Achilles Tendon Rupture

Achilles tendon rupture - fun facts: Males are 3.5x more likely than females to rupture their achilles, with 20-39yrs being the peak age of incidence 20-39yrs for males. In recent years, there has been an increasing trend seen in 40-59yr males and females. 

In this same study, 80% of ruptures occurred during recreational sports, with basketball being the main culprit (Lemme et al, 2018). In the professional athlete population, 30% of athletes did not return to play following surgical repair. Those that returned to play saw a decrease in playing time and performance for the first year upon their return to play, but returned to pre-Injury levels of play by the end of their second year (Trofa et al, 2017). For the non-professional, only 42% of patients who had surgical repair reported that they had a full recovery at 1yr post-op (Fox et al, 2016). 

Furthermore, calf muscle strength and endurance deficits persist at least 7 years following rupture regardless of surgical management or non-operative management (Brorsson et al, 2018) For more information on lower limb injury and rehabilitation, go to my website www.mickhughes.physio/blog