What is an Achilles Tendon Rupture?

When your Achilles tendon snaps it is known as Achilles tendon rupture.

What Causes an Achilles Tendon Rupture?

Often an Achilles rupture can occur spontaneously without any warning signs. Unfortunately the first "pop" or "snap" that you experience is your Achilles tendon rupture.

Achilles tendon rupturemost commonly occurs in the middle-aged male (and some female) athlete. Injury often occurs during recreational sports that require bursts of jumping, pivoting, and running. Most often these are tennis, squash, touch footy, and lately Ninja Warrior.

For me this was my undoing. I was training for Ninja Warrior after I had been accepted onto the popular show and I was overtraining. I hadn’t sprinted in several years and I decided I needed to perfect the warped wall. If you haven’t seen this it’s a 14ft wall with a steep elevation that has brought many Ninjas unstuck. Well my hopes and dreams of becoming a Ninja were shattered and the rehabilitation process started.

Achilles rupture can happen in these situations:

§ You make a forceful push-off with your foot while your knee is straightened by the powerful thigh muscles. One example might be starting a foot race or jumping.

§ You suddenly trip or stumble, and your foot is thrust in front to break a fall, forcefully over stretching the tendon.

§ You fall from a significant height.

Higher Risk with Achilles Tendonitis History

It does appear that previous history of Achilles tendonitis results in a degenerative tendon, which can grow weak and thin with age and lack of use. Then it becomes prone to injury or rupture. Certain illnesses (such as arthritis and diabetes) and medications (such as corticosteroids and some antibiotics) can also increase the risk of rupture.