DISTAL BICEP RUPTURE
(3 discussions)
would like to hear from anyone recovering from this injury timescales etconesurgeon says operate 2 incision method one says not did my left distal 4 yrs ago kickboxing they repaired with single incision 2 pins but it was long haul back againdone right distal last week lifting concretebut seem to have lot more strength than when did leftdistal tendon definately gone as did ultrasound to checkcant find any positive info on not having opp
3 comments
Bruce m
Hi Gary, I am 4 weeks and 4 days post op from a complete rupture as a result of trying to catch my Triumph motorcycle that fell over. I am 36 years old and live in Brisbane Australia so the procedure I had done may not be an option for yourself as it was developed here in Australia. In my professional life I am a fitness club manager so when I had a diagnosis from a emergency doc that I had just strained the muscle! I got on the phone and used my contacts in the rehabilitation profession to find out who could repair my arm.A couple of calls later and I was speaking to a orthopod doc on his cell phone on a sunday night! I was diagnosed over the phone and saw him on tuesday and operated on thursday night. He used a tunnel type reattachment, using a titanium anchor to tie the tendon and then feed this anchor through the bone to complete the job. I had not come across this type of injury in my years as a trainer, but from what I know now, this repair I had is a much better option than others available. Firstly there is no cast on my arm! The anchorage is so strong it doesn’t need to be splintered as appears to be the case in a other procedures. This means that at this stage I already have almost 100% extension already. At the two week follow up, My doc chastised me for not trying to lengthen my arm out as instructed bedside post-op. He grab my wrist and said to relax and proceded to extend my arm. It nearly turned me inside out! But it showed how strong this anchor technique was. Over the next 2 weeks until today a have had my training partner work on it in the gym and now I can grip a 100% and ride my bike (don’t tell doc).From what I have now read and heard from a couple of others who have this type of injury, when you have a cast to fixate the arm you have a long recovery period just to get full ROM back. Then you have to work on strength. I have nearly full pronation already on top of the gains of extension. Supination is painfull due to the muscle being peeled away from the bone to gain access to the drilling site. The only reason for a sling on my arm is to give the hole drilled in my bone a chance to close and therefore make the reattachment even stonger. according to tests it will be able to hold 1.3 tonnes before breaking! I have been strength training (very lightly) my shoulders, triceps and chest group isolaterally in my gym. The only advice from my doc was not to lift with the bicep anything heavier than a beer.If this type of technique is available to you I would seriously consider it if you’re a young guy. You didn’t state your age, but from the articles I have just read before this tunnel technique works best with younger subjects. The doc told me the average age for this injury was men in their mid 50’s. Since converting to this technique, my doc has never had a failure from over 30 procedures.Hope this info is of some use. It’s been an educational experience for me on a professional level as well as a insight into finding the right person for the job. Good luckBruce
Mike weigel
I had my Distal Bicep rupture repaired. Dr. Drill a hole in my bone and reattached the tendon by using a screw. Surgery was done ten days later. Dr. said he had to strech the tendon a long ways and wasn’t sure if would work. What can I expect of my arm and what problem could I have with my arm will it ever be the same I,m 9 weeks out and my arm will not extend out all the way. Is this probably the best I can expect from my arm.
Brandon
Gary – I tore my distal tendon in my left bicep and had the 2 inch incision surgery. I’m 6 weeks post operation and so far so good. I highly recemend getting the surgery if you can. Email me if you want more info! [email protected]