Think I've damaged my achilles: cold sweat about how long I'll be out for.....

[DrNortherner]

Can't put my foot down flat, big knotty lumps in calf, my whole leg feels like it has no strength to bear my body weight.

I love my running, upto 7 miles and really don't need a set back.

Anyone any experience?

Can you feel the Achilles, or has it ruptured completely? (not sure if you are a medical doctor, or whether it's just a MN name). DH has had two complete ruptures, and had the tendon stitched together both times. It's 6 weeks in plaster, and then several months of exercises to rebuild the atrophied calf muscles. In the end it's as good as new though.

I had tendonitis in both Achilles about a year ago. I went to see a physio, and she gave me THE exercise for strengthening the achilles:

Stand on the bottom step of the stairs on your toes, lower your heels down slowly to full stretch (they should be lower than your heels at this point), then raise up again. Do 3 sets of 10. When you can do this easily, do it one foot at a time. It's the lowering - loading the muscle as it lengthens, that does the good.

It still took 6 months until I was pain free, but I was an idiot, and kept doing martial arts on it.

I wouldn't start exercises until it all calms down though, and you deifinitely need to be sure that the Achilles isn't ruptured.

Actually, rereading your post, it sounds like a rupture - trip to A&E tomorrow morning I think. Don't try and drive.