Ruptured Bicep - help

[MVasilakis]

I ruptured my bicep last Fri. I saw an orthopedic but it was 5:30 Friday so I didn't exactly get the royal treatment. I found a surgeon who will take a look at the muscle Friday morning.
I got some cat scans done but I'm not sure they show the everything the surgeon will need.
Anyway I know there are quite a few doctors here and I have a few (quite a few) questions:

What I am doing:
icing as much as possible
arm in sling or bent - i only straitened it for the mri and xrays
light, non impact cardio - walking some lunges and lower abs. i stop when i notice im stiffening my arm.

the muscle is staring to retract. my elbow is killing me and my shoulder huts (probably because its supporting my whole arm.)

what supplements should i take to make sure my arm will heal optimally when I have surgery?
what supplements should i take now?
what do stay away from -food wise?
how do I get doctors to expedite it a bit? This is a time sensitive injury and everyone I've spoken to so far is very, "oh well see you next week"

I'm frustrated and "googling" answers with one hand is proving fruitless.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Old-Time-Lifter]

I don't know what to tell you man. Dang that sucks for sure!

I hope you have better luck with the doctor, I'd be shopping around for the best surgeon if I was you. Do you know any doc's you can call for reccomendations? I'm lucky to have several doc's as clients, so when I need a specialist I ask around for a name.

[GnomusMaximus]

Not a Dr. so can't help there but when you are ready to come back to lifting find an article in MILO (a strength training journal) by Dr. Bill Crawford about his injury and return. He's a Strongman/Highland Games guy that ripped his bicep carrying the pen slab in Iceland. He's also a physician so the article is good because it adresses many of the medical issues he had and the ways he adapted his lifting. If you would like I can find out which issue it is and the title.

[thomasale]

Man this makes my pulled stomach muscle feel a whole LOT BETTER! Sorry for you man and I hope things get better soon!

[grace_ou]

Arnica (an herb) and vit. c with citrus bioflavonoids might help with bruising and healing after surgery .. research is sorta mixed though some say it helps some disagree.. not much else you can do except get the surgery and rehab it. And good nutrient is gonna help more after surgery then any sup will.

[thankschub]

I ruptured my right bicep 6 years ago. The surgery was very successful and the arm gives me no problems. The only thing i have noticed is a lack of endurance in the repaired arm when carrying a fairly heavy object for a while,say after 3 minutes or so. Really no big deal.

You are right that time matters, but several weeks until surgery is fine. Several months is less fine, several years is a problem. Find a good surgeon who has done quite a few successfully. This should be easy since this is a fairly common injury.

Now, the perhaps bad part. As I recall the arm was immobilized in a sling for about a month. Once the sling is removed the arm has NO strength. I literally couldn't lift a pan that weighs 1/2 pound for a couple of weeks. Then things started to improve gradually for several weeks. Then when I got up one morning the arm felt much better, and rapidly improved from there. I have talked to several people who have experienced this same sudden improvement one morning.

Due to my fairly physical job, my doctor waived the rehab and allowed me to do it on my own. My best memory is that the arm was 90% better in 6 months, and 99% in a year.

You have sustained a fairly serious injury. Be very thankful that modern medical science has developed a procedure that works pretty damned well. I know I am. Good luck.

[skiboy1955]

Are you sure it is a ruptured bicep and not a bicep tendon? Is it a full or partial rupture?
I had/have a partial lower bicep tendon rupture and man did it kill me. I had a lot of pain and I took a lot of advil, I iced it the first 48 hours20 minutes on and off and then after the first 48 hours I did heat. I never had surgery, dam doctor I should have gone to another one, but only had PT treatments, light DB weights and wrist curls with ultra sound treatments for like 3 months. I had pain in it and the bicep and tircep for over a year and then finally it stopped hurting and I was able to lift heavy again.
But last week I had some bruising in the lower bicep outside after I did some speed benching. I never felt any pain or a snap but some thing happened. I was still able to bench 350 x3 and no real pain but I have a contest in 4 weeks and now I have to try to heal this and still bench 390!!

Anyway enough of my pain I hope you get a good Doctor and he sets you right, Most Doctors look at my age and say you don't need to lift heavy, but I do want to since I power lift.
Get a good Sports Medicine doctor and do it right.
Good luck.

[MVasilakis]

Thanks for the reply's.

I'd be shopping around for the best surgeon if I was you.

The best said he's not seeing patients till Aug unless you send MRI's and he thinks it warrants immediate attention. The administrative assistant sent me to another surgeon in the office who will see me tomorrow morning. This guy is no slouch either. He does the FL Panthers and some Olympic Athletes. Now I just need to talk to him and see when he is willing to fix me.

Dr. so can't help there but when you are ready to come back to lifting find an article in MILO (a strength training journal) by Dr. Bill Crawford

That sounds interesting. I will definitely look into that.

Man this makes my pulled stomach muscle feel a whole LOT BETTER! Sorry for you man and I hope things get better soon!

