How serious is an achilles tear?

[Graviton]

Does anyone know how bad Kobe's injury is? Compared to say ACL tear, blown kneecap, broken foot?

Is it worse than ACL? Are his chances of coming back same or close to same all but gone? Will the injury have a bigger impact than ACL tear?

Please enlighten me, it would be really tragic if we don't see good old Kobe in NBA again, he didn't desreve to go out like this.

[TylerOO]

He'll be back, guarantee that!

[dbk123]

im guessing about half as long as an acl tear recovery. Not sure though...

[DuMa]

It depends on the severity of the tear. Billups most recent one i can think of that has recovered from it But not fully. He has yet to play consistent minutes this season.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

It depends on the severity of the tear. Billups most recent one i can think of. he has yet to play consistent minutes this season though.
They are suspecting it's a complete tear.

[PJR]

By far the worst injury you can have as a basketball player. Robs you of lift and explosion.

[daily]

worst case scenario, 6-8 months. 2-3 if it's minor.

He walked of which is a good sign. if it's completely torn up you can't even stand on it and walking's impossible because your foots flopping around all funky

[Kevin_Garnett_5]

Worse than an ACL

[jimmy77x]

pretty much the same recovery time as an acl.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

worst case scenario, 6-8 months. 2-3 if it's minor.

He walked of which is a good sign. if it's completely torn up you can't even stand on it and walking's impossible because your foots flopping around all funky
KEVIN DING ‏@KevinDing 1m

Here is the pivotal clarification: Kobe's torn Achilles' tendon is expected to be a COMPLETE tear.

[Graviton]

So his great athleticism and quickness we saw this season will be all but gone if he recovers? :(

He was blowing by young defenders with ease and still had flashes of #8 Frobe in every game. Gonna suck if he loses all of it.

[NBASTATMAN]

I think Dominique tore his achilles and came back the next year and had probably the best year he ever had as a pro. I know he played years after that injury..

Kobe is toughest SOB in the league he will be back...

[zac]

If its a complete tear its bad. Darrell Arthur tore his last preseason during practice and missed the entire year and just was rehabbing during the summer before this season. It's a long process and of course, every I jury is different but its a serious injury.

[PHILA]

It effectively ended Luke Jackson's career in forcing him into an early retirement at 30, though that was way back in the late 60's/early 70's. You hate to see this happen, especially at this point in the season. The big question is where the Lakers will go this summer coming off one of the major disappointments in sports history. I'm sure that will play a part in whatever decision Kobe makes as well.

[gengiskhan]

KEVIN DING ‏@KevinDing 1m

Here is the pivotal clarification: Kobe's torn Achilles' tendon is expected to be a COMPLETE tear.

If it is COMPLETE

Surgery: 6 months he'll walk at most 1 yr.

Rehab: 3 months he'll jog on the court

contact sport. probably 1 year to 1 yr 3 months.

90% of the athletes come back from Achilles tendon rupture are never the same player. explosiveness is gone.

[strifed169]

Achillesbe

:(

[daily]

I think Dominique tore his achilles and came back the next year and had probably the best year he ever had as a pro. I know he played years after that injury..

Kobe is toughest SOB in the league he will be back...

Yes he did.

It's not an impossible injury to come back from totally dependent on the athlete.

Billups didn't come back as well but he's older and he wasn't some high fly act to start wit so even if he only loses 5% he didn't have that much to spare in the first place. Wilkins on the other hand was so out of the building even if he was less than his best it was still crazy good.

[Rubio2Gasol]

I think Dominique tore his achilles and came back the next year and had probably the best year he ever had as a pro. I know he played years after that injury..

Kobe is toughest SOB in the league he will be back...

Yea he's probably the only case. Dominique is a freak too. I got no doubt he'll be back - even if he has to reinvent his game.

[ashlar]

I had a complete tear last March. I had sugery immediately after. I could walk after 3-4 months and do light jogging but nothing serious. Its about 13 months after the injury and there is still some slight pain but it feels like I'm not the same athlete I was once was. My vertical is about the same as before but I can't explode like I once did.

[Ancient Legend]

If it's a full tear, at least a year:

This is what a rupture looks like at first glance before an MRI:

http://i.imgur.com/px2oXXK.jpg

[buddha]

with modern day surgery and ped's Kobe should be able to make a 90% recovery in 8 months.

[Pointguard]

If it is COMPLETE

Surgery: 6 months he'll walk at most 1 yr.

Rehab: 3 months he'll jog on the court

contact sport. probably 1 year to 1 yr 3 months.

90% of the athletes come back from Achilles tendon rupture are never the same player. explosiveness is gone.

