Best rehabilitation plan for Achilles tendon rupture

When the Achilles tendon ruptures, surgical treatment must be performed in a timely manner. The earlier the surgical treatment, the better the recovery effect. After the operation, you should actively formulate a rehabilitation plan. Within three months after the operation, you should avoid pushing the affected foot hard against the ground. In addition, you should prevent slipping, strengthen your diet, eat more foods that help promote recovery, and maintain an optimistic and cheerful attitude. All of these will help to gradually restore your health.

Best rehabilitation plan for Achilles tendon rupture

1. Immediately after the operation, use a blanket or pillow to raise the entire lower limbs, and start moving the toes after the anesthesia wears off to promote blood circulation, prevent swelling, and reduce thrombosis. Elevate the affected limb for 3 to 5 days, and try to minimize the time and frequency of the affected heel being lower than the abdomen. 2. You can use crutches to get out of bed and go to the toilet on the second day after the operation. Be careful of water or objects on the ground to avoid slipping. You also need to do thigh stretching and toe movement exercises every day, 10-15 minutes each time, once every 3-4 hours. Hold each movement for 5 to 10 seconds. 3. If the pain is not obvious on the 2nd to 3rd day, you can start practicing raising the affected limb in bed. Raise it to about 50 to 60 degrees from the ground, hold for 5 to 10 seconds each time, repeat 20 to 40 times as a set, and do 4 to 8 sets a day depending on the strength of your thigh muscles.

4. Go to the outpatient clinic for a follow-up examination 2 weeks after the operation, and have the plaster sawn shorter to below the knee joint. And start practicing knee joint activities. 5. Go to the outpatient clinic for a follow-up examination 4 weeks after the operation. The doctor will remove the plaster and replace it with an elastic bandage, and teach the patient how to remove and bandage the plaster by themselves. After that, you can perform active and passive ankle movement exercises in bed, but be careful not to pull the Achilles tendon hard (pulling the front of the foot upward). From now on, you can soak your feet in warm water every day. 6. Go to the outpatient clinic for a follow-up examination 6 weeks after the operation, and the doctor will decide whether to completely remove the plaster based on the situation. Please bring wider flat shoes and homemade heel pads (you can make two sets, for use on both sides at the same time): stepped cardboard that has been stepped on by someone else's heel, with a thickness of 3 to 3.5 cm. Or specially made Achilles tendon boots, which require my approval before they can be used. 7. If the heel pad consists of about 20 pieces, please remove half of it after 6 weeks of use. The remaining pads can be removed all at once over the next 6 weeks as directed by your doctor. 8. Do not raise the heel on the affected side within 3 months after the operation.

9. Walking is the main activity within 3 to 6 months after surgery. Under the guidance of a doctor, you can do bilateral heel raises and other lower limb strength exercises. 10. Six months after the operation, with the permission of the attending physician, you can engage in appropriate jogging, free swimming and other exercises that have less pulling effect on the Achilles tendon, or non-confrontational light jumping activities. 11. One year after the operation, you can fully resume normal activities with the permission of the attending physician. 12. Articles 9 to 11 above are mainly applicable to non-athletes. Athletes may conduct special muscle strength rehabilitation exercises with the permission of the surgeon and under the supervision of the team doctor, and appropriately shorten the time for resuming exercise based on the recovery situation. However, doing so may cause re-rupture of the Achilles tendon, so please be careful! ! !

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