Preacher curls -- Bicep tendon tear?

[jmhudak17]

I was doing preacher curls yesterday at the end of my workout yesterday, on my last set I felt a pain on the inside of my elbow (where it bends) and heard a snapping/cracking noise. The pain was there but not awful, I thought I might have noticed a little bit of discoloration but it wasn't there 10 minutes later. Today there's a bit of pain when I press on my bicep or fully extend my arm but no bruising, doesn't seem to be any swelling either. Is this likely to be a bicep tendon tear, or could it be something else (tendinitis, hyper-extension, etc.)? The noise makes me think it could have been but it doesn't seem bad enough to actually be a tear.

[zchamberlain24]

I was doing preacher curls yesterday at the end of my workout yesterday, on my last set I felt a pain on the inside of my elbow (where it bends) and heard a snapping/cracking noise. The pain was there but not awful, I thought I might have noticed a little bit of discoloration but it wasn't there 10 minutes later. Today there's a bit of pain when I press on my bicep or fully extend my arm but no bruising, doesn't seem to be any swelling either. Is this likely to be a bicep tendon tear, or could it be something else (tendinitis, hyper-extension, etc.)? The noise makes me think it could have been but it doesn't seem bad enough to actually be a tear.

I would say no to the bicep tendon tear, due to no swelling or discoloration. Normally with a bicep tendon tear if severe enough you would see the bicep balled up. If it bothers you take any were from a week to 4 weeks off that would allow enough time for the healing process to take place. But I'm not a doctor although I do have 2 years of Athletic Training knowledge and we work a lot on injury recognition/prevention. This is just my opinion and you should see a doctor if you feel you need to do so.

[braskibra]

I was doing preacher curls yesterday at the end of my workout yesterday, on my last set I felt a pain on the inside of my elbow (where it bends) and heard a snapping/cracking noise. The pain was there but not awful, I thought I might have noticed a little bit of discoloration but it wasn't there 10 minutes later. Today there's a bit of pain when I press on my bicep or fully extend my arm but no bruising, doesn't seem to be any swelling either. Is this likely to be a bicep tendon tear, or could it be something else (tendinitis, hyper-extension, etc.)? The noise makes me think it could have been but it doesn't seem bad enough to actually be a tear.

Full rupture you would almost certainly know, you probably partially tore the distal insert. Give it a few weeks and work with light weights. If your still concerned get looked at, in the mean time look up the hook sign and try it out

[Antonka]

I was doing preacher curls yesterday at the end of my workout yesterday, on my last set I felt a pain on the inside of my elbow (where it bends) and heard a snapping/cracking noise. The pain was there but not awful, I thought I might have noticed a little bit of discoloration but it wasn't there 10 minutes later. Today there's a bit of pain when I press on my bicep or fully extend my arm but no bruising, doesn't seem to be any swelling either. Is this likely to be a bicep tendon tear, or could it be something else (tendinitis, hyper-extension, etc.)? The noise makes me think it could have been but it doesn't seem bad enough to actually be a tear.

I have torn my distal tendon exactly the same way! Say no to preachers!

[ProgrammerHunch]

I suffered severe tendonitis while doing preacher curls years ago. Although I think lack of proper warm-up and stretching was also a major factor, I think it's no coincidence that if I do preachers again today that my arm hurts all over again, albeit only about 10% as much as it did then. But if I do literally any other bicep exercise I don't feel any pain.

Sounds like you may have tendonitis. I would lay off the preachers, go light or rest for a while, when you resume do dumbbell curls with light weights and do plenty of bicep stretching and warm-up sets.