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2008/09/05, 11:28 AM
bullet1000 -- That sure sounds like a distal biceps tendon rupture. I'm 38 years old and ruptured mine in May while doing curls on the preacher bench. Please do post the results of your MRI evaluation. Also make sure you check out
http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
This is a new site that is a spinoff from a topix.com thread. We have many people posting there about this injury daily. Please come on over.
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2008/09/08, 06:23 PM
I went for an MRI this weekend and just found out from my Primary doctor that I have a partially torn bicep tendon. He told me I should see a Orthopedic Surgeon ASAP. I was able to get an appointment in a couple of days but was just wondering if anyone could answer a few questions? The injury happened 3 weeks ago during MMA sparring, my arm was kicked while it was extended throwing a punch. I felt a sharp pain in my lower bicep and upper forarm with loss of strength in my arm. I put ice on the injury and saw my doctor the next day he said he thought it was just a sprain and that he would see me in 2 weeks. So here we are 3 weeks later and it is a little bit beter but still sore. My question is with a partially torn tendon do you generally need surgery or can you get away with just therapy and how long of a recovery can I expect? Thanks, Mark
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2008/09/09, 01:53 AM
Mark -- Whether or not you need surgery depends on the severity of the tear. It is a contentious issue with no clear answers. Definitely do not base your decision on what you think you can "get away with." The surgery is not particularly painful, and it probably does not result in much more down time than taking a conservative, non-surgical approach. At least if the tendon is still partially attached, then this buys you some time to think about things. Make sure you ask the orthopedic surgeon how many distal biceps repairs he has done, as it is not a common procedure. If he hasn't done many of them, then you should seek another opinion. Please check out the following brand-new website:
http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
This site is run by people who have had this injury (all current posters having had full ruptures). We can share a lot of information with you regarding surgery and recovery.
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2008/09/09, 07:38 PM
brjoy - I spoke with my doctor today and the results of the mri show that it is a partial bicep tendon tear and he does not recomend surgery .He feels that physical therapy is the way to go.I asked if I would regain the strength in my arm and he seems to think so but I find that hard to beleive at this point. I dont know if I agree with him so now what do I do?
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2008/09/09, 10:42 PM
bullet1000 -- That last post was from me. I don't know why I showed up as "null."
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2008/09/18, 01:03 AM
:cool: gotta tell you, i saw a stat up above about 1 or 2 torn biceps per 100,000
and I'm bummed at 38, i just ruptured my left arm today. 1st my right, (1 year ago) and now my left. My right, I tore wrestling with a student. My left, I tore catching a falling tv at work.UUUGH. Should have let the damn thing fall,
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2008/09/18, 03:03 AM
viensm -- Come on over and join us at
http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
I'm also 38 and had surgery 16 weeks ago.
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2008/09/22, 03:16 PM
what is the time line for rehab of a distal biceps tendon repair.Mine was repaired 2 1/2 weeks ago.What should I be doing and when in order to rehab properly?
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2008/09/22, 03:51 PM
shlevinemd -- Visit this site:
http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
We'll have plenty of input for you there.
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2008/10/01, 07:13 PM
Tore my left bicep 5 years ago had unsuccessful surgery (bicep shrank and could not be properly attached). Tore my right in June, different doc advises not to perform surgery might not work and will have to use calf tendon to reattach. Any advise??
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2008/10/07, 12:36 AM
Cgerbs -- Come on over to http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
One of the current posters here had the surgery with a graft in late August and is doing fine.
Why does your doctor think that the surgery might not work?
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2008/10/08, 11:57 AM
brjoy, One Doc said because of the amount of time that has lapsed since injury that he would not recommend doing anything and that a tendon graft is extreme and risky. The other preformed my original surgery which she attempted to pull muscle and reattach, again because of the time lapse the muscle atrophied and was not successfully attached (it has the telltale hollow spot near the elbow and is considerably weaker).
