Martha Stewart Shares Surgery Recovery Update After Injuring Her Achilles Tendon

Martha Stewart Shares Surgery Recovery Update After Injuring Her Achilles Tendon


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  • Martha Stewart shared an update on her recovery from Achilles tendon surgery.

  • She’s using a scooter to get around while doing her best to not let the injury interfere with daily life.

  • Stewart previously said she wouldn’t return to normal activity for at least six weeks post-operation.


Almost a month after Martha Stewart underwent surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, the lifestyle mogul is back on her... foot—thanks to a KneeRover scooter. On July 27, she shared a recovery update noting that she visited her New York City office for the first time since the operation, and her new whip made getting around a breeze.

“My @kneerover has saved my life!” she wrote on Instagram. “I have this model for travel and outdoors—large wheels with heavy treads and an indoor version with smaller wheels for use in my home—it can maneuver in and around my antique furnishings and tight spaces.”

The award-winning chef, 79, happily posed with the scooter in multiple photos. “Thanks again to Dr. John Kennedy at @nyulangonesportshealth and his staff of lovely nurses and residents for putting me back together!” she wrote.

The KneeRover is certainly easier and less painful to use than crutches, and Stewart’s determination to keep moving inspired her fans and followers. “Try and keep Martha down - not happening ??,” one person wrote. “You’re absolutely amazing! Speedy recovery to you. Thank you so much for being such awesome inspiration in so many ways!” another commented. Someone else simply added: “Queen.”

On June 30, Stewart announced that she underwent a three-hour surgery to repair her achilles tendon after stepping out of a car and into a hole that she didn’t see. She first attempted to allow the injury to heal on its own, but didn’t see results, so she opted for the operation.

“Unfortunately, your chances of re-injuring your Achilles is increased when choose the non-operative option,” Mark Conroy, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and medical director or the University Hospital Emergency Department at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center previously told Prevention.

Following surgery, Stewart was ordered to two weeks of bedrest and elevation, per her post. “After that another two to four weeks of crutches. Then maybe some more normal activity,” she added.

She’s now at the four-week mark, but hasn’t said if her recovery timeline has changed. According to the Mayo Clinic, most people who rupture their Achilles tendon—whether it heals naturally or is surgically repaired—return to normal activity within four to six months.

On July 7, she shared that she’d upgraded from a splint to a boot and urged others to be careful. “After two very uncomfortable splint/casts I have been graduated to a very heavy inflexible uncomfortable BOOT,” she wrote on Instagram. “Same protocol - no walking. No pressure on foot. Pay attention! Do not chance tearing your Achilles.”

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