Author Topic: TORN BICEP!!!!  (Read 18582 times)

brent2741

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TORN BICEP!!!!
« on: March 25, 2008, 05:26:57 PM »
Just tore my rt distal bicep. Just curious if anyone here has done the same and what kind of rehab time im looking at and how long out of the gym?

nasht5

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2008, 06:06:42 PM »
have no fear. I tore my right biceps 2 3/4 years ago and my left biceps last november.

for both surgeries i had the same doctor. he made one incision in the bend of the elbow, another along the forearm. He drilled a shallow dip in the bone where the tendon needed to be reattached, then drilled three small shallow holes from the dip through the bone. He then placed the tendon into the dip and used the three shallow holes to run the "expensive fishing line" through to hold the tendon in the dip. He used no screws and that's important. It was out patient surgery. I wore a splint and a sling for the first 6 weeks. After the 1st week they will want you to take your arm out of the sling and use your good arm to slowly work your bad arm through a small range of motion, at the end of six weeks you will be allowed to fully straighten your arm. Long story short ( if you want the full story let me know) you will be back in the gym doing what ever you want or can do after 12 weeks. I was back in the gym squatting lite after 6 weeks, i was benching lite after 10weeks but didn't do any lat pulldowns or deadlifts or biceps curls over 10lbs until the doc said I could, which was at the 12 week period. 6 months post surgery your as healed as your ever gonna get and your chances of re-rupturing the biceps is less than when you tore it. because with my type of repair now there is more tendon contact to the bone than before, because it was placed in a dip the bone and blood healed all around the tendon.
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thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2008, 07:26:08 PM »
WTF man! There must be something in the air, I have a suspected tear in my left bi. I'm scheduled to see a specialist tommorrow to see exactly how bad it is. Nasht5, I may be contacting you in the future for inquiries about whatever it is the Doc wants to do.

thewickedtruth

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2008, 07:54:55 PM »
WTF man! There must be something in the air, I have a suspected tear in my left bi. I'm scheduled to see a specialist tommorrow to see exactly how bad it is. Nasht5, I may be contacting you in the future for inquiries about whatever it is the Doc wants to do.

lol what did i tell ya bro!

thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2008, 08:18:29 PM »
lol what did i tell ya bro!

I know man, I know :)

brent2741

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2008, 11:07:27 PM »
have no fear. I tore my right biceps 2 3/4 years ago and my left biceps last november.

for both surgeries i had the same doctor. he made one incision in the bend of the elbow, another along the forearm. He drilled a shallow dip in the bone where the tendon needed to be reattached, then drilled three small shallow holes from the dip through the bone. He then placed the tendon into the dip and used the three shallow holes to run the "expensive fishing line" through to hold the tendon in the dip. He used no screws and that's important. It was out patient surgery. I wore a splint and a sling for the first 6 weeks. After the 1st week they will want you to take your arm out of the sling and use your good arm to slowly work your bad arm through a small range of motion, at the end of six weeks you will be allowed to fully straighten your arm. Long story short ( if you want the full story let me know) you will be back in the gym doing what ever you want or can do after 12 weeks. I was back in the gym squatting lite after 6 weeks, i was benching lite after 10weeks but didn't do any lat pulldowns or deadlifts or biceps curls over 10lbs until the doc said I could, which was at the 12 week period. 6 months post surgery your as healed as your ever gonna get and your chances of re-rupturing the biceps is less than when you tore it. because with my type of repair now there is more tendon contact to the bone than before, because it was placed in a dip the bone and blood healed all around the tendon.
thanks for the info, i go in for surgery on friday so ill let you know how it goes. It is very encouraging to know that i wont be out for 6 months or something past that.

thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2008, 11:30:28 AM »
I just got back from the Doc, left distal bicep tear. Surgery scheduled for this Tuesday. I try to look at it positively, my legs have always been smaller than my upper body, so I guess they will finally get a chance to catch up ;)

BFP

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2008, 05:04:50 PM »
I just got back from the Doc, left distal bicep tear. Surgery scheduled for this Tuesday. I try to look at it positively, my legs have always been smaller than my upper body, so I guess they will finally get a chance to catch up ;)

Thats ro0ugh news man, best of luck with the surgery and the recovery!

Jason

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2008, 05:46:52 PM »
Sorry to hear about all of the injuries guys...  :-[ ...best of luck to you for a speedy recovery!! 