Ouch. Funny thing is if I don't use the arm at all the is no pain. If I forget and activate my bicep it still doesn't hurt but the muscle flops up. What hurts is my elbow, shoulder and chest from all the compensating. So you are probably in more pain than me. But you will heal fast I will not. Injury with pain= bad, Injury with little pain= real bad.

Arnica (an herb) and vit. c with citrus bioflavonoids might help with bruising and healing after surgery .. research is sorta mixed though some say it helps some disagree.. not much else you can do except get the surgery and rehab it. And good nutrient is gonna help more after surgery then any sup will.

I know about C but I have never heard about Arnica. I will look into it thanks.
I plan on maintaining a healthy diet for recovery.
So far I will be supplementing with:
Animal Packs, fish oil, glucosamine, C
Possibly Arnica.

I ruptured my right bicep 6 years ago. The surgery was very successful and the arm gives me no problems. The only thing i have noticed is a lack of endurance in the repaired arm when carrying a fairly heavy object for a while,say after 3 minutes or so. Really no big deal.

You are right that time matters, but several weeks until surgery is fine. Several months is less fine, several years is a problem. Find a good surgeon who has done quite a few successfully. This should be easy since this is a fairly common injury.

Now, the perhaps bad part. As I recall the arm was immobilized in a sling for about a month. Once the sling is removed the arm has NO strength. I literally couldn't lift a pan that weighs 1/2 pound for a couple of weeks. Then things started to improve gradually for several weeks. Then when I got up one morning the arm felt much better, and rapidly improved from there. I have talked to several people who have experienced this same sudden improvement one morning.

Due to my fairly physical job, my doctor waived the rehab and allowed me to do it on my own. My best memory is that the arm was 90% better in 6 months, and 99% in a year.

You have sustained a fairly serious injury. Be very thankful that modern medical science has developed a procedure that works pretty damned well. I know I am. Good luck.

Thanks allot. It's comforting to know people who have gone through the same thing.
I had a friend who tore his and was better in 6 weeks. But I don't know how bad his was or how bad mine is. Though I suspect one head is ok the other is completely detached.

Are you sure it is a ruptured bicep and not a bicep tendon? Is it a full or partial rupture?

I'm fairly certain one head is completely detached. I can lift my arm up if my hand is pronated slightly and touching my body but if I supinate my arm drops like dead weight. I don't know if my Bicep is holding my arm up in this position or if my forearm compensating. I'll find out tomorrow I guess.

I was still able to bench 350 x3 and no real pain but I have a contest in 4 weeks and now I have to try to heal this and still bench 390!!

BE CAREFUL. WARM UP WELL!

That said I did everything right and it still happened so ymmv. The killer for me is that I felt great. If I had the slightest hint of pain, discomfort or weakness I would have backed off accordingly to get a good workout and not injure myself. Because I've been doing this a long time and injury or overtraining are the biggest result killers.

Thanks for the feedback. (by the way one handed typing sucks)

[drewmar74]

I suffered a complete distal biceps tendon rupture on my left arm a few years back... basically had to watch my left bicep slide up my arm.

Due to some insurance complications, I had to wait about 6 weeks for the repair job and, in that time, the bicep muscle had started to scar to the brachialis (sp?). The result was a lot of "cleaning up" by my surgeon. It was a rough surgery and the reattachment to the bones in my forearm was incredibly painful.

Recovery time was in the 6 week to 8 week range and was frustrating. The arm was immobiilized at a 90 degree angle for a LONG time (weeks). Rehab took a little while and I can't even remember how long it was before I was able to work out again.... I tore the tendon in mid-summer and may have gotten back in the gym (and was very tentative) by December / January?

Anyway, I still have some issues with the arm but nothing that has precluded my ability to lift. Thankschub made some really good points and a lot of my experience was similar to his even down to the lack of endurance in that arm now.

Just take care, good sir. There is life after the rupture!

[BrotherWolf]

what supplements should i take to make sure my arm will heal optimally when I have surgery?
what supplements should i take now?
what do stay away from -food wise?
how do I get doctors to expedite it a bit? This is a time sensitive injury and everyone I've spoken to so far is very, "oh well see you next week"

I'm frustrated and "googling" answers with one hand is proving fruitless.

Any help would be appreciated.

I would try comfrey if you can find it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfrey
it helps and speeds up healing of different kind of cells including bones and muscle tissue
it's very effective if you make your own tincture, rub some on a cut and it will heal in half the time.. I am generally a skeptical but this works well

http://health.howstuffworks.com/comf...l-remedies.htm
I realize most articles warn about not taking it internally but the risks are low , they say it "may" cause liver damage but so are 1000 of prescription medications out there

[rpaul11]

I had a little different situation than you had. So if this compleley non-helpful I apologize.

