on an elevated surface. the patient is to push up onto the toes and lower themselves as far down as possible and repeat several times. the other part of the rehab process is orthotic support. this doesn't have anything to do with stretching or strengthening the tendon, rather it is in place to keep the patient comfortable. these are custom-made inserts that fit into the patients shoe. they help with proper pronation of the foot, which is when the ankle leans towards the middle of the body. in summary, the steps of rehabilitating a ruptured achilles tendon, begin with range of motion type stretching. studies have shown that the earlier movement is started, the better. this will allow the ankle to get used to moving again and get ready for weight-bearing activities. this is followed by functional strength. this is where weight-bearing should begin to strengthen the tendon. the intensity should gradually increase over time. the end goal is to get the person to resume their normal and athletic activities. epidemiology of all the large tendon ruptures, 1 in 5 will be an achilles tendon rupture. an achilles tendon rupture is estimated to occur in a little over 1 per 10,000 people per year. males are also over 2 times more likely to develop an achilles tendon rupture as opposed to women. achilles tendon rupture tends to occur most frequently between the ages of 25-40 and over 60 years of age. sports and high-impact activity is the most common cause of rupture in younger people, whereas sudden rupture from chronic tendon damage is more common in older people.