Upon evaluating this injury she feels a graft is not necessary and she can successfully repair this arm. In light of the fact that in my opinion the first surgery did not work I am leary of having it done again. Your thoughts?
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2008/10/10, 02:34 AM
Cgerbs -- Have you had an MRI that has verified that the tendon you ruptured in June has not retracted significantly? I've read about a case in which a guy who had simultaneous bilateral ruptures and waited five months before seeing a doctor was lucky enough that the tendon on one side got caught on the lacertus fibrosis (aka bicipital aponeurosis), which prevented it from retracting. But this was sheer luck. On the topix.com forum, there has been a recent horror story involving a guy who had a re-rupture after his surgeon tried to reattach the tendon without a graft at two months post injury. In short, I'd also be leery about having the repair done without a graft unless there is hard evidence that it hasn't retracted much.
Please do check out the site that I mentioned in my last post: http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
This site is actually run by those of us who have had distal biceps ruptures, and we have plenty of lively discussions. It is an outgrowth of the forum at topix.com.
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2008/10/10, 02:38 AM
Cgerbs -- Also, if you don't live in a large city, you may have to travel to one in order to have this injury evaluated properly.
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2008/10/19, 03:15 PM
I'm a solo family doc, and have torn both of my distal biceps tendons...within a week of each other...3 pops and a world of pain...I can't afford to take time off and travel around for ortho opinions and hate surgery, so I'm going to wing it on my own. I do woodcarving and turning with using chain saw and such...I'll let you know haw it goes as it's only been a month. I would certainly agree that I wouldn't let your average general ortho touch this type of surgery...but perhaps my arms will turn to shit without intervention as well.:(
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2008/10/20, 03:23 AM
Well, I just found this site tonight after googling Distal Biceps Tear Rehab... Some pretty interesting stuff here. I guess I'm a little unique in one way... I've now torn both tendons. The first was 3 years ago, and the second was 7 weeks ago. I'll add a little insight to the recovery process, if anyone's interested. I'm 48 years old, I've been weight training religiously for about 30 years now and I'm in very good physical health generally.
I tore my left distal tendon trying to yank my motorcycle back up to verticle after being cut off in traffic. It was the old "pop" everyone's heard and felt. I was told by the ER doc that it would just "heal on its own" and to go home. I'm a dentist and have knowledge of anatomy, and knew that I needed surgery to repair my arm which I need for my career. I saw an orthopod and was fixed 7 days later. He used the modified 2-incision technique. There wasn't much for rehab... he told me after 2 weeks to just "go ahead and start doing what I normally do, and if it hurts, stop".
Anyway, it's been three years and I'm finally pretty much fully rehabilitated. I have to say though that this arm hurt for at least 2 years, even to isometric contraction, and progressively loading the muscle with resistance demanded all my patience! It had a funny shape following the surgery also... the biceps still seemed shorter (still does) and the brachialis could be seem plainly bulging out the lateral aspect of my upper arm. This has resolved somewhat, but it's still a little different. Strength has fully returned however, which is what is important.
Most recently, my other arm let go when I hyperextended while trying to avoid falling out of a truck bed. I had the surgery within 6 days, different surgeon. He used the single-incision techique. I was in a half-cast for 10 days, a brace for 4 weeks (worn mostly only at night, as it was difficult to cope with infection control wearing the device to work). This time I'm amazed that the arm is completely pain-free, and has been since the day the cast came off! I can pretty much fully flex the muscle without any pain, and I've just begun full extension this week and it's not a problem. I'm just beginning weight training, very light, and I'm hopeful of the outcome.
I do notice that this time the muscle seems even more shortened post-op than the last time. This bothers me a little, as it looks pretty similar to before the surgery. I definately have a tendon back though, as I can clearly palpate it! Anyway, seems a little weird to me, but I'm hoping that it'll come down a little more now that I'm stretching it and beginning light weights. I'm amazed at how weak it's gotten in such a short time!
