Seraph Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Hi, First post, short time lurker. I recently ruptured my achilles tendon while carving on a soft boot setup. Did it on a toe side carve, boot wasn't a tight enough fit (very small feet and tough to find a small enough mens boot), heel slid up in boot, achilles got overstretched, and popped (no bone damage thankfully). Had surgery 5 weeks ago, in rehab now , and the tendon is doing well and recovering quickly. My question is, has anyone here had this injury occur with a hard boot setup, or is this type of injury generally a soft boot injury (more common than I thought after doing some research). 2nd question, anyone who has had this injury, what was your rehab recovery like, and have you noticed any future effect on your snowboarding? Going to be switching to an alpine board and hard boots next year, just got my Donek Axxess for next year, and can't wait to get on it. It's gonna be a long 8 months to have to wait, but I'm already psyched for next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 I've had a similar injury on soft-boots- but never had any such issues with hardboots. I tore a tendon in my lower ankle in softboots as I landed a rotated jump badly in my youth. It still bothers me a little in very cold weather, I always know when the temperature is below -30F because this tendon starts to get stiff and ache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 From what I've felt, my ankles were really hurting yesterday until I really clamped my boots hard, to the point where the heel of my hand was hurting. I've never done anything to the tendon, but I've twisted both ankles countless times..Luckily, not snowboard related. I know it's not generally recommended to use ski boots, but you may have an easier time finding a pair in a smaller size, due to the fact that you see a lot more children on skis, and rarely a kid under 13 on a snowboard. At least one that actually rides, not sits and complains. Also, Mondopoints are a more precise fit than men's shoe sizes. Mind measuring the outline of your foot in CM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Hi,2nd question, anyone who has had this injury, what was your rehab recovery like, and have you noticed any future effect on your snowboarding? Had a total rupture of my right achilles tendon 20 years ago. Yes it does influence every sport I do. The explosion of a fast track start is away. My right lower leg is always stiff when I stand up in the morning. Especially when it's wintertime. I can't bow my frontknee as far as my left knee. I always feel a sort of stiffness I can't get through all the way. I needed seven full months to recover (my leg was plastered four months). After that I trained/was running with pain, but my surgeon told me that it I could do that as long as I could take the pain. So after two months of full training the pain went away. So from surgery to almost painless training it took me about 9 months. So the keything is: exercize/rehab as much as you can through the day! With snowboarding, well I have to do a good warming up. Mostly I am just better in the afternoon when all the muscles and especially the tendon is all 'heated' up. But I can tighten my boots as tight as before the rupture. Wish you a fast and healthy recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Full rupture and surgery about 4 years ago...Put me back on hardboots full time. I still have some swelling and discomfort after riding. Nothing too bad... I was boarding 6 months after injury, still going too fast. The biggest issue I had was bootfitting. Had a lot of rubbing on the scar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coloradoking Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 everyone reading this, if you haven't yet ruptured your achilles (like me) do everything you can to avoid it, me personally i excercise daily and stretch every way possible in the morning; ive blown out my knee once already, and surprisingly it doesnt give me ANY problems because i stuck with my rehab; long story short; work out, stretch and eat well; do everything you can to avoid tendon blowouts, they're horrible in every way possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrol Posted April 13, 2008 Report Share Posted April 13, 2008 ^^^ Good advice! i torn my left achilles tendon three years ago in a throwdown inprompt to foot race to the car with my then 11 year old daughter.... never the same since Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Sorry to hear about your injury.... Achilles tendon ruptures remind me of my stay in the USAF...I could always tell when intramural softball season was coming, my tendon ruptures would start taking off (patients with them, that is).... Tendon ruptures are a function of lack of conditioning with lack of flexibility. I know, I know....you're thinking "I'm in shape".... Not really, very few aerobic activities use plantar flexion as part of the muscle action.... Running doesn't, unless you're very careful to push off with the toes when you're fully extending your stride. Biking doesn't unless you carry your pedal depression all the way out. I've done the only exercise that has worked on my calf muscles for about 25 years now-stairmaster with my feet halfway off the pedal and going up on tip-toe with every pedal stroke. I use stairmaster for cross training because it also works my hip extensors more than biking-good for climbing hills. That and I stretch my calves before exercising.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 I think I'm one of the rare few to rupture my front (right) achilles tendon in hardboots. Its worth noting I was riding with the boots in walk mode because it was a powder day and I was on an O-sin 4807 178 Swallowtail. I had just gotten second tracks in a steep chute and bowl and was ascending a small hillside (like the wall of a halfpipe) to drop into another chute. I hit the wall with enough speed to get me up and over. It was early season and there were maybe 2" of snow covering rock. My board hit the rock and stopped suddenly, forcing my weight out over the nose. I didn't really feel much pain at the time, but I could tell something was wrong. Because the tendon and nerves had rolled up my calf, it felt like I was standing with my heel up off the ground. I gently rode out to a restaurant a few hundred yards downhill. Inside I couldn't get my boot off by myself but one of the staff helped. It felt weird, and I couldn't move my foot too well. I refused ski patrol help and rode myself to the bottom where a doc did a quick test and told me to get in touch with my Orthopedist. The surgery went smoothly and rehab was hard and long, but successful. I still (three years later) don't have as much strength as in my other leg, but it is adequate. I rarely ride in walk mode any more. I definitely feel I have more power, strength and protection in hard boots than I would in softees. Oddly enough, I'm now skiing in ski boots that are much softer than anything I've skied in since before high school. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraph Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Sorry to hear about your injury....Achilles tendon ruptures remind me of my stay in the USAF...I could always tell when intramural softball season was coming, my tendon ruptures would start taking off (patients with them, that is).... Tendon ruptures are a function of lack of conditioning with lack of flexibility. I know, I know....you're thinking "I'm in shape".... Not really, very few aerobic activities use plantar flexion as part of the muscle action.... Running doesn't, unless you're very careful to push off with the toes when you're fully extending your stride. Biking doesn't unless you carry your pedal depression all the way out. I've done the only exercise that has worked on my calf muscles for about 25 years now-stairmaster with my feet halfway off the pedal and going up on tip-toe with every pedal stroke. I use stairmaster for cross training because it also works my hip extensors more than biking-good for climbing hills. That and I stretch my calves before exercising.... Thanks for the advice. While I will be the first to admit, I was not in the best conditioning in my life, and may have been a contributing factor, I don't think it was a primary factor in the injury. I think that if I had been wearing a boot that was a better fit (I was wearing two thick socks, and contemplated a third as I could not get a tight enough fit that was responsive to carving in a soft boot) and that I was in a deeply angled toe side carve, on a very responsive board that turned very quickly, it probably wouldn't have happened (coulda..woulda..shoulda). But you know what, sometimes we all do stupid things and devalue the risks of certain decisions. I should have known better than to continue wearing a soft boot, that was pretty stiff overall (Salomon Dialogue), that was fine for everything else but was a little too sloshy inside the boot for hard carving. I used to ski competitively, inline race, and speedskate, and understood the value of a tight fitting shoe or boot, and ignored that instinct. I was doing the equivalent of trying to put a race car engine into a street vehicle and try to drive it like an indy car . So now I'll take my lumps, rehab, get into great shape, and use the right equipment for the right job. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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