How long does it take for Achilles tendonitis to heal? (updated 2024!)
Achilles Tendon pain can be INCREDIBLY frustrating.
This is especially true if you can’t participate in your activities of choice because of the pain. I often see Achilles Tendinopathy in runners, hikers, volleyball players… It sucks for everyone.
The most common question I get when someone comes in with Achilles Tendon pain is “how long is this going to take?”
This is not my favourite question to answer, because Achilles Tendon pain can last a LONG TIME.
The short answer to that question is “1-12 months”, but that doesn’t really help anyone. The slightly longer answer to that question is “it depends”, which ALSO is not very helpful…
In order to estimate your recovery time, you need to understand two things:
Severity and Stage of your injury
Other factors that influence your performance
Let’s break it down a little bit, and you can see where you might fall in the estimated recovery time.
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Where does it come from?
Why does it come back?
How to do a self-assessment at home
Recovery expectations
and more!
Grading the Severity and Stage of your Injury
Achilles Tendinopathy falls into 3 Stages:
Acute (new onset of pain, up to 2 weeks)
Subacute (immediately after acute, 3 weeks-2 months
Chronic (3 months plus)
The later longer it has been since the onset of injury, the longer it generally takes to recover.
Acute Achilles Tendinitis will usually calm down in 3-4 weeks (I say CALM DOWN, not GET BETTER here. This is explained later in this article under the header ‘Calmed Down vs Gotten Better).
Subacute Achilles Tendinopathy will usually take 2-6 months to calm down. (Again, not better yet)
Chronic Achilles Tendinopathy is a tricky one and can take anywhere from 3 months to 18 months to calm down and get better.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE RECOVERY TIME
This list is a long one, so I will only list the ones I feel are most important. These include:
Overall Health
Crappy Diet? Super stressed out? Smoker? Comorbidities like diabetes, metabolic syndrome or heart disease? All of these things lengthen the expected recovery time.
Mindset
Positive mindsets win the rehab game.
Sleep
You can’t out rehab 5hrs per night of sleep, especially while trying to recover from an injury. You NEED 8hrs + of sleep per night if you want to get better in a reasonable time and keep the injury from coming back.
Rehab Plan
Your rehab plan needs to be well-thought-out, progressive, and appropriate to both your current state and the activities you want to get back to. If you are a runner and your rehab plan does not involve running at some point, you are following the wrong plan. Volleyball? You better be jumping at some point in your plan. (But not too much too soon…)
Calm Down vs Get Better
This happens time and time again. Someone comes to see me and together we are able to get them out of pain, and they feel better, so they decide to cancel their follow up and get back to their activity.
Inevitably, a couple of weeks later they are back in my office, 2-steps back.
This is because their injury was not fully rehabbed. Only their PAIN is better, but they have not been fully prepared to get back into their activity at 100%. This takes time, deliberate effort, and a well-thought-out progressive rehab plan.
Moral of the story: just because the pain goes away, does not mean that you are ‘better’ (especially true with Tendon injuries).
Rehab programs should generally have 3 Steps.
Step 1: RESET - Calm Stuff Down
Step 2: Restore - Build Back Up
Step 3: Reload - Bridge the Gap
MOST rehab plans end after calming stuff down. SOME plans do a decent job of building strength and endurance back up. VERY FEW programs bridge the gap between recovering from an injury and performing the way you want to.
Need some help?
That is where we come in. If you are ready to get on a plan that will get you back in action and back to doing the things you love, and KEEP THIS INJURY FROM COMING BACK, we can help.
Author: Dr Mark Murdoch, Chiropractor and Co-Founder at Base Camp Sport and Spine in Vernon, BC.
Mark Murdoch is a Doctor of Chiropractic with a Master’s Degree in Sports Medicine.
Contact: drmurdoch@basecampclinic.com
Book an Appointment with Dr Murdoch: book here
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