Anyway, I hope this wasn't too long. I thought my experience was worth relating to others going through the same thing and with my dual-experience with both the single- and double-incision techniques, as well as controlled rehab compared to NO rehab to speak of. I can confidently say that even without proper rehab I have recovered full strength and flexibility in my "3-year" arm and I'm sure if the pain wouldn't have been so bad post-op that I would have recovered much quicker. Because of this I have much higher hopes for a faster recovery in my "recent" arm, and I can offer hope to those who have recently gone through the same surgery, especially to those firemen and policeman I read about here.
Good luck to you all!
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Quoting from madwand:
It's a shame nobody sticks around after they post...I ripped my lower tendon on May 8th, had surgery on the 13th, and on the 22nd, had my bandages removed and was put back in the splint with sling. I get my staples removed on 6-2-08. I am able to remove the sling during the day as long as I am careful not to extend past 90 degrees. I sleep in the splint to prevent unconscious movement.
The need to stretch my other side is almost unbearable, but I can do it because of the sympathetic affect, if I stretch the good one, the torn one aoutomatically starts quivering and spasing and I am fearful of a cramp occuring and ripping the repair.
Like 'firertb,' I am a cop and need my strength to return to work...I wish some of these people would come back and follow up on their progress.
Some things I haven't seen mentioned on this thread:
-This injury (lower distal) is extremely rare and occurs in 1 or 2 in 100,000 people.
-Generally occurs in males over 40.
-Unrepaired (conservative treatment) injuries can recover with as much as 30-40% power loss.
As rare as this is, my father has the exact same injury, but as a senior, he did not elect for surgery. My biggest fear is that I feel the same thing coming on in my other arm, pain in the soft tissue of the joint, which I had in the injured area before from heavy lifting at another job. Hopefully, the uninjured one will strengthen as I rehab as well.
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2008/10/20, 03:04 PM
jmsdoc and Gasguzlr -- Please join us over at http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
jmsdoc -- Did you tear both tendons simultaneously? If so, how did you manage to do that? You really should think about having the repair(s) done or at least take a little time off to get an opinion. It's still not too late, and you may be able to find a skilled surgeon not too far from where you live. Most of us at the site I mentioned above have managed to find a good surgeon quickly (for me, the day after injury) and are pleased with the results.
Gasguzlr -- Are you the same person as Ross over at topix.com? We could really use your experience at the new site I just mentioned above.
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2008/10/21, 01:14 AM
Hi brjoy. Yes, that's me over there too. I'm just checking out the site you've mentioned tonight... looks really good. I'll jump in there shortly, looking forward to it.
Ross
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2008/11/02, 12:47 AM
Hello. I have been reading al your posts. After 6 months of drs and one finally listening to me and having me go for an MRI I have a completely torn tendion in my lower arm near elbow. It has only worsened over time. I have been reading that the surgey could not go so well as its been over 6 months... Help...
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2008/11/02, 03:14 AM
has anyone ever had a partial tear in there muscle not the tendons? I think i might have i partially tore my quad and i have a huge indentation in my bicep and my shoulder now kills what do you al think i did?
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2008/11/03, 01:12 PM
I had my distal bicep surgery Friday. Long day, I remember 10:30am under anesthesia and woke up at 4:45pm. I felt sick for about an hour and a half coming off anesthesia (worst part) 2 1/2 hour surgery. Got home at 7:30pm. I have a cast from top of bicep to knuckles and use a small cloth sling. Pain is not really that bad with the medication given (Tab 10 325mg Norco). First night it was hard to get comfortable sleeping but better the second night. Try to keep arm above the heart. I was walking around and feeling good Saturday. Fun watching Texas Tech beat Texas, so far so good. I will post progress reports. Others were helpful for me. Go Lakers, Randy
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Quoting from maggie1116:
Hello. I have been reading al your posts. After 6 months of drs and one finally listening to me and having me go for an MRI I have a completely torn tendion in my lower arm near elbow. It has only worsened over time. I have been reading that the surgey could not go so well as its been over 6 months... Help...
