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What are the symptoms of a torn Achilles tendon?

Do you have pain in your Achilles tendon and want to know what exactly is going on? In this blog, you will find out whether your Achilles tendon is torn.

An Achilles tendon ruptures when, for example, you suddenly make an unexpected movement with your foot. As a result, you will immediately feel an acute pain around the Achilles tendon. That is why you will feel it right away when the Achilles tendon ruptures.

A ruptured Achilles tendon is especially common in sports such as football, tennis or running as this often involves intense, unexpected movements.

The characteristic symptoms of a torn Achilles tendon are:

The feeling of someone kicking your calf.
You can no longer stand on your toes
You can hardly walk anymore
A swollen, red area around the Achilles tendon
You can no longer stretch your foot

The torn Achilles tendon can be divided into two levels, a small tear and a large tear. Different symptoms belong to these levels.

Minor tear

The symptoms of a torn Achilles tendon are similar to an inflamed Achilles tendon. With a small tear in the Achilles tendon, you will have intermittent pain symptoms. When the leg is warmed up, the pain usually decreases and during an activity, the pain actually increases. In addition, swelling around the tendon may occur. Especially in the morning, the Achilles tendon may hurt.

Major tear

With a larger tear in the Achilles tendon, you will immediately feel the tendon intensely. The symptoms are much more severe than with a small tear. Walking is especially painful. When the tendon is completely torn, walking is almost impossible. This is because the calf muscles no longer function how they are supposed to.

When you see an orthopaedist or other specialist, he or she will immediately find out what exactly is wrong with your Achilles tendon by feeling the calf. Also by making certain movements, a specialist can immediately see what is wrong with the Achilles tendon.

With a large tear or completely severed Achilles tendon, there are two treatment options:

Surgery: this simply rejoins the tendon ends and stitches them back together. After surgery, however, a follow-up treatment applies. Here, wearing an Achilles tendon brace, for example, speeds up the recovery process.
Treatment without surgery: this involves keeping the foot stretched using sports tape or a splint. This way, the torn tendon ends touch each other, allowing them to slowly grow back together.

Which treatment you opt for often depends on factors such as health and age. Thereby, the doctor's advice is also important.