biceps tendon surgery, no improvement....

[Thade]

Hi all. I'm 38 yrs old and I've been lifting on & off since the age of 16. I peaked a few years ago & was making really good gains. After a brief layoff I snapped my biceps tendon while spotting my daughter for gymnastics back flip...very loud snap! I probably waited a good month between injury & surgery due to HMO red tape. I had the type of surgery that slaps the tendon back on the bone as opposed to drilling through the bone. For a time I was able to resume lifting but found myself nursing that side and as a result, my entire left side : biceps, pec etc. is bigger than the right. I quit working out to let things even out a bit. (2 months ago)

Recently, I've had massive pain in the inside of the elbow. The arm had never looked right (2 inch gap between bicep & inner elbow) like everything is shoved up. The pain is intolerable at times. I also have pain on the top side of forearm and shoulder that may or may not be related. I have an appointment set up with the Orth but I'm back in the red tape of the same system. I'd like to be as realistic as possible as to my expectation.

Is it possible the tendon never repaired ?
Is it uncommon to revisit this area and try again? (the docs seem reluctant to do so)
Should I just accept the fact that there is gonna be pain?
Should I get another MRI to see what's up?

Any help or tips would be appreciated.

TIA

Jeff

 

[Joester]

Jeff
I know this may be late, and you've already done something, but just in case...
You should see your ortho surgeon again, and comment this to him/her/
Tendon reattachment can involve tendon, muscle and nerve damage, so there is plenty of room for pain if somehitng is not correct afterwards. The gap you see is common after such a surgery, and don't worry about that.
But the pain does suggest something is wrong.
Good luck, hope I helped.

 

[Thade]

Helps alot...Thanks! I'll be seeing the doc again this Thu. I hope they can link the pain to the previous injury if that brings me any closer to a fix.

J

 

[bigstve12]

im intersted as to what happens, keep us posted...and good luck

 

[Thade]

I went to the Orth yesterday, he spent about 6 minutes with me and sent me on my way. He doesn't really seem to care all that much. He thinks the pain may be related to scar tissue from surgery but seems reluctant to revisit surgery. I suggested that maybe the tendon isn't attached or attached real well and he said he can feel the tendon is attached. He sent me on my way with yet another ant-inflamitory prescription. (3 different others before yesterday) He also recommended therapy.

At this point I'm getting a bit frustrated. All of these things seem like temporary fixes

Jeff

 

[bigstve12]

kind of typical of an orhtoped. maybe get another opinion. You can take all the anti-inflamm's you want but it's not goin to fix the problem, only the pain. See a PT to get some rehab work done

 

[eat big]

didnt bbf has this problem?

 

[Joester]

If you have not done any therapy, it isn't a bad suggeston. An ortho's concern is the reattachment and functional aspect. Therapy may help you work out kinks such as scar tissue build up, etc.
Hope I helped.