how long does it take for a TORN MUSCLE to heal properly?

[the shadow]

alot of pro bodybuilders tore alot of muscles and till the very end of their careers none of them healed properly.dorian yates tore alot of muscles in his career..his arms never healed and the always looked torn.kevin levrone tore his chest in 1993..although kevin did bench heavy till the end of his career but his pecs were not that big..his pecs kinda remained small in size..ernie taylors pec tear was so bad that he had to retire.ronnie colemans whole left side looked deformed this year.this was also evident at the last years olympis but this year it was very..so my question do torn muscles ever heal or not?

[Mr. Intenseone]

Depends.........alot of those people you mentioned looked as though they needed surgery for attatchment to at the very least avoid disfigurement, but if a muscle is diagnosed as a tear without reattachment and depending of where the tear occures, it will take time.......not getting the necessesary treatment (for pros) to me is just a no brainer to have it reattached since they make they're living with a COMPLETE phyisique!

[Van_Bilderass]

Just because the shape is altered doesn't mean it hasn't "healed"! Some tears you cannot operate on and when you can surgery doesn't get them looking perfect.

[Van_Bilderass]

Depends.........alot of those people you mentioned looked as though they needed surgery for attatchment to at the very least avoid disfigurement, but if a muscle is diagnosed as a tear without reattachment and depending of where the tear occures, it will take time.......not getting the necessesary treatment (for pros) to me is just a no brainer to have it reattached since they make they're living with a COMPLETE phyisique!

You cannot fix a tear in a muscle belly as you know. It's like trying to sew hamburger patties together and have it hold. Most aren't so lucky the tendon is detached clean off the bone.

[the shadow]

Depends.........alot of those people you mentioned looked as though they needed surgery for attatchment to at the very least avoid disfigurement, but if a muscle is diagnosed as a tear without reattachment and depending of where the tear occures, it will take time.......not getting the necessesary treatment (for pros) to me is just a no brainer to have it reattached since they make they're living with a COMPLETE phyisique!

but none of them healed completely..at he end there was a disfigurement in each and everyone of them..none of them were picture perfect at the end of their careers..

[Mr. Intenseone]

You cannot fix a tear in a muscle belly as you know. It's like trying to sew hamburger patties together and have it hold. Most aren't so lucky the tendon is detached clean off the bone.

Very difficult to have a muscle tear at the belly, it's usually at an insertion, muscles that tear IN the belly are usually from a tramatic injury!

[Van_Bilderass]

Very difficult to have a muscle tear at the belly, it's usually at an insertion, muscles that tear IN the belly are usually from a tramatic injury!

Yeah true, not in the belly, I meant closer to the muscle away from the tendon. Like for myself my pec tore at the tendon/muscle injunction but since the tendon didn't tear off the bone it wasn't repairable. You could say the muscle tore off the tendon. Same as Dorians bicep etc. If you're lucky the tendon tears clean off and it's just a matter to fixate it back on the bone. Can't sew muscle back on a tendon.

[Mr. Intenseone]

Yeah true, not in the belly, I meant closer to the muscle away from the tendon. Like for myself my pec tore at the tendon/muscle injunction but since the tendon didn't tear off the bone it wasn't repairable. You could say the muscle tore off the tendon. Same as Dorians bicep etc.

Do you think Dorians bicep could have been repaired? It really looked as though it could have. But I do know if you do have a tear and it's repairable, it has to be done ASAP!

[UpTheDosage]

Very difficult to have a muscle tear at the belly, it's usually at an insertion, muscles that tear IN the belly are usually from a tramatic injury!

I tore my pec at the belly 4 months ago. I had surgery about 13 weeks ago and I just got back into the gym 3 weeks ago. My doctor told me I wouldn't be lifting for 4-6 months because like someone stated earlier, trying to sew a tendon back into the muscle is very difficult. Especially when the muscle belly exploded. I got through my physical therapy in 8 weeks when it was supposed to take around 20 weeks. Luckily I've been pretty fortunate in my recovery and my doctor is shocked.

