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Anyone rupture their Bicep tendon?

Discussion in 'General' started by Mike Kelly, Jul 1, 2019.

  1. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Well-Known Member

    On the weekend, I fully ruptured/tore my bicep tendon where it attaches to the forearm. Freakiest sound I ever heard my body make, several quick pops in immediate succession, almost like pulling stitches out of fabric. And then my bicep recoiled up into my arm a bit. Went to ER, they confirmed it. Said to see Ortho ASAP, who I saw today and he also confirmed. And am scheduled for surgery to reattach on Wednesday.

    Has anyone else gone through this surgery, and if so, what was the post op like? The actual injury hurt, and was really bad if I made the wrong move afterward, but surprisingly two days later and it isn't horrible and I can generally use my arm for light duty (amazing how other muscles compensate). I'm trying to gauge what to expect after? Anything like coming out of anesthesia after getting a bunch of bones set and pinned, or not that bad? The procedure doesn't look too bad.
     
  2. shakazulu12

    shakazulu12 Well-Known Member

    Actual footage from the accident.........

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Phl218

    Phl218 .

    Ok. How did it happen?

    If it’s anything close to an ACL tear ....


    Enjoy the ride
     
  4. ryoung57

    ryoung57 Off his meds

    So did you switch hands and finish?
     
    Adam.B, Gorilla George and ChemGuy like this.
  5. ChemGuy

    ChemGuy Harden The F%@# Up!

    Well a buddy of mine had his bicep muscle torn off when he got it caught in a static line on a jump. They fixed it, but his arm (bicep) never looked right after. I thik his range of motion was OK.
    He later burned in on a jump and got really really messed up...
     
    ducnut likes this.
  6. StanTheMan

    StanTheMan Well-Known Member

    One of the surgeons I work with fixes that injury routinely. I’m at Duke. If you need an appointment quickly send me a pm. P.s., she’s good, she’s the team doctor for Duke basketball. They don’t mess around with those guys.
     
  7. DucatiBomber

    DucatiBomber DJ Double A

    Sounds like Distal bicep tear.
    They will anchor the tendon to the radius bone.
    I have a bunch of friends who have done this. Off hand I can think of 4 guys. They all had surgery and recovered well.
    It takes some time to heal as I understand it the bone needs to heal around that anchor.
    I tore my pec tendon three years ago (was a complete tear). They sutured my tendon as it exploded but it was still attached to the bone on one end pec on the other. I did it on Jan 6 and raced the first round at Roebling.

    Complete heal time they always say is a year but guys I know we’re back in gym in 3-4 months and back at it around 9 months.

    Hope you heal up fast.


    Ride safe,
    AAron
     
  8. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Well-Known Member

    Yes, distal tear, and he is anchoring it to radius using what he called the button tension slide technique. Pointed me to a youtube animation video of the procedure. Looks pretty straight forward.
     
    DucatiBomber likes this.
  9. DucatiBomber

    DucatiBomber DJ Double A

    Yes it is.
    My father in law is an Orthopedic surgeon.
    He repaired two of my friends. He said the surgery is pretty routine at this point. I guess they have tweaked they way they do these compared to 10 or so years ago.
    Just let it heal. One of the other guys I know damaged the bone and anchor trying to come back too fast. Overall he ended up fine but had to be operated on again and his heal time ended being like 18 months with both surgeries etc.

    Ride safe,
    AAron
     
  10. odell2115

    odell2115 Well-Known Member

    I’ve ruptured both of mine, almost exactly one year apart. First one picking up a bike in the woods and the second lifting weights.

    Immediate recovery pain is no joke. You go from a broken tendon to muscle, bone and tendon damage to do the repair. The first couple of weeks will suck balls but it gets better. Let it heal before you start lifting anything heavy and you’ll be fine. It took about 3 months to start regaining strength and 10 months or so before I was curling the same weight again.
     
    Metalhead likes this.
  11. Banditracer

    Banditracer Dogs - because people suck

    That does not sound like a good time. Hope it goes well for you.
     
