Bicep tear?

[Draggo]

I have had a nagging pain in my rt bicept for a bit over month now. No bruising and I can still train but it is painful and my workouts are suffering. Likely a minor bicept tear? I am natural but have been training hard for 20 years or so. I'm not against gear but never really got into it. I think about it alot but never had the guts. Now that I have this injury I am considereing it to help with this injury.

My question is.... would it be worth going to a doctor to discuss it? and secondly does anyone know any Dr.'s in Winnipeg who would be open to this type of discussion?

Obviously you may not want to discuss this in the open, but if you have any advise send me a private message.

[JonnyO]

Going on aas to heal a nagging injury is the worst thing you could do. Think about it, your getting stronger , damaging that muscle training even further potentially.

Best idea would be to get checked out and find the root of the injury and go from there.

[BDH]

I agree with Johnny... Having torn both, I can tell you the best thing you can do is have it professionally assessed. Keep us updated. Gear is bad news this early in the healing process.

[Draggo]

thanks jonnyO I never really thought about it that way, you make a great point.

[Draggo]

anyone know a good sports medicing Dr. in Winnipeg? I am new to the city.

[Hosehead]

anyone know a good sports medicing Dr. in Winnipeg? I am new to the city.

You may have tendonitis. I have it in my right bicep. I have been seeing an ART therapist and it's steadily getting better. If it was a significant tear you wouldn't be training biceps at all. If there was no bruising then it's either tendonitis or a micro tear. I'd ice it twice a day for 15 minutes and stop training bis for at least a month. I did it when I last had tendonitis and it worked well. Problem was I came back too soon and was doing underhand barbell rows with too much weight too often and the pain is back. There MUST be a guy who does ART in Winnipeg. Check it out and good luck.

[Praetorian]

If it is tendonitis, ART, ice, anti-inflammatories, Pennsaid, and rest will all help. I would see a DR and ask for a referral for an Ultrasound to be absolutely sure...the ultrasound will show any tear and you can then work on specific treatments...without knowing everything else is guess work at best. Also a partial tear may not bleed much at all...i had more than a 50% tear and no bleeding was detectable so that is not a true indication of the severity of injury...you also have a max of about 4-5 weeks to repair it surgically after that the tendon will lose too much elasticity for repair.
P

[GYMBRAT]

Going on aas to heal a nagging injury is the worst thing you could do. Think about it, your getting stronger , damaging that muscle training even further potentially.

Best idea would be to get checked out and find the root of the injury and go from there.

x2, losta good info

[razorsedge]

You got the best info you can get here in above posts...see the doc and soon...time frame is super important..trust me on that one. I waited too long thinking it would just 'magically go away'...nope and lost tons of muscle length by time of surgery which results in loss of range of motion after surgery

[Hosehead]

If it is tendonitis, ART, ice, anti-inflammatories, Pennsaid, and rest will all help. I would see a DR and ask for a referral for an Ultrasound to be absolutely sure...the ultrasound will show any tear and you can then work on specific treatments...without knowing everything else is guess work at best. Also a partial tear may not bleed much at all...i had more than a 50% tear and no bleeding was detectable so that is not a true indication of the severity of injury...you also have a max of about 4-5 weeks to repair it surgically after that the tendon will lose too much elasticity for repair.
P

Yeah, it's almost better to have a complete tear because at least then they'll speed up the surgery wait time. If a guy is still training or he can still do daily tasks then he'll be put on the back burner for surgery.

[Praetorian]

Yeah, it's almost better to have a complete tear because at least then they'll speed up the surgery wait time. If a guy is still training or he can still do daily tasks then he'll be put on the back burner for surgery.