[slaveboy1980]

alot of pro bodybuilders tore alot of muscles and till the very end of their careers none of them healed properly.dorian yates tore alot of muscles in his career..his arms never healed and the always looked torn.kevin levrone tore his chest in 1993..although kevin did bench heavy till the end of his career but his pecs were not that big..his pecs kinda remained small in size..ernie taylors pec tear was so bad that he had to retire.ronnie colemans whole left side looked deformed this year.this was also evident at the last years olympis but this year it was very..so my question do torn muscles ever heal or not?

dont worry lifting 3lbs will make it hard to rip any of your muscles.

[Van_Bilderass]

Do you think Dorians bicep could have been repaired? It really looked as though it could have. But I do know if you do have a tear and it's repairable, it has to be done ASAP!

I'm sure he sought the best advice. Tears can be repaired a long time after the fact if you have some tendon left on the muscle to sew back. There's been pec tears that have been "successfully" repaired 13 years after the fact! It's true that they should be repaired as soon as possible since the muscle retracts and shortens with time, leaving a less than desirable result cosmetically.

[bmacsys]

Do you think Dorians bicep could have been repaired? It really looked as though it could have. But I do know if you do have a tear and it's repairable, it has to be done ASAP!

That must be why Tom Platz bicep never recovered. He waited to get it fixed.

[jem123]

The golden rule on muscle tears is get them sorted asap. One reson dorian waited to get biceps and ultimatly his triceps repaired was because he was in the final stages of his olympia prep on both occasions. While he was still good enough to win both olympia's the waiting game probably cost him his career.

[Van_Bilderass]

The golden rule on muscle tears is get them sorted asap. One reson dorian waited to get biceps and ultimatly his triceps repaired was because he was in the final stages of his olympia prep on both occasions. While he was still good enough to win both olympia's the waiting game probably cost him his career.

He waited a while with the tricep too. He competed with a 2/3rds detached tricep tendon and had surgery after the show. I think the bicep was still attached at the tendon so not much could be done.

[bmacsys]

He waited a while with the tricep too. He competed with a 2/3rds detached tricep tendon and had surgery after the show. I think the bicep was still attached at the tendon so not much could be done.

 A guy at work who lifts had to traumatic injuries. The first one he tore his achilles playing softball. The very next year he tears a bicep clear from its insertion at the elbow at work. I wonder if it could be a genetic thing?

[Van_Bilderass]

A guy at work who lifts had to traumatic injuries. The first one he tore his achilles playing softball. The very next year he tears a bicep clear from its insertion at the elbow at work. I wonder if it could be a genetic thing?

Possibly. One interesting thing about distal bicep (outer head) tears is that there is no link to anabolic steroid use, unlike pec tears etc. They are pretty common even in non-training population. The mean age of bicep tears is 36 years. How old is the guy at your work?

[oldtimer1]

I'm not a doctor and you should consult one for medical advice.

I completely ripped my bicep off it's insertion point.  The bicep rode up toward my shoulder.  I had it operated on 5 days later.  It's not a simple operation like a rotator cuff tear.  It took me around 6 weeks to get my arm to fully extend.  At the six week point I did curls with a 3 pound dumbbell.  I recovered 95% but it took 6 months of training to get there.

You can tear the actual muscle or you can tear the muscle off the bone by ripping off the tendon. All muscles are attached to bone by tendons.  If it's ripped off the bone you have to have it repaired.  The sooner the better.  The longer the wait the more the tendon is retracted and there is scarring at the attachment point making the repair more difficult.  I don't know for sure but I believe that Yates tore his bicep muscle.  There is nothing that can be repaired.  His tricep was a rupture where it completely or partially tore off it's insertion point.  That one was operated on.  I work with a guy that had a complete tricep rupture. He was a 400lb bencher.  He never recovered his strength. 

[slashmw]

I was feeling usually sore after a chest workout, and when I went back to the gym the next week to warm up I realized that it wasn't regular soreness!!  I felt a sharp pain in my armpit.  I gave it two weeks off and it still hurt so I went to the doctor yesterday and he took some x rays and told me I have a partially torn pec muscle.  He thought I tore my pec tendon at first, but the x rays revealed that it was just the muscle. 

Luckily it was only a partial tear, only like 10%.  But I'm wary now because it seems that once you tear it, even a partial tear, will it ever be the same?