Dear Lauren

Just adding to what has already been said. Decisions for Surgical/non surgical approaches due to age are based on several factors. these include comorbities (other health problems) you come to the hospital with, the extent of tissue damage needing repair, level of function you are hoping to achieve and the risk factors of being immobilized can cause. In general all surgical approaches have many risks e.g infection, nerve damages, blood vessel damages, fatality etc.

So for a surgeon to look at you and think you are young, you have virtually no comorbities that increases the risk of a surgical approach, it is either the extent of tissue needing repair is not that great or he/she thought immobilizing you in a cast would pose no dangers to your health due to general immobility. This is different with the elderly. In addition, younger patients are often immobilized more than elderly clients because they always pose a risk to the repair tissue by being too active. Elderly clients on the other hand are not very active however immobility causes health risks so whatever you can do if the comorbidities allow for it to salvage their ability to move, then do it. These would probably consititute some of the reasons you were managed conservatively. It is probably expected that being young, you should heal quite quickly compared to the older patient.

Even though you are in a cast, there are several issues to consider...i.e the strength of the muscles that are still able to function and the range of movement of the joints still free to move. this should be the focus of your ongoing physiotherapy or in the least, the advice you may have left the hospital with. being a footballer, you need these muscles to stay strong so you should have exercises to do on a daily basis and advice with regards how to progress them while you wait for the cast to be taken off...

Dear Mike1504,
the same reasons go for you too. A good example is seen with that given by Physiobob, younger patients take risks even though they dont know they are taking risks. It is quite possible to keep having ongoing management of a problem due to this level of overactivity.
What I am saying was/is the doctrine of physio101 (orthopeadics), for example you would cast the arm of a younger client after a broken arm but you would sling that of the elderly...
However, based on the level of function you want to achieve perhaps a surgical approach should have been given to you...but no surgeon wants to operate on a problem more than once, maybe if you were in your 40s, fifteis, sixties, he or she wouldnt think twice about this...
I know it sounds stupid to think that the health professional would preempt your likelihood of disrupting the surgically repaird tendon...perhaps a surgical approach with a few weeks in a boot should have been suggested, with strict advice to only take off at night, that way you have the best possibility of union as well as you you still have the partial immobilization...

cheers