:)

nasht5

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #9 on: March 26, 2008, 06:43:06 PM »
I just got back from the Doc, left distal bicep tear. Surgery scheduled for this Tuesday. I try to look at it positively, my legs have always been smaller than my upper body, so I guess they will finally get a chance to catch up ;)

Just don't rush back in the gym for the first two weeks. wait. don't go heavy and flex that biceps doing leg ext or leg press for the first 3-4 weeks, then you'll be ok to put forth some effort. Like i said, when my splint could come off i was squatting light, but still squatting, doing abs, reverse hypers and hypers, working the core.

You will be better than ever after this if you work smart.
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thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #10 on: March 26, 2008, 08:40:27 PM »
Thanks for the positive inputs, especially Nash. I'm sure what you have told us here will help us both recover and come back better. Trust me, I won't be working out hard, just light work to keep sane and some light cardio just to burn off a little fat.

brent2741

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2008, 05:32:31 PM »
Just don't rush back in the gym for the first two weeks. wait. don't go heavy and flex that biceps doing leg ext or leg press for the first 3-4 weeks, then you'll be ok to put forth some effort. Like i said, when my splint could come off i was squatting light, but still squatting, doing abs, reverse hypers and hypers, working the core.

You will be better than ever after this if you work smart.
12 hours away from surgery and its very encouraging to hear you say these things, hope im not out to long or i think ill go stir crazy

oldtimer1

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2008, 07:57:37 PM »
I had a complete distal rupture of the right bicep.  Some guys have partial tears that aren't as bad.  I got it deadlifting a commercial pool table of all things.  I could see the bicep up toward my delt as it rolled up my arm.  It's important to have a specialist othopedic surgeon.  You don't want a jack of all trades.  My doctor only operated on anything below the elbow. 

I have been in contact with guys that have had the repair of a complete rupture years ago and the thinking then was to keep it in a cast after the operation for 6 plus weeks.  The new thinking is to keep it in an immobile in a splint for 3 three weeks.  The operation was conducted at a hospital where I was knocked out.  The scar on my forearm (where the bicep attaches) is about 4 inches long.  He attached a mental anchor to the bone and then tied the bicep tendon to the anchor.  This kept the tendon attached to where it ripped out so it could attach again.  He said it would take about 6 months for the tendon to fully grow and get strongly attached into the bone. 

The arm hurt like hell trying to regain my strength.  I couldn't fully open my arm for weeks.  I also had nerve damage to my hand.  It was all numb.  The doctor warned me about being to anxious to get back because no amount of rehab will increase the rate of the tendon healing and again reattaching itself into the bone.  He warned me that I could ruin his work by trying to rehab to fast. 

I went to conventional rehab place and did everything they told me.  I also had my own routine that I am not recommending.  The first thing I did after the splint came off was to work on opening my arm.  Every day I gained a little more range.  It hurt.  The rehab place had me doing tricep pushdowns and light wrist curls with baby weights.   The tricep pushdowns got blood in the area and was great for stretching the tight bicep.  I'm guessing it took about 5 to 6  weeks to finally curl three pound dumbbell with a decent range of motion.  It was slow regaining my strength.  I did become a cardio maniac during this down time by using a treadmill.

Some will say it's only a bicep but the bicep has an insertion and origin.  My shoulder on my injury side was also incredibly weak and it hurt.  To make this long story short it took me about 6 months to get back. It really was mentally hard to take benching an empty bar and curling baby weights.  I didn't trust the bicep for a long time.  The first time I deadlifted 405 on my way to recovery I knew I would come back.  The only exercise I'm concerned with now is deadlifts because the suplinated hand( the curl grip) is the vulnerable one when deadlifting.  You might want to do any deadlifts with a power clean grip where both hands pronated.  Also don't do any jerking type pull ups. 

I hope yours is a partial tear that will lead to a quick recovery.  If yours is a mess like mine realize you can come back from this.  Stay positive but I know that's easier said. 

Stubborn

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2008, 09:39:03 AM »
So lets talk about some ways to avoid such injuries. How would you have avoided this? What exercises and techniques can one use to strengthen this commonly injured area?


Thanks guys!

nasht5

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2008, 12:48:13 PM »
FULL RANGE OF MOTION on your curls, (which I did and still do...do (haha)).

Stretch the biceps before during and after training, (which i did and still do....do).

Don't get caught in the trap that you have to curl a ton of weight to have big biceps, YOU DON'T, you can have BIG biceps by doing 20lbs curls - it's all in the technique and form.