  12. Pants Romano

    Pants Romano Well-Known Member

    "Has anyone else gone through this surgery, and if so, what was the post op like?"

    Had the same surgery in March, 2017. In short, it sucked, but have made a full recovery.

    The pain of the initial surgery was pretty bad, but faded within about 48 hours. I had surgery on Wednesday morning, took my last pain medication Thursday afternoon, saw the doc on Friday morning, and went to my office Friday afternoon.

    Because of orthopedic side of the repair, you are immobilized and non-weight bearing for weeks. As in, "can't button your own pants" immobilized. Make sure your significant other is a good sport. Quote while helping me into my pants: "This is certainly going the wrong way."

    I was in a splint device with an adjustable range of motion. It comes off so you are able to shower.

    Physically, the six months of recovery was not hard. Mentally, I struggled with the inactivity.

    Because the tendon is now shorter, you have to stretch it out to have full range of motion. Therapy starts out with slowly increasing the range of motion of elbow and keeping your hand and wrist moving. Therapy was painless, just slow.

    The first three months of sitting still and doing nothing fun sucked. Only having use of one arm sucked. Waiting for the bone to heal and then slowly progressing to straightening my arm sucked.

    The risk with moving too fast with therapy and use of the arm is damaging the button and/or re-tearing the tendon. I had a hunting trip booked for the fall, and any delay in my recovery would have meant cancelling the trip and losing my money. I did exactly what I was told in therapy, and after six months was allowed full use of my arm.

    I have made a full recovery and have 100% range of motion.

    Good luck with your surgery, and I wish you a full recovery.
     
  13. Razr

    Razr Well-Known Member

    I had a full thickness tear, but not full width tear of the upper part of the bicep. I had surgery April 4th of this year, they installed anchors to attach the torn tendon, they also fixed a torn Rotator Cuff, and a torn Labrum. Its been 12 weeks, I finally started to lift my shoulder up about 3 weeks ago. I have about 70% of my motion, and still doing therapy, it's FINALLY coming together. Do exactly what the doctor says, don't be a hero and try a bunch of dumb shit the whole world will be telling you to do. I was shocked at how many people had Rotator Cuff surgeries.

    Sleeping and getting comfortable after the surgery was a challenge for about 6-8 weeks, for me anyway. Doctor said it will take about 6 months to get back to being physical, and 12 months to get back to where I was. My wife and the family played a huge part in my recovery, ice is your friend. I haven't cut the grass all year!
     
    skidooboy likes this.
  14. skidooboy

    skidooboy supermotojunkie

    Razr, our injuries are almost identical, I REALLY FEEL YOUR PAIN! except i added a second surgery to remove hardware from same side wrist, and repair index finger tendon rupture, 4 weeks before, the shoulder/biceps tendon repair. (as if i needed any more of a challenge)

    march 31st index finger stopped working... culprit, prior hardware cut tendon. next day april first, lifted snowmobile in garage... torn rotator cuff, full thickness labrum tear, split upper biceps tendon upper anchor in half. nice thing for me, even with all my prior injuries, and years of gym abuse, i have almost zero arthritis in the joint. (thank god)

    first surgery april 17th, hand/index finger tendon, inc removal of 4 of 6 screws. the ortho couldnt get the plate out, it was fused to the bones, and he was afraid he would damage my wrist worse. left 2 screws in to keep plates anchored. pt started slowly after 2 weeks, no finger movement for 6 weeks. pt 3 times a week, plus working at home on it, at almost 11 weeks, i still cant make a full fist, and grip strength although getting better, SUCKS!

    may 14th shoulder repair. interrupted hand therapy for less than 1 week missed one scheduled appointment. started home exercises from ortho on shoulder the 3rd day after surgery, no activation of biceps. in sling and pillow for 2 weeks, in sling only, for 4 more weeks. therapy in office started 6/14/19, just working on movement, and range of motion. they wont start strength therapy until i reach 12 weeks, ( their line in the sand, when they believe, we cant hurt the repair, without something really dumb happening). i am 7 weeks out of shoulder surgery now, still having one hell of a time getting comfortable, and sleeping. about the most i can get uninterrupted is about 90 minutes.

