Achilles Tendon Rupture
The Psychological Reason
Unfortunately, recreational athletes tend to experience tendon ruptures more that the non-active Joe Bloggs.
Simply put:
If you find yourself running through heel cord pain. Your likelihood of rupture will go up! If you find yourself saying “the pain is there daily but when I move it goes away?” or “I’ll just run through it” - your at risk of rupture!
Although it is this Run-Through-The-Pain attitude is what makes individuals great athletes; it is not a mentality seen in professional athletes.
The pros learn to listen to their body’s signals not ignore them. Interestingly, professional athletes rarely experience a rupture maybe this is because they seek an investigation sooner.
Medical Reason
The medical reason is that a sudden excessive force goes through the tendon that it couldn’t handle, so it snaps. This could be a fall from a great height or even a car accident.
However, more commonly it is things like a light jog or “the same run I do every week”
In this case, a rupture happens not because the force was so strong but that the tendon was damaged and weakened over time until it just ripped in two.
A complete Achilles break with often come with a loud bang and the calf muscle will retreat towards the knee and bunch up in a hard mass.
The last a final reason for Achilles rupture is unbelievably the NHS's first choice for stopping the pain, a Injection of steroid.