Torn Achilles: Should I use crutches?

Just this weekend, I got a call from somebody who said that she was out on a run, she felt a pop in the back of her heel, she went to the emergency room and she was told that she has a partial tear in her Achilles tendon. I'm not really sure if they did x-rays or an MRI or an ultrasound or anything to confirm that, but the doctor seemed very confident that she had torn her Achilles tendon. And so, she said that all they did really was they gave her some crutches and they told her to see a specialist, which is why she called me. She asked me “I just found out that I tore my Achilles tendon. The emergency room physician gave me crutches. What should I do?” Well, that's what we're talking about today on the Doc On The Run Podcast.