If complete, which I doubt, at 34 its more than likely a year and a half??? I knew a boxer at 24 years of age and it took him 16 months to torque on his knee but he couldn't really do it anymore, but he walked fine. With Kobe's determination it could be 1 year 3 months. The only issue is that Kobe had a thing against competing at a level where he isn't super. Of course, we're hoping it isn't complete or even an Achilles tear. Still can be other things.

They used words like "repair" when referring to Billups so I'm thinking he had a partial tear. If anybody knows, please let us know.

[jaydacris]

best case scenario is that if it's a partial tear

a relevant recent example would be Ottawa Senators Erik Karlsson.
He suffered a partial achilles tear february 13, and had surgery the next day.
They announced he would be out for the season

he's already back, skating on the ice as of last monday. and now they think he can play in 3-4 weeks

but once again i dont want to get your hopes up, since we dont know how bad the injury is

[InspiredLebowski]

Reach down and put your Achilles between your thumb and first finger. Feel how thick that is. Flex your foot up and down, see what your Achilles does for it. Now imagine that snapping and rolling up your calf.

It's that serious.

[Ancient Legend]

If complete, which I doubt, at 34 its more than likely a year and a half??? I knew a boxer at 24 years of age and it took him 16 months to torque on his knee but he couldn't really do it anymore, but he walked fine. With Kobe's determination it could be 1 year 3 months. The only issue is that Kobe had a thing against competing at a level where he isn't super. Of course, we're hoping it isn't complete or even an Achilles tear. Still can be other things.


Kobe said he knew right away what it was. Also doctors felt it and found the classic signs.

From @KevinDing
"Kobe's torn Achilles' tendon is expected to be a COMPLETE tear."

[Patrick Chewing]

Achillesbe

:(


:applause:

[Pointguard]

Kobe said he knew right away what it was. Also doctors felt it and found the classic signs.

From @KevinDing
"Kobe's torn Achilles' tendon is expected to be a COMPLETE tear."

The reprieve is that he walked on it. Which is unusual.

[chosen_one6]

Kobe said it himself, "They say when you have this type of injury at this stage of your career, you never come back the same. I can already hear the pundits saying it now and it pisses me off."

He knows this is the beginning of the end.

[gengiskhan]

Kobe said he knew right away what it was. Also doctors felt it and found the classic signs.

From @KevinDing
"Kobe's torn Achilles' tendon is expected to be a COMPLETE tear."

this.

LAL probbaly has sports physician if not orthopedic physician on roster.

they look for classical signs for ACL, MCL, Achilles tear.

Kobe said "it popped"

& said "no heel present when he tried to rest his foot" that means sensation is completely gone.

Thats a COMPLETE tear by definition when having classical signs present.

Achilles rupture is worse than ACL tear btw. Your career is never the same.

[stevieming]

I am not a pro athlete, but I developed Achilles tendinitis at 25, it was so painful that I couldn't sleep with a duvet on it! No joke, it was a crazy frustrating injury. And took two years of b ball from me, I basically gave up as I could barely walk. I remember wishing at the time, I had a broken ankle, at least that only takes a few months to heal....

So for Kobe to have a complete tear! Obviously he'll have the best doctors, supplements, rehab regime, etc but at his age, he just won't have enough time. He'll be 36-37 by the time he's able to play at a good level.

Kobe won't be willing to come back and be a scrub, he'll want to be above average, 12PPG....

[Euroleague]

Read up on it........Kobe's injury is way worse than the reports are saying. It's much worse than the injuries of guys it's being compared to.
It's three different injuries, but they are saying it's the same thing.

Basically there is,

partial tear = Dominque Wilkins = recovery to near previous level is possible

"complete tear" = Chauncy Billups = can come back after long rehab, but at a greatly diminished level

severed tendon = Kobe = almost always the end of an athlete's career

[LikeABosh]

I had a completely severed Achilles and it took 8 months to be able to walk and function normally

[Euroleague]

worst case scenario, 6-8 months. 2-3 if it's minor.

He walked of which is a good sign. if it's completely torn up you can't even stand on it and walking's impossible because your foots flopping around all funky

Again, FALSE. If you can walk on it after it means the injury is FAR WORSE. It means you severed it and the foot is dead and goes numb and you can't feel any pain in it. Thus you can walk on it.

If you can't walk on it because of the pain, it means the tendon isn't dead and you still have feeling and so you can't walk on it because it hurts so much.

Being able to walk after it happens is the absolute worst possible scenario, because it means the injury is way more severe.

[Euroleague]

I think Dominique tore his achilles and came back the next year and had probably the best year he ever had as a pro. I know he played years after that injury..

Kobe is toughest SOB in the league he will be back...

Again, two different injuries. Kobe's injury is much worse.