Bicep Tendon Injury?

[GJM]

Hi,

Was playing rugby on the weekend and hyper extended my arm in a tackle and heard a pop. Continued to play but couldn't hold a grip.

When I went off I took off my top and saw my right bicep was way too high - it appeared that the lower part of my bicep was missing. I was in a bit of pain but had full use of my hands.

I went to the hospital and they took x-rays but sent me home with pain killers and said there was no broken bones and my bicep wasn't torn, apart from that they had no idea.

I can't fully extend my arm at the elbow yet and the bruising below the elbow is quite nasty. A GP told me that I've ruptured a tendon to the elbow and there isn't much to worry about. He said that in two to three weeks it will start to feel better and that I wont loose any strength. I could have surgery but it would be purely superficial to reattach the tendon to the bicep.

It doesn't make sense to me. Surely if the tendon is ruptured I would have to loose strength?

Does anyone know anything about this?

Cheers.

[Luke]

I know of alot of athletes that have returned to competitve sport after a Biceps rupture. Brett Heady who used to play for the WC Eagles is one.

In saying this though, most of the athletes i know of ruptured the long head of biceps at the shoulder and therefore have one half of biceps still intact. From what you're saying it is the tendon at the elbow that ruptured in which case I anticipate you will definately experience weakness of elbow flexion and supination of the forearm. My advice is to see a sports physician, orthopod or physio who has had alot to do with rugby as i'm sure they would have come across one of these before. And do it soon, the sooner you get a tendon repaired after the injury the better.

[Unregistered]

You must have this injury seen by a sports physician and referred on to a surgeon. They NEVER do well without surgery, and are very hard to fix late. To convince yourself, try to twist your forearm to make your palm face upwards, and with your elbow at 90 degrees (like doing up a screw with screwdriver in right arm); no power unless your elbow straightens. Surgery after 2 weeks or so is very hard to achieve good success, but easy when done early.

[Unregistered]

I agree you should seek very early surgical opinion for distal rupture. I know of one NRL player who has returned to play without having this repaired, but his elbow was weaker and he did the other side a couple of years later and decided to go with the repair for this one.

[sandy astron]

yeah get your knee done mate its the new way to go this century..good luck with the surgury

[Unregistered]

Hi,

Last year I had exactly the injury playing rugby. I would strongly reccommend surgery. This injury will mean a significant strength loss unless repaired. Since I had my bicep temdon repaired I have returned to full activity and it has been a complete success.

[Deesee]

I've just completely torn the left distal biceps tendon as well. Being highly active, I'm not mucking about and I'm booked in for surgery on July 4 with Dr Mark Perko.

I'll keep you posted on the outcomes..

[angieliu]

I agree that it is better to act on a fresh injury than leave it. I didn't act on my shoulder injury until over a year later when I decided o start rehab and it has been giving me grief ever since. So whilst rest is good for your injury, u need to see someone who can give u the righ advice to rehabilitate it. Xrays are not the best way to determine tears. They are beter for looking for fractures in bones. I would suggest that get a MRI done with an arthrogram to see what u have done.

[coachb]

Simply put, I just tore my bicep from my elbow as described in the other posts. Surgery is scheduled for this week within 10 days from injury. Realistically..How long are we talking about before I can risk pulling lets say 40-50%. after surgery. I need to know so that I can plan for my job and next years competitions. I am a 46 year old High level masters athlete but I have heard of plenty of younger athletes with the same tear. Why do you think this tendon tears and is there suppliments or exercises I can do so the other side doesn't go. My guess is that I am only as strong as my weakest link and after years of bicep exercises for the Polevault my tendon became the weakest link.

[embertin]

Hi
The ligaments of the wrist, shoulder, and elbow joints may be stretched (strained) or partially torn (sprained), but complete tears are rare. Fractures may occur at the wrist, are less frequent around the elbow, and are uncommon around the shoulder. Injuries often occur during a fall, when the weight of the body is caught on the outstretched arm.
Heat can be applied after 24 hours. The injured joint should be usable with little pain within 24 hours and should be almost normal by 72 hours. If not, see the doctor.Complete healing takes from four to six weeks, and activities with a likelihood of reinjury should be avoided during this time and good luck.