I tore my long biceps muscle from the shoulder while leaving the blocks at Nationals on Sunday. It is what is called a "proximal" (by the shoulder) tear of the "longer" of the two biceps muscles. If it were a "distal" tear, where the biceps attachs near the elbow, the standard course is surgery to reattach. This is not always the case with a proximal tear. I just saw an orthopedic surgeon who recommended no surgery for my tear. I will seek a second opinion as I have a two week window if I want to have it surgically reattached.
My reason for posting is to ask if anyone has had a proximal (shoulder end) biceps tear. What did you do? I want to maintain swimming at an intense level and am not sure how much is lost if I do not have surgery. And I understand that even with surgery there are no guarantees of complete recovery.
Any information about a biceps tear and treatment would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg Shaw
Greg, very sorry to hear about your injury. I did a bit of Internet searching, as I suspect you may have done, too. Here is one snippet I found that you might find encouraging:
What is the treatment for a proximal biceps tendon rupture?
Patients usually do not notice any loss of arm or shoulder function following a proximal biceps tendon rupture. A slight bulge in the arm, and some twitching of the retracted muscle are usually the most significant symptoms. Surgical repair of the proximal biceps tendon is usually only considered in the case of a younger patient who is more active.
The reason there is little functional loss following a proximal biceps tendon rupture is that there are actually two tendinous attachments of the biceps at the shoulder joint (that is why the muscle is named "bi-ceps," meaning two heads). When the rupture occurs at the distal biceps tendon at the elbow, where there is only one attachment, surgical repair is much more commonly needed.
I think I would also seek a second opinion, and I would look for somebody with particular expertise in sports medicine and swimming specifically. Treatment for many conditions seems to be based on the general population, and your world-class swimming puts you in a different class entirely, age notwithstanding.
If I had to guess, however, I would suspect that you would be better off not having surgery. Like Rich's second case, it seems to be fine to skip the surgery for reattachment because the biceps has a second attachment point in the shoulder already.
The "Popeye" bulge might even win you some dystaff attention.
There is a good picture that shows the double attachment at the shoulder and single attachment at the elbow: www.izadihand.com/.../5880883.jpg
Regardless of which treatment you take, I am confident you'll do fine. But you might want to talk to a rehab specialist to see if there might be some exercises you can do to bolster the surrounding musculature and take some of the pressure off your biceps.
Greg, very sorry to hear about your injury. I did a bit of Internet searching, as I suspect you may have done, too. Here is one snippet I found that you might find encouraging:
What is the treatment for a proximal biceps tendon rupture?
Patients usually do not notice any loss of arm or shoulder function following a proximal biceps tendon rupture. A slight bulge in the arm, and some twitching of the retracted muscle are usually the most significant symptoms. Surgical repair of the proximal biceps tendon is usually only considered in the case of a younger patient who is more active.
The reason there is little functional loss following a proximal biceps tendon rupture is that there are actually two tendinous attachments of the biceps at the shoulder joint (that is why the muscle is named "bi-ceps," meaning two heads). When the rupture occurs at the distal biceps tendon at the elbow, where there is only one attachment, surgical repair is much more commonly needed.
I think I would also seek a second opinion, and I would look for somebody with particular expertise in sports medicine and swimming specifically. Treatment for many conditions seems to be based on the general population, and your world-class swimming puts you in a different class entirely, age notwithstanding.
If I had to guess, however, I would suspect that you would be better off not having surgery. Like Rich's second case, it seems to be fine to skip the surgery for reattachment because the biceps has a second attachment point in the shoulder already.
The "Popeye" bulge might even win you some dystaff attention.
There is a good picture that shows the double attachment at the shoulder and single attachment at the elbow: www.izadihand.com/.../5880883.jpg
Regardless of which treatment you take, I am confident you'll do fine. But you might want to talk to a rehab specialist to see if there might be some exercises you can do to bolster the surrounding musculature and take some of the pressure off your biceps.