I completely detached my left distal biceps tendon last summer. Late july I think. At first they thought it was a pulled muscle so I waited 4 weeks. after 4 weeks it was feeling a lot better but still paiful under any type of pulling motion. I then went to an ortho. He thought it was a partial detachment and we waited another 4 weeks. Still no significant improvement. so at this point we had the MRI and found it was a complete detachment. I did not have the rolled up bicep that another poster experieinced...yet still a full detachment. now it is the end of september. I talked to the surgeon and asked. how long can this wait before surgery as I had a few things to deal with before hand. I ended up having my surgery on Nov 11. I had some complications with some internal bleeding because of the blood thinner I am required to take, but I do not feel this is the fault of the surgeon. but regardless, he had to go in and clean out the wound area as it was excruciatingly painful. 2 months post surgery I was doing stretching exercises. 3 months post surgery I was doing light strengthening under strict PT supervision. 4 months I was released to lift lighter weights if I used machines only. at 6 months full release.

[jtsidwell]

I completely tore the bicep tendon 14 months ago, I found a good dr., and we had a 14 day span to decide and get surgery...I know everyone had different opinions, but I was told within 2 weeks was optimal, anything longer and the tendon would start to curl. If i did not have the surgery i was told I would lose almost all the strength needed for twisting and turning motions, and of course a strength loss. The arm was in a soft sling at 90 degree angle for 6 to 8 weeks, the next two weeks were just rotating the wrist getting flexibility, then 2 more weeks just working the elbow out of the locked position. Then therapy...the fun rubber bands. Now I am glad I had it done, during the rehab...hell no. I have a physical job, but I am back up to lifting 4 days a week, my strength is good...little endurance issues, and any little twinge..(paranoid) has me icing or heating the area..lol.
Hope this helps......

[MVasilakis]

I completely tore the bicep tendon 14 months ago, I found a good dr., and we had a 14 day span to decide and get surgery...I know everyone had different opinions, but I was told within 2 weeks was optimal, anything longer and the tendon would start to curl. If i did not have the surgery i was told I would lose almost all the strength needed for twisting and turning motions, and of course a strength loss. The arm was in a soft sling at 90 degree angle for 6 to 8 weeks, the next two weeks were just rotating the wrist getting flexibility, then 2 more weeks just working the elbow out of the locked position. Then therapy...the fun rubber bands. Now I am glad I had it done, during the rehab...hell no. I have a physical job, but I am back up to lifting 4 days a week, my strength is good...little endurance issues, and any little twinge..(paranoid) has me icing or heating the area..lol.
Hope this helps......

This sounds exactly like my situation. Exactly. I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow. And I am not looking forward to the next few months. But I'd rather put a fight than leave it alone.

I finally pieced together how this happened for anyone interested.
I am almost fanatical about doing some type of stretching during the week. Usually some Yoga tape. Recently to increase flexibility I started doing some type of yoga 3 times a week. (Flexibility and core are my week points so I set out to fix that - also for this reason I was shocked that this happened.)

Mon last week I was doing wide grip push ups using push up bars. I have a home gym and something, I cant remember what, distracted me for a split second. I rolled the left push up bar slightly injuring my left forearm.
Wed was back and bi's day. My forearm was in pain so I backed off and took the bi workout easy. Also my back for some reason was not able to do pull ups. My endurance was down about 60% for pull ups. It was weird but I chalked it up to me unconsciously protecting my sore forearm.
Fri was legs and pull ups. When I got to my pull up portion of the routine I felt like a champ. I did 13 pullups no problem. My forearm felt solid and my back had regained all its lost endurance and then some. So after 13 I stretched down regained my composure and exploded up for another rep or two. That's when I tore the bicep off the bone.

I must have injured the bicep tendon and because there was no pain as an indicator I assumed I was good to go. The only way I would have known I had more injury than I expected in my arm would have been an MRI to show the damage. And since I don't take MRI's between workout well...

[drewmar74]

And since I don't take MRI's between workout well...

You don't do that? Man, I never call my workout "done" until I crawl in the tube for a full blown MRI....

Maybe you should buy a machine for the house?

God bless, sir. Praying that your surgery goes well.

[MVasilakis]

You don't do that? Man, I never call my workout "done" until I crawl in the tube for a full blown MRI....

Maybe you should buy a machine for the house?

God bless, sir. Praying that your surgery goes well.

thanks to everyone. surgery is done. im in a hellava lota pain but so far so good.
btw general anesthesia sucks.

[thankschub]

Yes, it's painful at first. I found that naproxen(Aleve) worked surprisingly well for the pain, much better than several narcotics prescribed. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[MVasilakis]

Yes, it's painful at first. I found that naproxen(Aleve) worked surprisingly well for the pain, much better than several narcotics prescribed. Good luck, and keep us posted.

actually i think the perkasets (sp) made the pain worse.(when the meds wear off its unbearable)
i didn't have all day and the pain is now manageable. i will take them before bed though.
i cant take anything else cuz the doc gave me some stuff for inflammation. i must take what he prescribed for 14 days. ill explain when i can type again.

[Rising_Phoenix]

I just read this. Glad the surgery is over, and hope you recover well. Like you say, the next few weeks are going to suck, but what options do you have?