed short distances

Read more: Achilles Tendon Surgery: Four Weeks Post-Op Progress

RECOVERY PHASE THREE

Week 5 (January 15-21)

Final wedge removed on January 22. At that point, I was flat in the boot. I started driving to work the week of January 20. The boot was on at work and off in the car and at home.

Physical Therapy Goal:

Minimize compensation and limping.

This is a tough goal, because every time I start walking, the painful pull behind the ankle begs for compensation. The fear of re-rupture is very real. I needed constant reinforcement from my therapist that it was okay to keep moving forward.

• Start supported double heel and toe raises 
• Step ups on the injured side 
• One-foot stand on foam pad (first time OUCH)
• Walk forward and backward slowly

Read more: Achilles Tendon Recovery: Five Weeks Post-Op Progress

Week 6 (January 22-28)

Worked a busy, full week in the boot. Taught 3-4 dance classes a day, rehearsal after school, coached at the gym, PT twice a week.

Physical Therapy Goals:

• Increase weight bearing and range of motion. 
• Balance on one leg for longer holds. 
• No-load gentle ankle stretch. 
• Pressing more into toes when balancing. 
• More double heel lift. 
• Flex the ankle as much as possible.

Read more: Achilles Tendon Recovery: Best Practices for Healing

RECOVERY PHASE FOUR

Week 7 (January 29-February 4)

I finally got the courage to ditch the boot at work and carefully taught all dance classes in socks. 

The more I demanded of my foot, the more I noticed issues cropping up around the ankle. The major one was with the front of my right ankle. When I dorsiflex, it’s the front of the ankle that impedes motion, not my Achilles. Pressing into ankle flexion hurt the front of my ankle more than the back.

This sounded my alarm bells because it was a problem before my injury. I was already trying to address it with regular stretching and mobility work, but I thought there was more to it.

My working theory: the front of the ankle was the root cause of my Achilles rupturing. Since flexion was limited at the front, my Achilles had to overstretch in order to compensate. Under the weight and force of the back handspring, it snapped.

(I later addressed this with the foot and ankle specialist. He didn’t agree with me, but that’s okay.)

Physical Therapy Goals:

• Reduce inflammation in the front of ankle and increase mobility
• Continue all stretch and strengthening exercises from the previous week
• Continue deep massage and manual mobilization
• Electrostimulation to help weak muscles contract, reduce pain and improve circulation
• Ultrasound to heat soft tissues, dilate blood vessels, diminish swelling, and increase blood flow on painful areas

I also became a little obsessed with collagen and what it does for tendon and muscle healing.

Read more: Collagen, Exercise, and Hormones: My Path to Recovery

Week 8 (February 5-11)

The more I moved, the more I felt the peroneals and anterior tibialis (side of shin muscles) aching. The side of my ankle was very tight, which reminded me to stretch that more often.

Read more: Achilles tendon recovery: 8 weeks post surgery

Week 9 (February 12-18)

Physical Therapy:

• Double heel raises were getting stronger, but I still favored the left side a little.
• Single leg balance was getting more stable.

I still felt considerable pain at the front of the ankle when doing the strength exercises. My therapist suggested using Diclofenac Sodium gel 1% (NSAID) for front of ankle pain. If there was an arthritic condition in the ankle, the gel may help with the inflammation.

He also suggested that I may not need the compression socks now. My calf muscle (our second heart) is now being used, so the improved blood flow should minimize swelling. Since I was on a school break, I decided to try regular socks. The swelling wasn’t too bad, but that might change when I’m back at work and the demand is higher.

At the end of Tuesday’s session, he said I should try single heel raises to encourage neuromuscular development. I’d hold on to something up above to pull up instead of leaning forward and pushing my hands downward. This will take time to develop. I had poor strength at the time, but I knew that would change in time.

Here’s a little gallery of what I was able to do while rehabbing my Achilles…

TEN WEEK FOLLOW-UP: Thursday, February 20 (Day 58)

The doctor visit went very well. I told him about my front of ankle concerns. He said I should wait a few weeks, then see the foot and ankle specialist in that practice. That doc would be much better suited to treat that issue. I made an appointment for 2.5 weeks. If a surgical intervention was necessary, it couldn’t happen for another six weeks anyway.

Overall, he was very happy with my healing progress and assured me that I am ahead of the curve. I might be able to get on the trampoline in another 6 weeks. Of course, that depends on what happens with the ankle doc.

