Even the most conditioned athlete, with the support of a team of athletic trainers and coaches, can succumb to the devastating injury of Achilles ruptures. The worst part about this fact, is that the injury can eliminate most patients from returning to prior-injury function without adequate treatment.
The Achilles is the strongest tendon in the body, however the forces that are exerted by this structure exceed loads equal to tow trucks pulling on a stationary car for portions of a second during exercises. Many patients are seen in our office with various injuries to this area, and some with spontaneous ruptures. I had previously discussed how this can happen, and for the sake of sports injuries I will limit this discussion to when load exceeds the Young’s modulus for the tendinous structures.
This basically means that the tendon has more force than the inherent scaffolding is able to withstand. This leads to weakening of the collagen matrix and can lead to ruptures later on. In partial and complete ruptures associated with exercise and impact sports, surgery is recommended to decrease the rate of re-rupture. But as you may have read, our Carolina Pro Bowl linebacker will be sidelined with this for the season, because it may take up to 12 months for full remodeling of the tendon to occur even with surgical intervention.
We use a nonabsorbable suture method which contains a metallic wire filament called a “tightrope”. This is not absorbed by the body, and is interwoven throughout the tendon to reapproximate it’s tension prior to the rupture. The body then needs to augment this surgical repair by bridging the collagen matrix across the damaged portion of the tendon until full strength is achieved. I always tell patients that it will take 3 months to walk again, and 12 months to run again. This is by no means a minor injury.
Hopefully the Panthers have a good backup for their otherwise healthy linebacker the season !
For more information about Achilles rupture and any other foot and leg question or problem, visit familyfootandlegcenter.com or consult Dr. Brian Timm, DPM.
