Oh man do I feel your pain. I did mine out in Toronto a few years ago playing soccer, so I can't really help with any physio recommendations.
I went with the surgery route as well, as the probability for a re-tear was a lot lower.
I hate to break it to you, but I wouldn't be expecting an Erik Karlsson type recovery time. 2 reasons. His achilles was sliced, not torn. And you don't need a lot of movement when you are wearing a skate, compared to wearing a running shoe and playing soccer/ball hockey, etc. Even someone like David Beckham wasn't back playing soccer for 6 months after his surgery.
I tore mine in July, 2010 at 28 years old. After surgery, week 5 I was in a walking boot. Week 7 I was partial weight bearing. Week 9 I started physio. Week 11 I started full exercise. Week 12 I started lightly jogging. Week 17 the doc said I could start playing sports again. My doc was pretty aggressive with my physio, but it worked out really well. I was going to physio twice a week, and going for massages as well.
As soon as I was full weight bearing, I was doing as much stretching as possible. I was also walking 10-12 flights of stairs every morning. And you gotta rest, elevate and ice as much as you can. There was still a lot of swelling.
A couple of tips.
I had to take 2 weeks off work, I was a literal couch potato, sleeping lots because of the meds.
Get a stool for the shower. And lots of garbage bags.
Get some vitamin E cream for the scar. Once you are out of a cast rub that thing for all it's worth. You don't want your skin sticking to the scar tissue.
I had to wear very low shoes, or high tops. I found anything else really irritated the scar for the first year or so.
The first winter I found my achilles very stiff in the morning. I had to get heat packs to warm it up before stretching.
Even when you are in a walking boot, I would try to stay off your feet if you can. For the next year or two I had a lot of problems with my other achilles and my hips/lower back. My body was still over compensating for my weak side, and I ended up with tendonitis in my good achilles because of it, and my hips were pretty messed up.
And the mental aspect of the injury can be just as bad as the physical. I had a mental roadblock when trying to run because I didn't want to risk a re-tear. I couldn't go 100%, and for about a year and a half my first thought was always my achilles. Gradually that goes away, but it does linger.
Now the good news. There isn't anything I cannot do now that I could do before the surgery. Still play hockey, soccer, run lots, work out. It just takes time and work to get back there.
Good luck, and feel to ask me any questions you have.
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