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2008/11/03, 01:15 PM
I'm a 56 year old in shape, active male. I work out 4 times a week at the gym, surf, golf and play softball. I ruptured my left distal bicep tendon on Oct. 21st. I got hit by a softball line drive on the upper palm of hand. I couldn't lift anything immediately after, but recovered about 50% strength shortly after. Went to emergengy the next day x-rays negative, went to doctor 2 days later and he said obvious ruptured distal bicep tendon and referred me to othro. They set up surgery right then, I'm having surgery Friday Oct. 31st tommorrow in San Diego Kaiser Zion. I don't have much discomfort, a little bruising, bicep moved up a couple of inches and looks deformed. I'll keep you posted on how this turns out. This site has been helpful. Thanks, Randy
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Quoting from bentonrs:
I had my distal bicep surgery Friday. Long day, I remember 10:30am under anesthesia and woke up at 4:45pm. I felt sick for about an hour and a half coming off anesthesia (worst part) 2 1/2 hour surgery. Got home at 7:30pm. I have a cast from top of bicep to knuckles and use a small cloth sling. Pain is not really that bad with the medication given (Tab 10 325mg Norco). First night it was hard to get comfortable sleeping but better the second night. Try to keep arm above the heart. I was walking around and feeling good Saturday. Fun watching Texas Tech beat Texas, so far so good. I will post progress reports. Others were helpful for me. Go Lakers, Randy
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2008/11/06, 01:52 PM
bentonrs youhelpped calm my fears about my surgery on Mon the 10th
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2008/11/07, 04:27 PM
To all of those who haven't done so already, please come on over and join us here: http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
We have many people discussing distal biceps rupture daily.
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2008/11/10, 02:30 AM
had bicep tenodesis with subacromial decompression and subscapular repair- tore the tendon about midway between shoulder and elbow - am 55 yr old female, surgery on Sept 19,2008. Shoulder is feeling alright now but the bicep area is still really painful! Have done NO weight bearing activity yet and am scheduled to return to work in 1 week (LOL) Am allowed external rotation to 20 degrees-frankly, this is so not fun!
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2008/12/05, 06:59 PM
Since I bitched so loudly about how no one follows up on their recovery, I'll report now. I was released on November 3rd, 5 days short of 6 months. Went back to work full duty at both my jobs.
The last day I was in PT, I hurt my uninjured bicep. I don't know what it was, like I pulled it or something. I had done some heavy curling the day before and was trying to lift a large heavy box to shoulder height when pain hit and I almost dropped it. The entire time my right arm has been injured, I have had a sharp pain deep in the joint of my left when I contract, so I suspect I will be one of these people who has the 2nd injury of the other arm. I keep asking my moron Dr. and all he ever says is that I should shake my arms vigorously before physical activity.:angry:
So at the time I went back to work, my injured arm had healed to the point where it felt better then the uninjured one. I began doing phisical things at full force, but being particular about how I did them. Continually worrying that I wasn't in the clear yet. But now, a month later, I am pretty comfortable doing anything I feel like, with the limitation of my uninjured left arm being the only thing holding me back.
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2009/01/19, 01:25 PM
Well new to the board , last week was picking up my dirt bike after a long day of racing and had the right tendons in my arm pop./bicep balled up and was sore. /had surgery on thursday 1/15/2009 , after surgery discomfort sucked.Arm is tender and achy.Finally able to write with it. I had a good surgeon , she did a two incsision repair.I follow up with her on tuesday.Currently in an a semi hard cloth fiberglass cast.Lifelong bodybuilder sprts fanatic, hoping to get full streangth back. Also left tendon is partially torn , will have surgery on it after right heals.No surgery is not an option.Need full strength back.