Read more: Achilles Tendon Recovery: 9 Week Post-Surgery Follow-up

Weeks 10-12 (February 19-March 4)

In a bit of limbo with the front of ankle business, I continued my PT sessions, managed pain and fear, and kept marching (sometimes limping) forward with my exercises. I stepped back onto the trampoline, my happy place week in week ten.

Read more: Achilles Tendon Recovery: 10 Weeks Post-Surgery Progress

Weeks 13-15 (March 5-25)

March was a very difficult month. It was the last three weeks of the spring musical season at work, where everything ramped up to high stress and intensity.

Sadly, around week 13, I came down with a nasty case of Bronchitis that took me out for the better part of a week. My Achilles recovery all but came to a stop as I was down for the count. It took a few weeks to get myself back to where I was before I got sick.

That left me way behind, more stressed, and less focused on my ankle as the month rolled on. Also I could only fit in one PT session a week. All of this was definitely taking it’s toll on my emotional health. As stressed as I was, there was also a light at the end of the tunnel.

As I mentioned in week 7, the front of my ankle was an existing problem, overshadowed by the Achilles rupture. As the Achilles was healing, I finally had a chance to see a foot and ankle specialist to address the old impingement I was experiencing. I was able to get some clarity and relief from this ongoing issue.

Read more:
Coping with Bronchitis During Achilles Rehab: Essential Strategies
The mental toll of Achilles injury 
Week 15: Achilles Recovery: Addressing Ankle Impingement

Weeks 16-18 (March 26-April 15)

In week 16, the musical was thankfully coming to a close and I was feeling much better from the after effects of bronchitis.

I also got an MRI of my ankle and foot. The impingement was inflammed soft tissue that was getting in the way of my tibiotalar joint and affecting the surface of the bones. The doctor gave me a cortisone shot to alleviate (at least temporarily) the ankle discomfort.

It was also becoming clear that my physical therapy would be soon coming to an end. I had reached a point where my daily activities were surpassing what I was doing in my weekly PT sessions. At work, I was mostly functional, save for a few specific movements and occasional limping if I was going a little too hard. I was slowly adding more exercises and fundamental skills into my repertoire at the gym.

At this point, the timeline had to catch up to me before I progressed too far and potentially compromised the repair. Single heel raises were not comfortable, and the doctor suggested I lay off of them for a while.

Read more: Week 16 Achilles recovery: PT is coming to an end

RECOVERY PHASE FIVE

4 Months (April 18)

I’m switching to a monthly format, mirroring that of the Achilles recovery protocols. My ankle and foot are now feeling much better. There is still a considerable difference between the strength between both sides. While I’m feeling minimal pain, I am very aware that my recovery is far from over.

That said, I felt a little more comfortable trying to advance at the gym. Two things of note were pushing off of the foot for a handstand and a few belted front tucks on the trampoline. I approached these skills with great caution. The more I do them over time with no pain, the more comfortable I’ll feel adding more repetitions to the repertoire.

At the beginning of the month, I eased up on drilling the single heel raises. Since the doctor advised that it was technically too soon to progress them, I felt more comfortable backing off for a bit. I was still working on improving my gait and eliminating the limp altogether.

Rehab goals:

• Continue strengthening the foot and ankle, building the soleus and gastrocnemius to support my weight standing on my toes.
• Continue range of motion work, adding resistance to tolerance.
• Increase time and repetitions on trampoline, to tolerance. The rebounding helps me to develop the neural pathways to make pushing off my toes more confident.
• Increase my daily step count. Now that it’s spring, I want to get outside and move my average of 6K closer to 9 or 10K. I’m excited to start hiking with my husband again.
• Continue strengthening the rest of my body, focusing on the core and hips.

Read more:
 Achilles Tendon Recovery: 4 months
Achilles Tendon Recovery: 21 weeks

6 months (June 18)

I’ve finally reached the milestone threshold that my doctor gave for recovery. By this time, the collagen patch would be completely integrated into the tendon and I’d be closer to full-strength. I believe that to be true, although I am still conservative when adding new skills.

I’m quite satisfied with progress so far. These are the remaining challenges:

1. The unassisted single leg calf raise. I’m still not at full strength for that.
2. Excessive pounding on surfaces like floor and springboards. That will need some more time to develop.
3. I’ll always be reticent to do back tumbling on the TumblTrak, which is where this whole journey started.

I have no specific expectations. If it’s meant to be, it will happen. I have gained back many of the abilities I had prior to December 15. My main goal now is to build strength, continue that forward momentum, and avoid further injury.

Read more: Achilles Recovery: My 6 Month Snapiversary

I’ll continue to update this timeline as I recover. Subscribe for notifications when I post new articles.