    glad i have great disability insurance. TOTALLY SUCKS TO LOSE A SUMMER, ESPECIALLY AT MY AGE. i want to progress faster, i want to push but, i know that will lead to more pain, longer recovery and possibly more surgeries. with most of us being type A people on this board, you can see the docs have to slow us down, or we will re-injure the repairs before they heal. that was and is the HARDEST PART OF THIS INJURY. DONT RUSH BACK, TAKE YOUR TIME, DO THE PT, LISTEN TO THE THERAPISTS, YOUR ORTHO, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BODY. If you hurt... REST!

    sucks we are all going through this but, nice to know we are in good company, and can have a support network here to help, if need be. here is to all of us healing quick, and getting back to life. Ski
     
  15. wsmc42

    wsmc42 Well-Known Member

    I didn't rupture mine, but I had a 60 % tear of the tendon where it meets the upper arm. It was undiagnosed and I was in for a simple rotator cuff surgery when it was found. They drilled a hole through the arm bone, cut the tendon completely loose, looped it through the hole and attached it on the back side with a screw. I had a great surgeon. Post surgery pain was not too bad and it is very hard to notice any difference in the shape of my biceps. That surgery was almost 17 years ago and I have not had an issue with it since it healed. Good luck to the OP.
     
  16. sideburn34

    sideburn34 Well-Known Member

    I ruptured my distal bicep tendon last January 24th moving a leg of beer (not kidding ) and had surgery February 1st. The first 10 days my arm was fully immobilized and had zero pain. Cast came off, staples came out and I was fitted for a range limiting brace. Not allowed to lift anything heavier than a piece of paper, literally! Started PT at the 2 week mark which was mostly heating and massage.

    This was the bad point for me because I pushed just a little, and I mean a little ! Had throbbing pain that was relentless, and kept me from sleeping. Made me miserable for a few weeks, so learn from this, DO NOT do anything more than the doc says for the first 2-3 months.

    At about 10-12 weeks started strengthening and stretching slowly. Only pain at this point was just normal muscle soreness day after PT. Came along slowly but surely after that to the 5-6 month mark when I was done with PT and allowed full limited use which meant continue the PT regimen and dont over do it, or you will be sore.

    I was back on a bike at 6 months, but was very wary of my arm. It will be about 65% at this point and you'll know it. It will cramp up, burn out quick, and get sore easily.

    I'm at 18 months now, and just getting fully confident in it. Still a little weaker than my other arm, but not bad. I lost a little range of motion, and I have numbness from the base of my thumb about 8 inches up my arm on the ridge of my forearm. Nothing that really bothers me but it's there.

    Listen to your doc and dont rush it. You dont want to re injure it and need more surgery, that's when it gets bad I'm told.
     
  17. Razr

    Razr Well-Known Member

    Was all this work done on the same arm? It all sounds familiar. I’m in my mid 50s and losing a year sucks, and I started a new job 15 months ago. I helped my brother and nephew move around their snowmobiles last Saturday!
     
  18. skidooboy

    skidooboy supermotojunkie

    yes, all same arm, right arm/hand. and of course it is my dominant hand to boot. still hard to brush teeth, write, use a computer mouse, usually easy day to day shit, etc... cant reach back for my wallet yet either. i am like the worlds smallest T-rex, help, i cant reach my wallet. comes in handy at dinner. :D LOL! and yes, at 52 for me, this sucks. Ski
     
  19. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Well-Known Member

    eek sounds like a range of outcomes. first thing i noticed typing is the shift key is hard to use, so no caps for me. the surgery was uneventful. minimal pain after nerve block wore off. more like the ache from a bad bruise, thats about it. i guess i will see if i land in the low end of the 4 month to 18 month windows you guys have posted as experiencing. thanks for the insights.
     
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  20. genosr1

    genosr1 Well-Known Member

    I had a complete tear of the distal bicep tendon, had it reattached I had a lot of pain for about a year turning my hand over palm up palm down, 13 years later I still have pain , especially when I lift weights, doctor said some people never fully recover
     

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