When deadlifting keep your arms straight, don't have any bend in the elbows, not even the slighest (like I did). Think of your arms as chains and your hands are the hooks.

sept 10th APF

thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #15 on: March 29, 2008, 02:11:36 PM »
FULL RANGE OF MOTION on your curls, (which I did and still do...do (haha)).  I always do that as well

Stretch the biceps before during and after training, (which i did and still do....do).I always stretch, feals good

Don't get caught in the trap that you have to curl a ton of weight to have big biceps, YOU DON'T, you can have BIG biceps by doing 20lbs curls - it's all in the technique and form.This is what got me, preachers curls with 155, wasn't trying to set a new PR or anything, was going for 7-8 reps and heard and felt left bicep pop on the first one. I had used that weight and more many times before, I think overtraining and leaning out in bodyweight while still trying to go as heavy as I did when I was a little softer is what took me down.

When deadlifting keep your arms straight, don't have any bend in the elbows, not even the slighest (like I did). Think of your arms as chains and your hands are the hooks.
Always do this as well. When I get back from this injury, I know I may be gun shy with heavy deadlifts for a while because my left bi is always in the supinated position. I may have to change that for a while just to put my mind at ease.


Stubborn

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #16 on: March 29, 2008, 02:33:31 PM »
Good stuff, Nash!

I definitely do these things already but it never hurts to have it reiterated.

BFP

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #17 on: March 29, 2008, 05:02:34 PM »
FULL RANGE OF MOTION on your curls, (which I did and still do...do (haha)).

Stretch the biceps before during and after training, (which i did and still do....do).

Don't get caught in the trap that you have to curl a ton of weight to have big biceps, YOU DON'T, you can have BIG biceps by doing 20lbs curls - it's all in the technique and form.

When deadlifting keep your arms straight, don't have any bend in the elbows, not even the slighest (like I did). Think of your arms as chains and your hands are the hooks.

Not doing this is the biggest destroyer of biceps ever.  Im not even kidding.

Jason

brent2741

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #18 on: March 30, 2008, 05:11:34 PM »
Just don't rush back in the gym for the first two weeks. wait. don't go heavy and flex that biceps doing leg ext or leg press for the first 3-4 weeks, then you'll be ok to put forth some effort. Like i said, when my splint could come off i was squatting light, but still squatting, doing abs, reverse hypers and hypers, working the core.

You will be better than ever after this if you work smart.
what kind of atrophy did you notice when everything was said and done? and what did you do if anything to help prevent as much atrophy as possible?

thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #19 on: March 30, 2008, 06:14:13 PM »
what kind of atrophy did you notice when everything was said and done? and what did you do if anything to help prevent as much atrophy as possible?

Didn't you just have the surgery? How did it go? Mine is scheduled for Tuesday morning, go for my preop tommorrow.

brent2741

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #20 on: March 30, 2008, 07:13:27 PM »
Didn't you just have the surgery? How did it go? Mine is scheduled for Tuesday morning, go for my preop tommorrow.
get this im in the surgery center im all ready to go, almost have the IV in and all of a sudden i hear the nurse say "wait a minute, change of plans" the doctor called in sick he couldn't make it. So we are rescheduled for wed at 7:30 am central.

brent2741

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #21 on: March 30, 2008, 07:41:38 PM »
before surgery

nasht5

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #22 on: March 30, 2008, 08:45:07 PM »
The atrophy after coming out of the splint after 6 weeks is pretty bad, don't worry. Muscle memory is for real and your bi's will respond to training.

155lbs on preacher curls is to much, i don't care who you are.

I forgot to mention hydration, DRINK PLENTY OF FLUID during the day - EVERY DAY - especially during a MEET...I know I didn't drink enough the day I tore mine and the week preceding.

that picture must have been taken the day you tore it, right? My arm was bruised all the way down to my wrist the next morning.
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brent2741

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #23 on: March 30, 2008, 08:56:20 PM »
The atrophy after coming out of the splint after 6 weeks is pretty bad, don't worry. Muscle memory is for real and your bi's will respond to training.

155lbs on preacher curls is to much, i don't care who you are.

I forgot to mention hydration, DRINK PLENTY OF FLUID during the day - EVERY DAY - especially during a MEET...I know I didn't drink enough the day I tore mine and the week preceding.

that picture must have been taken the day you tore it, right? My arm was bruised all the way down to my wrist the next morning.
this pic is about a week from the tear my bicep never really bruised that bad but my forearm was awful.

thelamefalsehood

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Re: TORN BICEP!!!!
« Reply #24 on: April 01, 2008, 03:48:36 PM »
Well, I just got back from my surgery a few hours ago. I can tell wearing this wrapping for the next week is going to SUCK. Everything went well, no problems, ang I feal okay right now. My left hand keeps falling asleep though and I'm having a hard time waking it up since i can't move my arm. Any suggestions Nash? Showering after the surgery was intersesting to, some easy day to day tasks should be an adventure this week. :)