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2009/01/19, 05:37 PM
moto1 -- Join us over here:
http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php
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2009/03/14, 08:37 PM
I got in a 4wheeler wreck when i was 18. Im 26 now. I broke some bones, and my arm was really sore. i couldnt move it, and they didnt see anything in the xray. By the time i could move it, and flex(about 1-2months later), the doctor said there was to much scar tissue to repair it. I lift heavy weights frequently, and dont notice a loss of strength. Im about 215, and do weighted pull ups, heavy curls, etc, no problems for the most part. It looks really weird though. And lately, the last 2 weeks, my good tendon has been sore. Not sure what i can do.
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2009/03/14, 08:38 PM
I got in a 4wheeler wreck when i was 18. Im 26 now. I broke some bones, and my arm was really sore. i couldnt move it, and they didnt see anything in the xray. By the time i could move it, and flex(about 1-2months later), the doctor said there was to much scar tissue to repair it. I lift heavy weights frequently, and dont notice a loss of strength. Im about 215, and do weighted pull ups, heavy curls, etc, no problems for the most part. It looks really weird though. And lately, the last 2 weeks, my good tendon has been sore. Not sure what i can do.
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2009/03/22, 05:40 AM
rawz -- Definitely listen to the pain and give the "good" arm a rest for a few weeks. Please join us over here:
http://www.tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/
Do you have a confirmed distal biceps tendon rupture in the "bad" arm?
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2009/08/29, 01:56 AM
I see alot from men posted, I am a 45 y.o. woman who arm wrestles competitively. During a tourney on aug.7.09 I felt a tearing in my inner arm and instant pain. I immediately applied ice (wrestled 2 more times after and came in second!) Went to the emergency room the next day and was referred to surgeon 3 days later. Had totally torn distal bicep from bone. Had surgery on aug 17. extremely painful after, alot of spasms in upper arm....bicep had retracted nearly under my arm!!! Am in an ace constantly and keeping arm bent but trying to use it a little. Go to get staples removed in 5 more days. Have alot of tingling in thumb area and the back of my wrist and a pretty ugly scar but was told I should be back and able to compete in 6-9 months. Palm up is out of the question still but will do physical therapy once I am cleared to do so. Will keep you posted on progress!!:big_smile:
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2009/09/05, 02:21 AM
As promised....a short update.... went to have staples removed 2 days ago. since, I have had some arm swelling but the doctor says all is good and the nasty looking incision appears to be healing well.(tendon in place) I can return to work on a very limited basis. I am still having upper bicep spasms and told to use a sling to limit the work the upper bicep is having to do.This has been a painful endeavor to say the least!:big_smile:
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2009/12/08, 01:54 AM
have had bicept repaired has failed can they repair it again did move it around within four weeks of op had the biotenadesis screw in the long head tendon has any one had it repaired twice
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2009/12/19, 07:11 PM
I tore my bicep about 8 years ago playing hockey. Never went to a doctor and it took about 3 months or so to heal. Shortly after injuring it I began seeing if I could do light olympic weightlifting. To my surprise I was able to do it with no pain. However, anything that involved using my bicep was painful. I lost a lot of strength doing every day thing like twisting off bottle caps or pouring milk.
To this day I still have trouble with bottle caps and such. But I was able to get my biceps stronger doing curls. Matter of fact, I was stronger now than I was before in doing curls. I just had to watch myself because my tendon would give out before my muscle did. I only felt that happen once before so I just stopped my workout and went home.
However, today I just re-injured it doing the clean and jerk. I had already done my snatch workout earlier and was feeling really strong. I was only going to do one more set of a couple reps of cleans when I felt that horrible pain. But this time the pain wasn't as intense.
When I started the lift my arm wasn't as straight as it should have been. So because my technique was off, that's why there was more strain on my bicep than usual.
Hopefully after a couple weeks I'll be able do some light lifting. Tomorrow I'm still going to the gym to do some leg work and cardio. I feel this time the injury isn't as serious as the first one. I mean I never had it reattached to begin with, so how bad can this one be?
