I tore my bicep completely off the forearm. The bicep rupture made my bicep roll up my arm toward my shoulder. There are muscle tears that doesn't require surgery but a torn tendon usually requires repair. When a tendon is partially torn or completely torn it needs to be repaired. The sooner the better. My doctor said for every week you wait the chances of success of the surgery goes down.
With me two metal anchors were inserted into the bone and the tendon was sewn back by the bone. I believe with time if it's a fresh injury it will in time grow back into the bone. I did professional rehabilitation and in time did my own thing. It was just a bicep but it effected everything in that arm. Took about a month before I even had full range of motion. I remember curling 2 pound dumbbells and it was hard. Guys with a partial tear have a much quicker recovery. I started lifting around month 3 and it was a joke. The bar for benches and other really light stuff. By month 5 I was lifting very modest weights. Month 6 I was almost fully back. I remember the complete terror I had when I attempted my first pull up. Thought I was going to rip the bicep off.
My advice is this. Find a surgeon that specializes in shoulders down repair. Any orthopedic that claims he does everything from knees, hips, shoulder, elbow and hands is someone you want to stay away from. An orthopedic practice by me has a shoulder guy only. A hip guy only. A knee guy and so on. You want an expert that specializes in one joint or at the most two.
I though I would never lift again. Seeing my bicep up by my shoulder and my shoulder drooping when it happened was disturbing. I did cardio every day 6 days a week during recovery. I would walk fast and long with my arm in a sling. In about 5 to 6 weeks I was running. Physically I felt amazing. Listen to your surgeon. Working too hard to get back can damage the repair. Work really hard but listen to the limitations of your doctor. Also get off the pain killers quick after the operation. I used it for one day and he gave me 5 day supply. On another memory I remember I had difficulty swallowing for a couple of days from a tube they put down my throat that must have hit a nerve there. That was really disturbing.
This happened to me about 15 years ago. I have shoulder problems now that I can't help feel is a result of the bicep injury. The bicep is slightly misshapen from the other but not drastically so. It's not like I had a chance of winning a bodybuilding competition. It's also a little unstable I guess from slight nerve damage. Much of my hand was numb like it had novacaine from nerve damage but that went away in time.
I can do pull ups, heavy curls, hit the heavy bag and deadlifts without worry now. Certain things I won't do like scott curls or do jui jitsu where a guy can arm bar that arm.
Good luck and know you are not the only one to have gone through this.
Thank you for spending the time and detailing your experience.
My situation is a partial tear and I'm praying it's at the bone and not the muscle as that is when the surgeon said he can not do anything about it.
your healing time gives me some hope in regards to my injury. I've seen videos and read posts of individuals that were back to lifting in a much shorter time then my surgeon had suggested and so I'm praying that a healthy lifestyle and years of weight training will help with recovery time. I also have a kit of quality growth hormone that I saved up and will incorporate in my healing regiment.
regarding the surgeon, yes, he only deals with bicep tears and has a long history of performing this type of repair. if its a tear that allows him to work on it he believes I should make a full recovery and have full use of arm again.
and yes, seeing my bicep sitting higher then it normally would was not pleasant.
thanks again for your post.
