partially tore my tri

280 · Oct 11, 2016

I think I partially tore my tri 2 days ago. Slipped and to catch myself I braced myself and felt a pop. Did think much of is until I looked in the mirror and my tri looked like some of it rolled down to my elbow.
When to my general Dr they sent me for a ultrasound

I am not sure if its a muscle tear or tendon tear.

What kind of Dr should I see?

lucius11 · Oct 11, 2016

That sucks. Kinda sounds like a job for an Orthopedic Surgeon perhaps someone who specializes in sports medicine. They can figure out what happened, is it a sprain, is it a tear ... The symptoms you described are pretty typical of a tear or a rupture but no need to panic just yet.

You may need to see your regular doc first and get a referral (for insurance purposes). Might as well get it checked out and see what's going on.

280 · Oct 11, 2016

yes i went to my reg family dr, they know very little IMHO

lucius11 · Oct 11, 2016

Yeah, an Orthopedic Surgeon (sports medicine specialist) does these kinds or repairs all the time. You family doc/internist should be sending you to a specialist. They will probably order some sort of imaging ... an X-Ray and/or follow up with an MRI. Then they will know exactly what to do.

tenny · Oct 11, 2016

if you torn any kind of muscle it would be purple by now...

sounds like you rolled a tendon, or something similar.

any pain...???

280 · Oct 11, 2016

Just pain if a flex it, I am sure if I tried to do one pushup it would hurt also

muscle96ss · Oct 11, 2016

Judging from the picture it does look like there is some retraction there; however normally it would tear in the opposite direction(from elbow up). Also as tenny mentioned, you are going to get bleeding with any significant tear and therefore bruising; although some times it takes a couple of days to come out if it is deep. My advice would be to see an ortho who can order an MRI and figure out what the damage is. It almost sounds like you tore part of the muscle belly and it then just retracted down to the elbow, but that is not typical behavior unless there was some pre-existing issue with the muscle.

upeccmi · Oct 11, 2016

I tore my Tri about 7 years ago (complete), it didn't roll up much and I had the surgery about a week later and this was what I considered a good surgery. All the tendonitis I suffered for years was gone and after 8 weeks I was back to training, no problems ever again. Go to an Orthopaedic surgeon soon, you have a small window to repair this if this happens to be a complete tear. If its a partial tear, they will probably put you in a brace or sling for 6 weeks until it heals.

Ashop · Oct 11, 2016

Hard to say exactly what has happened it would just be a guess. I would see an orthopedic surgeon ASAP.

Darb77 · Oct 12, 2016

See an Ortho surgeon who specializes in elbows. Do your research and check reviews and find a good one. Most major triceps tears are from people falling and catching themselves like you did. Yours doesn't look bad IMO and if it's tore hopefully a small one as those can heal on their own. If it was tore bad you would have some major swelling and the inability to straighten your arm more than likely. Hopefully it's nothing major and doesn't require surgery! If you do find the best surgeon you can! I'm on my second triceps surgery since February and it's been a nightmare. First doc screwed me up bad and didn't do my surgery the way it should have been. The Cincinnati Reds surgeon just did my last one and it was done right. You don't want surgery unless absolutely necessary! I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

upeccmi · Oct 12, 2016

My Ortho broke 2 drill bits drilling the hole to put my tendon through, told me a 20 minute surgery took 2 hours because he was picking drill bit pieces out of my elbow. From the decades of heavy lifting, my bones were real dense, I guess thats good right?

Big Vin · Oct 12, 2016

Darb77 said:
See an Ortho surgeon who specializes in elbows. Do your research and check reviews and find a good one. Most major triceps tears are from people falling and catching themselves like you did. Yours doesn't look bad IMO and if it's tore hopefully a small one as those can heal on their own. If it was tore bad you would have some major swelling and the inability to straighten your arm more than likely. Hopefully it's nothing major and doesn't require surgery! If you do find the best surgeon you can! I'm on my second triceps surgery since February and it's been a nightmare. First doc screwed me up bad and didn't do my surgery the way it should have been. The Cincinnati Reds surgeon just did my last one and it was done right. You don't want surgery unless absolutely necessary! I wouldn't wish this on anyone. View attachment 87032

Yeah you gotta use the sports docs. I used the San Antonio Spurs doc for mine (weird they have a shoulder/elbow guy, leg guy, back guy.. a guy for everything). Anyway he tightened me up good. One year later and the scar is barely noticeable. I would say I was at 100% or close at about 6-7 months.

Love_to_Bodybuild · Oct 12, 2016

you need an mri. I think procedure is x ray is required than pt for 6 weeks then an mri. depending on your insurance thats how mine works

Ive heard Dorian say once a tendon is torn , even a lil bit, it can not repair itself.

Big Vin · Oct 12, 2016

Love_to_Bodybuild said:
you need an mri. I think procedure is x ray is required than pt for 6 weeks then an mri. depending on your insurance thats how mine works

Ive heard Dorian say once a tendon is torn , even a lil bit, it can not repair itself.

They went from xray right into an MRI (within a day or two) for mine...no 6 wk PT, because it was a total tear and you wouldn't be able to use your own tendon (for the operation) if you wait that long, making the procedure and healing more difficult. Doctor told me yes, in my case probably better the total tear and surgery, because a partial would just lead to a total tear down the road anyway.

SRhealth-Rachel · Oct 12, 2016

Youd better take a elbow xray or mri from a professional orthopedic surgeon if you feel pain when flex, if it has been tore, comply with the sugestion of doctor and don't do high-strength train in this area in this peroid.

JETHRO TULL · Oct 12, 2016

Orthopedic surgeon.

280 said:
I think I partially tore my tri 2 days ago. Slipped and to catch myself I braced myself and felt a pop. Did think much of is until I looked in the mirror and my tri looked like some of it rolled down to my elbow.
When to my general Dr they sent me for a ultrasound

I am not sure if its a muscle tear or tendon tear.

What kind of Dr should I see?

The faster you get it repaired, the better. I had mine fixed the same night/day that I tore it. I ruptured a bicep tendon.
I am no doctor, but it looks like you need that fixed. I deadlifted 650 later in life at a powerlifting meet after it was repaired.

kcameron13 · Oct 12, 2016

JETHRO TULL said:
The faster you get it repaired, the better. I had mine fixed the same night/day that I tore it. I ruptured a bicep tendon.
I am no doctor, but it looks like you need that fixed. I deadlifted 650 later in life at a powerlifting meet after it was repaired.

This for sure! The more time scar tissue has to develop the more difficult the repair will be. A sports med based orthopedic surgeon will definitely be your best bet. With a good surgeon you will be able to make 100% recovery and get back to heavy training relatively quickly.

anta · Oct 12, 2016

I'll say this if you have an option to get surgery get it and hope it's not a muscle belly tear. I have multiple partial tears through out my body and 2 in my triceps, mine were in the muscle belly so they couldn't do surgery and it's never been the same I always have pain and risk tweaking it if I don't warm up enough or go to heavy to quick.