Even with a partial tear its emergency surgery...the surgeon will usually schedule you in between patients for the day...I had to wait from 7am until 7pm before i was sent to the OR. You cannot put a tendon tear on the backburner because you have avery limited window to repair it.
P

[Hosehead]

Even with a partial tear its emergency surgery...the surgeon will usually schedule you in between patients for the day...I had to wait from 7am until 7pm before i was sent to the OR. You cannot put a tendon tear on the backburner because you have avery limited window to repair it.
P

Really? All the guys I know who had bad bicep tears had to wait weeks on end and the jobs they got in the end were horrible. I do have two buddies who had complete tears of the tricep (both had arms that were purple from the wrist to the shoulder) who had surgery within ten days. Both were reattatched with complete success. Are biceps harder to affix to the point of insertion? If the OP had a significant tear he likely wouldn't be training them at all. I'm no doctor but I just don't see it being anything more than minor in nature. Still , always the right thing to lay off and treat it like it's a big deal. I find most doctors to be very unsympathetic to weight training injuries. It's always like " why would you squat that much in the first place or why would you do that exercise anyhow ? " Shit like that.

[Praetorian]

Ive torn both bicep tendons...one full and one partial. The issue with a tendon tear is that the tendon itself will lose elasticity over time and the ability to reattach it to the bone is greatly reduced as time goes by...the limit is about 4-5 weeks after that a surgeon would probably not bother with it because the likelihood of repair is very low. The surgery itself isnt that complicated but it has to be done quickly. Many Dr's may be unsympathetic true thats why when i had my second tear (partial) i had an ultrasound done to prove the tear and went to see a surgeon who specializes in athletes...i went to see him at his office downtown Toronto on a Tuesday and was being operated on by Thursday evening...in his words...."this needs to be done yesterday"
P

[Draggo]

I couldn't get into a Dr. anytime soon, so I went to a walk in clinic, the Dr. is sending me for an ultrasound, but said I have to wait for the hospital to call? So I guess I'll wait until early next week, if they don't call I'll start calling Dr.'s and try to get something going. The Dr. didn't seem too concerned, said it wasn't a complete tear only possibly some fibers? I don't think he was very sympathetic, he cannot relate to a heavily tattooed person who has been training since 13 years of age. Also he told me rest was good, but in the same sentence said to keep active and keep training because it would help repair the fibers?

[cog]

I've never met a doctor that was sympathetic about a training induced injury.Sounds like an idiot doc.He gets paid for that advice.

[Draggo]

just an update, had a ultrasound, the tech asked me where it hurt? I couldn't really pin point the area because mer whole arm was sore. So the Dr. was supposed to call if he saw anything. I have not recieved a call.

I haven't trained in a week and it seems nothing has changed, other than I feel like I can pin point the injury more accurately, it is closer to my elbow, honestly I think the person doing the ultrasound missed it. I'm not sure where to go with this now, I guess it is back to the clinic on Monday and I will get on the phone and try to get someone from a sports medicine clinic to help me out.

[Praetorian]

Get a referral to a sports medicine Dr ans ask him for an Ultrasound.
P

[Draggo]

I found a sports medicine clinic that has a walk in clinic attached as part of it. It opens at 7 tommorrow first come first serve. I will be there at 6. Will keep you posted, thanks for the help!

Praetorian, what did it feel like when you tore your bicept? Was it unbelievable pain? Mine hurts, but it kinda aches, and I cannot train without pain. Not the worst thing in the world but there is deffinately something goin on in there.

[Praetorian]

The full tear felt like i hit my funny bone..no pain just tingling etc...the partial tear felt like velcro ripping and there was pain only if i tried to curl or flex the bicep.
P

[cog]

I found a sports medicine clinic that has a walk in clinic attached as part of it. It opens at 7 tommorrow first come first serve. I will be there at 6. Will keep you posted, thanks for the help!

Praetorian, what did it feel like when you tore your bicept? Was it unbelievable pain? Mine hurts, but it kinda aches, and I cannot train without pain. Not the worst thing in the world but there is deffinately something goin on in there.

After a week....I think you have a small tear at the moment....no more training.

[Draggo]

thanks everyone for your advice. I tore the bicept in 2 places, saw a specialist about surgery but since the tendon was fully intact it wasn't required. I was told to to continue to exercise light. I did but aggravated the injury multiple times in the gym and at work. I am still having pain and haven't been to the gym for almost a month, likely will sit out a month or 2 longer and let it heal itself completely. depression has already set in, but I have to think long term.

[St]

Fak sorry to hear about your injury,i hand a minor tear from flyes and that was last Nov. Still a bit of pain for me,hope you feel better sone.

[Sean Summers]

What area are you in? I'll ask around for a good surgeon.