Torn tricep / avulsion fracture -- surgery and recovery

[BigAndRipped]

I've had pain around my elbow and bursitis in my right elbow since August. I'd rest for a while, it would feel better, I'd train, it would feel worse. I treated it with myofascial release via acupuncture, NSAIDs, and ice. The pain seemed to be related to my triceps (i.e., pain on extension) but sometimes it hurt all the time. I went to my chiropractor so the physiatrist in his office could drain the bursitis, and he took an X-ray which showed a bone fragment floating around in there. The chiropractor threw up his hands and said "that doesn't look right but I don't know what it is, go to an orthopedist" which I did today. He diagnosed this as a tear of the triceps (determined by strength tests) and an avulsion fracture (meaning, the tear pulled a little piece of bone off the olecranon process of the ulna). It will require surgery -- and six months until I'm fully back in the game.

The surgeon promised that he will work with me starting two weeks after the surgery to prevent the rest of my body from atrophying, and I can do cardio all along so at least I won't get fat. And legs. I can keep doing legs. He promises me he can have physical therapists work with me to train even my chest and back while my triceps recovers and strengthens. In the meantime, until the surgery, I plan to do some light chest, back, biceps, and not-so-light leg work, taking care not to recruit my triceps in the upper body training.

I will keep running a low dose of T (250mg/week) and GH at 3.6 iu daily. The surgeon doesn't care, except to the extent that continuing to do this makes me more susceptible to future tears, in his opinion.

But I'm worried because I'm 53 years old, and I'm afraid I will never be able to gain back what I am going to lose from 6 months essentially off.

Has anyone else gone through this?

 

[muscle96ss]

I've had pain around my elbow and bursitis in my right elbow since August. I'd rest for a while, it would feel better, I'd train, it would feel worse. I treated it with myofascial release via acupuncture, NSAIDs, and ice. The pain seemed to be related to my triceps (i.e., pain on extension) but sometimes it hurt all the time. I went to my chiropractor so the physiatrist in his office could drain the bursitis, and he took an X-ray which showed a bone fragment floating around in there. The chiropractor threw up his hands and said "that doesn't look right but I don't know what it is, go to an orthopedist" which I did today. He diagnosed this as a tear of the triceps (determined by strength tests) and an avulsion fracture (meaning, the tear pulled a little piece of bone off the olecranon process of the ulna). It will require surgery -- and six months until I'm fully back in the game.

The surgeon promised that he will work with me starting two weeks after the surgery to prevent the rest of my body from atrophying, and I can do cardio all along so at least I won't get fat. And legs. I can keep doing legs. He promises me he can have physical therapists work with me to train even my chest and back while my triceps recovers and strengthens. In the meantime, until the surgery, I plan to do some light chest, back, biceps, and not-so-light leg work, taking care not to recruit my triceps in the upper body training.

I will keep running a low dose of T (250mg/week) and GH at 3.6 iu daily. The surgeon doesn't care, except to the extent that continuing to do this makes me more susceptible to future tears, in his opinion.

But I'm worried because I'm 53 years old, and I'm afraid I will never be able to gain back what I am going to lose from 6 months essentially off.

Has anyone else gone through this?

I had something similar but different. I had a bone spur break off which then lead later to my tricep rupturing/exploding while lifting a 35 pound dumbbell up to do seated shoulder presses. I was back in the gym the very next day after surgery working out the left side of my body and legs. As the recovery progressed I was able to do stuff with my right arm where the triceps are not contracted and the arm is held stationary; such as pec dec machine. In the end, I lost a little bit of size on my right but regained it very quickly. Also my recovery was longer than most because we had all kinds of scar tissue problems and also later down the road realized that I had a flap of muscle over my biceps that was actually part of my triceps and never re-attached and cannot be at this point. So my strength will never be the same or even close to the same and I am lopsided with all my lifts like bench press because I am missing most of my lateral head. With that said, from a size standpoint I am completely unaffected. In fact my right tricep is bigger than my left and for some wierd reason never really lost any size after the surgery either. I used to freak out whenever I had a surgery and wasn't able to lift for a while; but now I realize that it really is no big deal. Also there is something called "overflow", so by working out the good side you actually get some benefit on the side that isn't being worked out. I am almost 47 by the way, not quite as old as you, but getting close.