7 months post Achilles Tendon Rupture (ATR) - Non Surgical - first day downhill skiing after rupture 

You'll get there! If you are a skier, the skiing boots keep your foot pretty stable. I was told if I was a snowboarder, I would need to wait longer to return to boarding. I have been going pretty regularly this winter season and achilles hold up pretty well. Work on your upper legs/glutes/core together with your achilles rehab and you will be back on slopes in no time!

Since skiing boot is sort of like a cast boot we wear during this recovery, it was easier for me to ski than hike at month 6. Make sure your PT makes you work on your upper legs and glutes during your PT sessions in few weeks. My achilles PT got me really ready for skiing season last year. Once more, good luck with your recovery!

Agnes S Thanks so much!

Sorry about your rupture SJ. The healing and the recovery timeframe is very different for everyone. In my case I was cleared to ski in month 6 and would have gone, but I was busy with Christmas stuff at month 6 and then I got a bad cold, so ended up going in month 7. When I went skiing first time since rupture, I was much more cautious than normal. No off groomed paths, no jumps, just simple downhill skiing. I was fine in the morning skiing session, then had to massage my calf during the lunch break and then was fine again until late afternoon when my calf was tight again and had to massage it. Achilles was a little bit sore, if I remember correctly, but not painful. Calf massaging and foam rolling after skiing was helping though. Note though that I was really well conditioned for skiing. I did a lot of daily upper legs/hips/gutes/core workouts while doing PT, so that the calves did not have to work any harder than needed while skiing. Talk to your PT and doc to get you conditioned and cleared appropriately. Unfortunately no one can tell you 6 months in advance how well you will heal... That is the unfortunate part of injuries... I know of another achilles guy that also skied in month 6 and was fine. Just FYI, I am 1.5 years now and ski as nothing happened before, so there is hope! Good luck!

Thanks for your response! Your videos have been very inspirational and I'll be using them to cross check against my progress. I've also just started my own channel to document the progress and hopefully inspire others if I can also make a successful recovery. Thanks again.

Glad the vids were of use. Good to hear that you will be recording and sharing your progress. It will definitely help others! Happy healing SJ.

Hi Agnes, just one more question. Do you have a link to Dr Twaddle's protocol? Still haven't managed to find one easily. Thanks in advance!

You can find one at: www.sportsmed.net.nz/foot_and_ankle and click on Achilles Tendon Rupture on the left.

It depends which month you are in your post rupture and whether you had operation or not. I was non-op and my physical therapist was very conservative when I could go past neutral in order to make sure I do not heal long (that causes lack of strength). I started stretching at week 19. Nothing past neutral before that. You can see some photos of stretches in my month 5 post here: achillesblog.com/agnesatr/2016/11/11/month-5/ The posts after month 5 have few more stretches. Working on balancing on BOSU ball also helps, but all of these must be done at the right time. Are you cleared by your physical therapist to stretch yet?

Monanad, it's about getting back the calf strength now. My calf strength is around 70% or so at the moment. The achilles itself will be getting back to 100% for quite some time. I should know more about my collagen in March at 9 months ultrasound. I could feel the achilles a bit while skiing. Not sure if it was tightness, or what, but it definitely did not feel like my healthy one yet. No pain though until after skiing (and then temporary only). In downhill skiing the foot is in a secure boot, so that helps. I was told to avoid snowboarding now because the boot is not as secure. Having rest of your leg muscles strong helps to come back to sports too, as they will take some of the load off of your calf and achilles. You'll get there, just be diligent with your rehab! :)