Bicep Tear

[Ironman404]

Since December my right arm has had issues. At first I was sure it was my forearm, then I thought it was my bicep. The pain was severe for the first 2 months, then it transitioned to aches. The past several weeks it has improved considerably (since I started HGH). I can now do pullups again with minimal discomfort. My right bicep is still weaker than the left, and getting a full contraction is tough...but I feel like it's coming along.

Well I finally got my MRI results back...partial distol bicep tendon tear. Lots of inflammation!

I don't have any details yet...severity of tear, angle, proximity to the bone, etc. I am being scheduled to go see an ortho, and I'm super nervous that I will need surgery

Does anyone have any experience with this particular injury? Anyone have it and NOT get surgery?


Thanks!

 

[AlphaDawg]

It could be worse. I had a complete bicep tendon tear off the elbow with the muscle recoiling to the shoulder. I did not get the injury training. It happened by catching a heavy falling object from above me. I had surgery to reattach and while I have use and strength in the arm, the surgeon did not pull the muscle back down tight enough and upon healing, I have a so-called Popeye arm where the muscle occupies the upper half of my arm with a large divot evident from mid bicep to the elbow. My advice would be to see an orthopod ASAP and be evaluated. Most likely, they will not recommend surgery but a regimen of physical therapy. Baby that arm and do not push it or it could result in a full tear. If you get a complete tear, you will have to have surgery or you will get complete atrophy of your upper arm. This is not an injury that you want to push thru!!! Talk to the Doc and get your options. Feel free to get back with me or private message if you prefer. I will do my best to try to help.

 

[Ironman404]

It could be worse. I had a complete bicep tendon tear off the elbow with the muscle recoiling to the shoulder. I did not get the injury training. It happened by catching a heavy falling object from above me. I had surgery to reattach and while I have use and strength in the arm, the surgeon did not pull the muscle back down tight enough and upon healing, I have a so-called Popeye arm where the muscle occupies the upper half of my arm with a large divot evident from mid bicep to the elbow. My advice would be to see an orthopod ASAP and be evaluated. Most likely, they will not recommend surgery but a regimen of physical therapy. Baby that arm and do not push it or it could result in a full tear. If you get a complete tear, you will have to have surgery or you will get complete atrophy of your upper arm. This is not an injury that you want to push thru!!! Talk to the Doc and get your options. Feel free to get back with me or private message if you prefer. I will do my best to try to help.

Thanks man, I really appreciate the insight.

Sorry to hear about your injury! So do you now have full use of that bicep? It just sits too high?

 

[AlphaDawg]

Strength wise it is almost back to normal as far as the weight I can curl. It does spasm fairly easy if I am trying to do a bunch of chin ups or pull ups. a exercise the PT had me do which was beneficial is get a long handle such as a broom handle, attack some ankle weights to the very end, keep your elbow and forearm flat on a table, take the handle all the way to the right till it touches the table, then take it all the way back to the left till it touches the table. This works the elbow and will tell you how much weakness there is. I met another patient while I was doing PT who had a partial tear. He did not have surgery and the bicep was coming back. Partial tears are way easier to rehab than a full tear. Therefore, don't push it while training trying to max out on curls with that arm. I am an older guy so I am not entering any contests, etc so my arm is ugly but functional. For a year after my surgery, every time I lifted anything, I would palpate the repaired tendon to make sure it was still intact, so you could say there was psychological damage as well. Also. doing deadlifts or rows, do not use the mixed grip with one palm up and the other down. Keep both palms down!!! Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[MindlessWork]

I have a small tear in my left bicep sustained in a gym accident a few years ago and have a small divot near the elbow. Took me a year to rehab it enough to curl but still sometimes spasms. Best thing is to take care of it and don't really pull hard or risk another tear.

 

[Roc]

My lifting partner had this exact issue!!!!!! He did it in the 90’s and kept lifting, well I trained with him from 2001 to 2009, he’s done now, can’t lift a thing, his tri is deformed and bi is even worse. He’s a mess doing his everyday job due to pain in the winter months. Get surgery!!!! He always says it to this day

 

[Ironman404]

My lifting partner had this exact issue!!!!!! He did it in the 90’s and kept lifting, well I trained with him from 2001 to 2009, he’s done now, can’t lift a thing, his tri is deformed and bi is even worse. He’s a mess doing his everyday job due to pain in the winter months. Get surgery!!!! He always says it to this day

Damn! So you're saying he tore it in the 90s, then it didn't get really bad until over a decade later?

 

[Roc]

Damn! So you're saying he tore it in the 90s, then it didn't get really bad until over a decade later?

He couldn’t go heavy, and certain things really flared it up, flat bench, anything don’t with a close grip. If you look at him now, you would say he’s a mess, but I still have a ton of respect for him, he taught me a shit load!!!

 

[Ironman404]

He couldn’t go heavy, and certain things really flared it up, flat bench, anything don’t with a close grip. If you look at him now, you would say he’s a mess, but I still have a ton of respect for him, he taught me a shit load!!!

That sucks. The only thing that bothers it is curls now. It's feeling tremendously better than when it first flared up. The gh really seems to have made a difference over the past 3.5 weeks.

I'm really hoping it will keep slowly improving as long as I keep going stupid light on biceps.

 

[Roc]

Problem is, we all think things are better but it’s just masked until the real tear happens. Gear will mask it, only thing that will really help it is rest and who does that?? Be carful, the gh will help it but only if your gonna let it heal, so that means nothing but leg workouts and be careful loading the weights. My boy really fucked up by thinking it was healed and moved a bag of mulch then boom! Total tear and never took care of it. Best of luck

 

[MindlessWork]

Problem is, we all think things are better but it’s just masked until the real tear happens. Gear will mask it, only thing that will really help it is rest and who does that?? Be carful, the gh will help it but only if your gonna let it heal, so that means nothing but leg workouts and be careful loading the weights. My boy really fucked up by thinking it was healed and moved a bag of mulch then boom! Total tear and never took care of it. Best of luck

Ouch. Best thing to do is get it checked and fixed before it becomes a big problem.