Proximal Bicep Tear Advice

[cuz]

I tore my proximal bicep 2 days ago. For those that don't know, it's the portion of bicep closest to the shoulder. I still need to get an MRI, but my Dr. already seems to be steering me away from surgery. I'm looking for advice on whether to have surgery or not. I can live with the deformity but don't want to lose strength or range of motion or have any other issues.

 

[joos23]

I tore my proximal bicep 2 days ago. For those that don't know, it's the portion of bicep closest to the shoulder. I still need to get an MRI, but my Dr. already seems to be steering me away from surgery. I'm looking for advice on whether to have surgery or not. I can live with the deformity but don't want to lose strength or range of motion or have any other issues.

I tore my other one and had to get surgery. It's a 6 month recovery and I'm at 12 weeks.
If I would have torn the one you did, I wouldn't of needed surgery. You won't lose ROM or strength. Just coatmetic look. This is what my surgeon had told me. Good luck man!

 

[Mr. Malice]

How you tear it

 

[Kaladryn]

Most sport specialist orthos are repairing proximal tendon ruptures these days, over the long term not having them repaired causes other issues with the shoulder joint, I would suggest getting a second opinion.

 

[cuz]

How you tear it

Freak accident. Picking up a K12 saw.

 

[TrippplePPP]

From my experience Orthopedic docs just leave the proximal tears alone. I just talked with a guy last week who tore his at work. He only came in due to his work comp formality and he was several weeks out from the tear and doing really well. He was back to lifting with no pain yet mentioned a decrease of overall strength. He of course had the physical signs of the tear but no loss in function.

As Kaladryn stated there is probably debate wether surgically fixing or not is better for longterm shoulder health. I think it could be argued either way. I would do physical therapy at some point for the issue regard less.

 

[Reload]

The MRI should give the surgeon more info regarding the % of tear your dealing with. The greater the % the more likely surgery will be recommended. The procedure is called bicep tenodesis. Your proximal bicep tendon is cut clear of the labrum and "screwed" into the upper humerus. I've had the procedure done on both of my biceps while having rotator cuff surgery about 8 months apart back in 2018. If you do get the surgery your bicep peak will change slightly. My surgeon assured me that it would be very difficult to ever tear the bicep from that proximal insertion site again. So far so good. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

[cuz]

Thanks for the reply's.

 

[GaJoe]

I tore one of mine a few years ago. It wasn't all the way torn so we decided to not do surgery. My bicep peak is a little different now but it's not a bad thing...it actually gave me more of a peak and I feel like I get an outstanding contraction on that side now. It's like I can supinate more. I was back to working with good weight a few months after but it's always on my mind. Like Kaladryn mentioned I have a feeling it's going to lead to shoulder issues on that side as there seems to be some instability. If anything my heavy shoulder presses took more of a setback than pulling/bicep movements.

 

[heavyhitter]

I had a partial tear in March. No surgery, a few weeks of PT but I was really doing my own gym thing and it’s back 99 percent. Slightly better bicep peak....but I’m probably the only person that would notice