open dataset · last reviewed 2026-06-08
Achilles tendon repair recovery data
Every measured number behind the Achilles surgery recovery timeline, with the study each one came from. achilles · confidence high. Part of the recovery data index. Quote it, chart it, cite it — a link back is all we ask.
Published cohort data. Not medical advice, not a prediction for your body, and not a substitute for your surgeon or clinician.
Measured pain by week
| Week | Typical pain | Band | Scale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 4.1 /10 | 2.4–4.8a comparison, not a spread — The low edge is a minimally-invasive-surgery group's mean pain; the typical and high edges are from open-repair groups — different operations, not spread among people who had the same surgery. | 0–10 as published | study |
| 1 | 2 /10worked out from the paper — The paper reports its open-repair groups separately. This is their average. | 0.7–3a comparison, not a spread — The low edge is one minimally-invasive-surgery arm's mean; the high edge is one open-repair arm's mean — different operations and immobilization lengths, not variation among the same patients. | 0–10 as published | study |
| 2 | 0.9 /10 | 0.3–1.8a comparison, not a spread — The low edge is a minimally-invasive arm's mean; the high edge is an open-repair arm's mean; the typical is a third arm's mean — different operations and immobilization protocols, not the spread among people who had the same surgery. | 0–10 as published | study |
| 4 | 1.9 /10 | 0.8–2.6our estimate — the paper prints no range — The high edge is not from this paper — it's a different paper's percutaneous-repair result, imported to fill in a ceiling this paper's own patients don't establish. The low edge is this cohort's least-immobilized arm. | 0–10 as published | study |
| 6 | 0.4 /10 | 0.2–1our estimate — the paper prints no range | 0–10 as published | study |
| 8 | 0.1 /10 | 0–0.2a comparison, not a spread — The low and high edges are different casting-duration groups' mean pain (from no immobilization up to 6 weeks of immobilization) — not variation among patients who had identical care. | 0–10 as published | study |
| 13 | 1.8 /10 | 0.6–3printed in the paper | 0–10 as published | study |
| 26 | 0.7 /10 | 0–1.8printed in the paper | 0–10 as published | study |
| 52 | 0.1 /10 | 0–0.5printed in the paper | 0–10 as published | study |
Documented milestones
| Week | Milestone | Reported range | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Weight-bearing in boot with heel wedges | Day 0-2 weeks; immediate partial-to-full weight-bearing in a CAM boot under accelerated protocols | study |
| 5 | Full weight-bearing in boot | About 4-6 weeks in a CAM boot, protocol-dependent | study |
| 8 | Return to work | Desk ~2-4 weeks (from the boot); on-feet ~8 weeks; manual labour ~12-16 weeks | study |
| 9 | Out of boot into supportive shoe with heel lift | About 8-9 weeks; some accelerated MIS protocols at ~6 weeks | study |
| 13 | Return to normal walking (out of boot, no limp) | About 11-16 weeks in supportive footwear | study |
| 26 | Return to running / sport | Running ~12-16 weeks; criteria-based return to sport at a pooled mean ~6 months (RTS rate ~80%) | study |
take this
Cite Achilles tendon repairone line, ready to paste
Steady. Achilles tendon repair recovery data: 9 measured pain points and 6 milestones, from 3 cited sources. Last reviewed 2026-06-08. https://growsteady.me/recovery-data/achilles-repair
Embed the Achilles tendon repair chartfree to use on your own site, with the credit line kept
The image is drawn from the table above and redraws whenever the data is reviewed, so an embedded copy never goes stale. Open the image →
<figure>
<img src="https://growsteady.me/recovery-data/achilles-repair/curve.png" alt="Typical pain by week after Achilles tendon repair, from published studies" width="1200" height="675" loading="lazy" />
<figcaption>
Pain band after Achilles tendon repair, from
<a href="https://growsteady.me/recovery-data/achilles-repair">the Steady recovery data index</a>.
</figcaption>
</figure>every paper cited here (6)
- cuh.nhs.uknot yet reviewed · backs 3 milestone, 3 card
- PMID 35809780not yet reviewed · backs 3 pain, 2 card
- PMC11379499not yet reviewed · backs 2 milestone, 2 card
- Immobilisation duration after open Achilles repair (prospective cohort, n=1088)prospective cohort · backs 3 pain
- Open vs minimally invasive Achilles repair, stratified by immobilization durationprospective cohort · backs 3 pain
- Return to play after Achilles rupture: systematic review and meta-analysis (108 studies)meta-analysis · backs 1 milestone, 1 card
take the data
This procedure's records as JSON — one per question a person actually asks, each with the answer written out in full and the study beside it: /recovery-data/achilles-repair/claims.json. The whole dataset lives on the recovery data index.
The data says what a cohort did. Your own log says what you did — and saves you from re-arguing week six from memory.
Start a recovery logThis page reports published cohort data. It is not medical advice, not a prediction for your body, and not a substitute for your surgeon or clinician. New severe or rapidly worsening pain, fever or chills, a hot swollen calf, chest pain or breathlessness, wound redness or discharge, or new numbness or weakness are reasons to contact your surgical team promptly.