In high school I led the league in stolen bases, and in college my cohorts and I loved inventing ever more creative ways to dunk a basketball. Apparently, my calf muscles worked well. Somehow at a certain age, I quit those competitive sports cold turkey, partially because I knew an Achilles rupture was lurking out there somewhere.
The Achilles tendon connects the muscles at the back of the calf to the heel. The formula for damage is pretty simple and consistent. As you age your tendons tend to stiffen and shrink. As you age you change from the fine-tuned wannabe athlete most of us were to a recreational player, and we overextend ourselves. Others of us, in making a comeback (or just rushing to train for something like a 5K run), try to go from zero (0) to 60 way too soon. In either scenario, that overextension causes the tendon to tear or snap. You’ll recognize it immediately by the sound (pop) and the inability to walk/stand on your toes, which results from the lack of connection from the calf to the heel. (You need to point your foot downward to walk, which is where the Achilles comes in.) Other common occurrences of Achilles tendon rupture include falling from a height and landing on your feet or stepping into a sizeable hole.
Besides being an older guy (or gal, but it’s about five times more common in men) trying to reclaim past glory, steroids and certain antibiotics (flouroquinolones, examples of which are Levafloxacin, aka Levaquin, and Ciprofloxacin, aka Cipro) weaken the tendons enough to predispose you to this injury.
Depending on your age and preexisting health status, you will have surgical and/or nonsurgical options available to you to repair the tendon. Nonsurgical treatment involves a specific type of walking boot or cast, and surgery is more likely when the tear is complete. You’ll need extensive rehabilitation and strengthening of the muscle around the repaired tendon to avoid reinjury. Don’t expect to return to your previous level of strength and activity for four to six months.
So what’s your take home message? Once again, know where opportunities for prevention are. Given how important it is to maintain physical activity as you age, it’s important to remind you to learn how to stretch and maintain musculature so you don’t injure yourself while trying to exercise. Don’t engage in more strenuous activities until and unless you’ve built up to the level where you’re prepared to do so. Achilles injuries occur most often when you’re trying to do too much too soon. Also, be mindful of slippery surfaces; that slide acts the same as an attempt to accelerate too rapidly.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic.
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