It seems like everyone these days is talking about the Achilles tendon. Sports fans will remember this spring’s NBA playoffs when Damian Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum all ruptured their Achilles, costing each a surgery and their next season. And more likely than not, you’ve run into a weekend pickleball player, hobbling around after a recent pull or rupture.
And of course, Here & Now‘s own Robin Young is now sporting a boot after her own pull, suffered simply by disembarking from a lengthy flight to Europe. So, what is the Achilles? Why so susceptible to injury? And is there are reason for what seems to be an increase in these incidents?
Orthopedist and sports medicine specialist Dr. Nicholas Strasser, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, joins us to discuss the body’s largest tendon.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2025 WBUR