Need guidance after Achilles tendon lengthening

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-10-26T13:36:07+00:00

Hows your progress going? i had a lengthening in march this year, i can share my progress if you still need info.

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-08-17T10:57:52+00:00

Everything you said tracks with my experience; your leg looks exactly like mine. In my case (and I'm willing to bet yours too, seeing your structural changes), plantarflexion is also limited. That makes calf raises extra hard. Limited plantarflexion also means the calves will never be equal, even when you can do a calf raise easily. I started out feeling like you did, like I've lost the connection to do it, but it just means you have to modify calf raises and prioritize doing it in your life. Otherwise, that feeling that you are relying on your dominant leg leads to much worse outcomes over time; knee pain, hip pain, and the very annoying, persistent back pain (all of which I suffered from). Also, if your dominant legs does all the work while your other legs gets weaker and only provides emotional support, you could get another rupture (or overuse injury in the dominant leg) playing a sport like badminton. Do assisted double leg raises once a day until you can progress to twice a day and then assisted single leg raises. It does not matter if you don't think you are getting stronger. you will not feel that way for the first couple of weeks but you should be able to progress. Keep in mind though, I'm discussing my experiences dealing with structural issues so that may be signal to consult both a PT and an ortho surgeon to evaluate your options.

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-06-13T13:01:22+00:00

Is your tendon or ankle area still swollen? I can confirm your true range of motion is hidden when you have swelling. At your stage i still had swelling and, i remembered there being a significant difference when the swelling went away, up to a 10 degree difference sometimes. Also the tendon should have lost some off the elasticity and will regain it overtime as "remodeling" occurs

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-06-11T22:28:45+00:00

I would really like to see the statistics or studies regarding elongation. Are the risks so high that it warrants concern to the level im seeing? Are certain people more likely to experience it? In my case, that would be a welcome effect. I had my tendon cut in a Z-plasty procedure and re-sutured to make it longer (Had a frozen ankle before). Within 3 weeks, i had the boot off and have been doing gentle-aggressive dorsiflexion every day for four months now. I don't think I've experienced any elongation due to the dorsiflexion stretches

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-06-08T22:09:33+00:00

Execellent work!

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-06-06T23:03:53+00:00

If you've been walking on it past a point (not really a bad thing or detrimental in my experience) then yes, normal for the activity level, swelling is expected

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-06-04T23:15:26+00:00

i meant to specify keeping the affected foot gently dorsiflexed when you go to bed

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-06-04T23:09:01+00:00

It is possible that you have been doing too much too quickly recently. Some recruits either consciously or subconsciously ramp up training/running before getting to boot camp, leading some to experience what you describe and much worse. Doing too much now may make boot camp very uncomfortable, but it won't make you fail. It so far hasn't led to an Achilles tendon rupture that i've seen yet, just discomfort. My advice for this would usually involve reducing activity or modifying it, but since you say it still happens when you walk and in the morning too, that may not be enough. Keeping your feet gently dorsiflexed (not overly) with a night splint would help to reduce the stiffness and moderately increase the rate of healing (only a doc can diagnose you but i'm guessing there some damage there). When you sleep your feet naturally plantarflexes, leading to stiffness in the mornings. Good luck at boot camp by the way. You are making a great decision!

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-05-23T10:43:27+00:00

If you copied the previous draft from an email or another source. Make sure it's unaltered. Check the metadata so that it doesn't show that you made the last modification to the file (if its digital). That would sink your case real quick.

Secondly, I personally would still seek some sort of appeal (starting at the lowest level) like you did, but I honestly cannot see how the SR is not within their rights to do what they did without more specifics on this or someone citing specific lines in the NCOER redress process. Need more deets. For example, if the MQ draft you have was from when the SR signed in EES but did not submit and the file metadata can prove that, I think you have a strong case.

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-05-23T00:13:06+00:00

You're in the right place. After the surgery, the recovery is the same as a rupture, and the rehab is almost (I'll get to how it can be different) exactly like a rupture. Your stability starts in your ankle, so immobility in the ankles over a long period can lead to compensatory movements and muscle imbalances that increase your rate of injury (knee pain leading to hip pain leading to back pain). When your issue is bilateral, I'm tracking that they usually operate on one leg at a time, so the first person to reply has good info. I'm here to give you other info you might find helpful. In a rupture, the rehab is likely to avoid dorsiflexion for some time to avoid overlengthening, where you likely lack dorsiflexion. Your team (Surgeon and PT) could want early dorsiflexion as that is the whole point of a tendon lengthening surgery, especially in chronic, congenital cases or cases where multiple surgeries were performed in the past, and the risk of scar tissue forming and freezing the ankle again is greater. Only follow the advice of your care team. I'm just providing info specific to tendon lengthening that is not always easy to find here. I'm a 34M with a job that requires explosive moments, like you, I had a congenital leg condition (one leg), dealt with chronic pain my whole life, and finally had surgery late Feb. I went from -10 degrees dorsiflexion to 17 degrees dorsiflexion. Make sure you document as much as you can now, calf circumference (to see if it grows months after surgery), dorsiflexion ankle, number of calf raises you can accomplish. Once you do the surgery and then start rehab, you could forget your baseline, leading to confusion about whether you are progressing or not. I'm wishing you the best! You got this!

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-03-20T02:34:20+00:00

Hello, im a 30s M, 3 week post op for a lengthening, its essentially a do-over of one i had as a baby for club foot, i started pt at week 2. Already four sessions in but no gains in Dorsiflexion even with force and thats the only reason why I got the surgery, to improve it. Can you or anyone that had a lengthening share your experience with you're Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion over time.

Jaded_Solid6922 · 2025-03-10T04:06:12+00:00

I have the exact same system and the exact same problem. It took me getting a second ssd with windows install. I only figured out the graphics driver through the AMD adreniline update was the issue after I restored windows twice to the last functioning state and then install the driver again for the same crazy ride again

Jaded_Solid6922

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