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2011/05/02, 02:12 PM
Hello, i am 4 weeks post op for a torn distal biceps tendon. Is it normal to still have deformity? My bicep has a disctinct gap near the elbow. The muscle and tendon are noticeable but the gap is alarming.
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2017/08/25, 03:07 AM
I bought dermalmd scar serum for my mother. She has had 6 arms surgeries in the past 10 years and recently received a titanium bone to replace hers. Her scars are in several places around her elbow and bicep. She has been using dermalmd scar serum for 4 days now and already seeing great results of the scars deminishing. It's leaving her skin smooth as well. She is going to start using it on her face also to rid her wrinkles. I highly recommend this serum to anyone who is self conscious about scars.
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2017/11/15, 08:47 PM
I just had a complete distal tear in my right bicep repaired. Today was the first day I've seen it out of a cast. My concern is that it doesn't seem to completely fill out anymore. Will this correct itself with rehabilitation? I've been into bodybuilding since a teenager and it may seem vain but it is very important to me.
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2017/11/15, 08:49 PM
WAYNE-O
I just had a complete distal tear in my right bicep repaired. Today was the first day I've seen it out of a cast. My concern is that it doesn't seem to completely fill out anymore. Will this correct itself with rehabilitation? I've been into bodybuilding since a teenager and it may seem vain but it is very important to me.
---also I've heard that hgh can expedite the healing process. Has anyone any insight on that or this deer antler spray I've heard of?
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2017/11/17, 04:29 AM
I tore my distal bicep tendon 3 yrs ago at work. I had to have surgery to reconnect the tendon. I had to take several months to recover and do physical therapy but now good as new. I would definitely get a second opinion because the dr told me if they didn’t reattach it that I would significantly lose strength and rotation in my right arm. Good luck to you. MattinNYC
hey, first time visitor to this site, but lifetime fitness freak (former collegiate swimmer, and now at the gym every day lifting/cross-training).
5 days ago at preacher curl, started with too heavy of a weight. When completely extended at rep 4, felt intense, strange, buckling in lower bicep area. Pain immediately, and weakness, clearly a significant injury. My right bicep now looks different: bascially no muscle in lower bicep area, and when touched I can't locate the tendon. My doctor took a quick look and thinks it's a streched tendon/ligament (not quite sure of his use of words). Prescribed some pain pills, and said to take it easy for a week.
I'm beginning to wonder if it is more severe than that. Will this injury heal on its own? I'm not a novice when it comes to the gym, and very high threshhold for pain. But, this has me worried. If, in fact, this is more serious than we previously thought, what needs to be done?
I plan to get another opinion asap, but just wanted some input at to the possible extent of this injury. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
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2020/07/11, 09:38 AM
WAYNE-O
I just had a complete distal tear in my right bicep repaired. Today was the first day I've seen it out of a cast. My concern is that it doesn't seem to completely fill out anymore. Will this correct itself with rehabilitation? I've been into bodybuilding since a teenager and it may seem vain but it is very important to me.
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WAYNE-O I had mine repaired 11 weeks ago and I am noticing a remaining gap in my bicep near the forearm as well. At times it looks similar to before the surgery, but it depends which way my arm is positioned and whether the wrist is supinated. My bicep is still smaller and doesn’t feel like it wants to contract when I flex, but I can see it working similar to my good arm, I’m just really concerned that the surgery wasn’t done the best or perhaps the tendon retracted slightly allowing some slack compared to its natural tension on the radius. I see the surgeon in 12 days and I will ask a lot of questions in hopes this is all normal at this stage of the recovery, and that in time once I’m able to train properly that the bicep will regain some length as it grows. BTW I too was a competitive bodybuilder so I can totally relate to your concern. We put a lot of time and dedication into our bodies and it’s normal to want your arm to not only feel it’s best, but look it’s best as well ! If anyone else can chime in on a similar experience please do. Thanks everyone !
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