Bicipital Tendonitis

[C0LUMB0]

Has anybody here ever had this injury ?

basically its shoulder pain caused by inflammed tendon from the long head of the biceps...

all push/press movements cause pain.

am using NSAIDS and ice post workout.

rested for 2 weeks and had some pt done, it aint any better tho...

all wide grip work is out,shoulder press , bb bench and db flyes..forget about it .

am on cycle and can still hit back,legs ,traps and some work on bis and tri's.

need to develope a routine that will allow me to train untill this subsides.

any info welcome.

 

[Zyglamail]

am using NSAIDS and ice post workout.

My opinion is thats a very bad idea.

Ask yourself this simple question, how does the body heal itself and what is the normal chain of events that takes place during the process?

Unless the inflammation is extremely acute and swelling needs to be reduce to promote flow then ice and nsaids should be avoided.

Inflammation is a key element in the healing cascade. Reducing it with nsaids and ice SLOWS healing and in some cases almost stops it all together.

waste products and building material need to get to the site of an injury so what happens when you ice it? It cause blood vessels to constrict thereby reducing blood flow.

Injuries that dont heal indicate you are causing injury faster than they can be repaired and one of the major limiting factors of repair is nutritional supply of the building blocks of the damaged tissue.

So the next question is what is the primary makeup of the damaged tissue? Tendons/ligaments are primarily collagen, so what is the main component of collagen? A quick google will give you some answers but the same shortages that causes heart disease to be the leading cause of death is likely a good bet for healing collagen based injuries.

So with the above in mind id round up some L-lysine, L-proline and a boat load of ascorbic acid (this is required for the collagen formation).

take a minimum of 6g vit C daily spread doses over whole day. Id actually take as much as you can handle without stomach upset.

5-6g l-lysine and 1-3g proline. A little glucosamine and chondroitin wouldnt hurt either but I wouldnt spend a bunch of money on some crazy joint supplement, vit C lysine and proline are the most important with vit C being the key.

 

[joeblow12345]

I've had a bicep injury from pressing before. I basically didn't do any heavy pressure g for a good month and just kept it light. Time is the only real fix for this type of shit though some drugs and supps can help to done extent. Best thing is to be patient and let it heal instead of making it worse . I'd switch to cg presses on everything and avoid anything that irritates it.

 

[stevesmi]

i agree with whats been said in that the inflammation is your body trying to heal an injury. so instead of standing in its way you are only impeding it using ice and using NSAids

you must rest and lower your weight and allow your body to catch up.. otherwise your injury will become chronic.. i haven't had your specific injury but i have had injuries from when i used to run and instead of following this advice i was stubborn and tried to push through it and it ended up costing me my career.

 

[C0LUMB0]

Solid advice brothers and i'll take it all onboard.

I've ordered the supps that Zyg has mentioned and i will adapt my trainging to accomodate the injury.

 

[ShutUpAndTrain7]

I had the exact same injury. Started in college playing baseball and continued off/on for a good 5yrs depending on what exercises, weight, movements, etc I did. I finally had to have surgery and they performed a bicep tenodesis. Which is basically cutting the bicep tendon and reattaching it 1/2-1" lower on the humerous. Took a good 3-4 months of solid pt to get back into action. I truly feel bench pressing with the bar and going down too far was one of the main causes for it. Up until about 1 yr ago, I never touched a bar for bench presses again. Strictly stuck to DB's and machines. And when i do use a bar now, I only take it down about 3/4 of the way to reduce the pressure on my shoulder. I've had 3 surgeries on my right shoulder and there's a possible 4th in the upcoming future for an impingement that I have on my clavicle.

Even certain bicep curls with the bar really irritate it still. It's an injury that rest and ice are about the only 2 things that will heal it. However, rest or no no activity for me is nearly impossible. So no matter how much I rested it would always come back and become irritated again. Depending on the severity of yours, surgery might have to be an option. Otherwise rest it or it's never gonna get better...pm me with any questions man

 

[Zyglamail]

I had the exact same injury. Started in college playing baseball and continued off/on for a good 5yrs depending on what exercises, weight, movements, etc I did. I finally had to have surgery and they performed a bicep tenodesis. Which is basically cutting the bicep tendon and reattaching it 1/2-1" lower on the humerous. Took a good 3-4 months of solid pt to get back into action. I truly feel bench pressing with the bar and going down too far was one of the main causes for it. Up until about 1 yr ago, I never touched a bar for bench presses again. Strictly stuck to DB's and machines. And when i do use a bar now, I only take it down about 3/4 of the way to reduce the pressure on my shoulder. I've had 3 surgeries on my right shoulder and there's a possible 4th in the upcoming future for an impingement that I have on my clavicle.

Even certain bicep curls with the bar really irritate it still. It's an injury that rest and ice are about the only 2 things that will heal it. However, rest or no no activity for me is nearly impossible. So no matter how much I rested it would always come back and become irritated again. Depending on the severity of yours, surgery might have to be an option. Otherwise rest it or it's never gonna get better...pm me with any questions man

This is the danger of ignoring and working through injuries. Inflammation is good in the short term for healing but if not allowed to heal(and not provided nutrients to heal) inflammation becomes chronic and the body resorts to other means to prevent catastrophic failure and these means are generally not in our best interest.

 

[stevesmi]

surgery is the worst thing you could do.. letting a doctor open me up and play around in my body no thanks.

 

[ShutUpAndTrain7]

All depends on what Dr and what physical therapist you go to. My first Dr was awful but had great reviews which is why I chose him. The next Dr was amazing.mhes the orthopedic for Washington a Capitals, Nationals, and Wizards. I'd trust him to perform any surgery on me.

 

[stevesmi]

All depends on what Dr and what physical therapist you go to. My first Dr was awful but had great reviews which is why I chose him. The next Dr was amazing.mhes the orthopedic for Washington a Capitals, Nationals, and Wizards. I'd trust him to perform any surgery on me.

yeah but how often do we see even pro athletes have surgeries and it backfire on them. look at Grant Hill. 3 knee surgeries because each one did not fix the problem so they went in over and over and over again and he went from top 5 player in the NBA and he never was the same again. once you start playing around in there i don't care how good the doctor is.

my point is surgery should be the last option.

the first option is don't get hurt in the first place which i've said a million times. 1. don't go heavy cause of ego.. 6 reps at a high weight is more effective than 1 or 2 reps trying to max out. 2. use proper form. 3. if it hurts then stop. 4. listen to the body and give breaks when needed. 5. stay away from anti-inflammatories, let the body heal itself instead of standing in its way. 6. proper nutrition

how many of those did you not follow when you played baseball? be honest. guys who play sports are under pressure to go out there to perform at all costs even while hurt, otherwise you lose your spot so its understandable but no good will come out of it long term unless you are making millions.

follow that and you will NEVER get hurt weightlifting.. in fact its the safest 'sport' out there. parents always come to me bitching (i coach and judge HS lifting) how they don't want their kids lifting cause of all the stupid old wives tales .. i've heard things from "it makes you shorter" "it stunts growth" "its dangerous" ... thats all bullshit and then they let their kids play football which is far more dangerous or even cross country you are pounding your knees, ankles, shins, feet . if you lift properly you will never get hurt period. if you go in there with an ego and start throwing around weight like a gorilla you will start getting hurt and then pounding away more will make the injury chronic. if you get to the point where surgery is a last resort then YOU are to blame. it should never come down to that. i'm guessing when you played baseball you pounded away and then never allowed the injury to heal for 5 years