Full rupture of my long head bicep tendon (pain, blood, surgery)

[canoesmith]

I am 58. I had injured my shoulder a while back, seen the ortho, he gave me a cortisone shot, and this weekend, walking my normal circuit the tendon gave out. I have a smallish “Popeye” bicep bump going on, but on the plus side, my shoulder no longer hurts. John Elway won 2 Super Bowls with this same situation, and he never had surgery. I find that encouraging, although my football days are over 😜.

Seems most of the advice for my age is to live with it and use conservative measures, RICE and pt down the road.

Anyone else have this happen to them? Dang this getting older stuff.

[northwesty]

I would consult a Physical Therapist. They can assess the best path forward given your lifestyle and demands you put on the involved extremity. You have another muscle in the arm that can adapt and compensate for the loss of the other. Don't wait too long to make a decision. With each passing day the likelihood of a successful repair diminishes because of muscle contracture and tissue scarring.

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by canoesmith

I am 58. I had injured my shoulder a while back, seen the ortho, he gave me a cortisone shot, and this weekend, walking my normal circuit the tendon gave out. I have a smallish “Popeye” bicep bump going on, but on the plus side, my shoulder no longer hurts. John Elway won 2 Super Bowls with this same situation, and he never had surgery. I find that encouraging, although my football days are over 😜.

Seems most of the advice for my age is to live with it and use conservative measures, RICE and pt down the road.

Anyone else have this happen to them? Dang this getting older stuff.

I would still go to see tte ortho again.

The longer you wait, the less likely they can repair the damage.

If the ortho says live with it do so, but id still get a second opinion.

Ive had 21 surgeries, so i dont take surgery lightly. But id see IF it needs fixing first by a qualified doctor.

Best to you...

[TBMorgan]

interesting as with my fitness routine, wouldn't be surprised if this happens to me eventually.....any suggestions on how to prevent this - did you originally injure by lifting too heavy? Our star defensive lineman here in TB has had it happen once or twice, no surgical repaired. He's back fully in action though (Gerald McCoy, Buccaneers).

[beer belly]

Not sure if my situation is relative, but here it goes......I had Bicep Tenodisis surgery (Sp?) due to the Bicep Tendon tearing. They drilled a hole on the bone, then anchors the Tendon to the hole with a Button, as it was described to me. I was told that if it tears from there, it will be irreversible.....so of course, the dummy I am, I went against restrictions given and tore 70% of the repair. I now deal with loss of strength and fatigue and some pain now and then. It was the worst surgery I experienced, and now looks like the other Shoulder is going in the same direction......follow orders is my recommendation if you do any surgery.

[djplourd]

I tore a quad tendon several years ago. It was never repaired. Now I have a big lump where the tear rolled up. Most of the time it doesn't bother me anymore but everyone once in a while I'll get really bad cramps where the tendon used to be.

[greatblueheron]

See the ortho again....get specific recommendations....no PT unless ordered by MD.

what do you mean it gave out????

Or get a second ortho opinion.

[SunGrins]

If you are having sports limitations or strength issues or pain you might want to pursue medical or PT help. It sounds like you know what it is.

I have a rupture in a tendon just below the crease in my elbow that is not painful but shows a lump and sometimes is more pronounced than other times and is occasionally noticeable but not painful. I'm 70 and I've had it for over 20+ years and it isn't a problem but a younger person might want to have it fixed. The lab nurses don't want to draw blood from that arm when I get my annual physical because it isn't typical -- that's the only medical reaction I get.

[canoesmith]

Ortho doc got me in on Wednesday, so I’ll get his best advice. I’ll update you.

I was a gymnast for many years, tens of thousand shoulder disclocation moves (on purpose as part of a routine) that I blame for my shoulder issues.

That and being almost 59. I can raise my arm to push my garage door opener in the car now with no pain - and that’s a first for several years!

[TwinbrookNine]

Glad to hear you are going to see the ortho. Shoulder problems as you describe are notorious for being painful with a prolonged convalescence when surgically repaired - many orthos just refuse to surgerize many of those, partly because the outcome too often isn't worth it. Not sure what you mean by the bump, but the good news is that he's not quick with knife, and whatever happened, the pain is gone; probably the steroid shot kicked in.

At this point, the most important thing is to plan on little to no tension on that shoulder joint - maybe like, forever. Getting older means you just don't do all the things you did earlier in life. Happens to everybody.