Torn Bicep Muscle
Recovering from a Torn Bicep Muscle
A torn bicep muscle can be a painful condition. The key, after you have suffered one, is to recover well so you can get back to your normal life as smoothly or quickly as possible.
The Bicep Muscle
The bicep muscle helps to rotate the arm. A torn bicep can be either partial or complete. A partial tear may be painful but may not fully immobilize the arm. A complete tear will make rotation virtually impossible.
Causes
Torn biceps typically occur in those who either lift heavy weights over their heads or repeatedly raise their arms over their heads.
Weight lifters and manual laborers typically suffer a torn bicep muscle when they overstrain themselves lifting weights above their heads.
Tennis players typically suffer this condition because they either spend excessive time practicing their serves and overhead shots or when they change their serving motion in an attempt either to compensate for a lower body injury or to increase their power.
A torn bicep muscle can also occur because of age or poor exercise, however. As we age, muscles tend to wear down.
Treatment
Typically, one treats a torn bicep muscle through either physical rehabilitation or surgery plus rehab.
Physical Rehabilitation:
Shortly after the injury occurs, one should apply an icepack to the shoulder to reduce swelling and pain. You may need to do this more than once a day for 15 minutes at a time.
Certain anti-inflammatory painkillers like aspirin may help reduce swelling and pain as well. Be careful not to overuse.
During rehabilitation, rest is a must. You should suspend the activity that caused the injury until you are fully healed to avoid further injury. If you’re a tennis player this means not only not serving but also staying off the court altogether.
Physical rehabilitation will also help rebuild and strengthen the muscles. This should be done with the aid and supervision of a licensed physical therapist, ideally.
Surgery:
Most people do not opt for surgery, mainly because of the cost. However, surgery for a torn bicep muscle only involves only minor incisions and has few dangers. Full recovery of movement after surgery is also likely. Athletes often opt for this so that they may more quickly return to the court and the pool.
Even after surgery, physical rehabilitation like what I have described above is a must.
Tips for Preventing Torn Biceps
The main thing you can do to avoid this injury in the first place is to properly stretch before doing any activity involving overhead lifting. Athletes tend to know this and engage in stretches before every practice session and game. Manual workers, however, often forget to stretch before strenuous physical activity. This neglect, however, opens you up to the possibility of various debilitating injury. If you work at a company where stretches are not part of the company culture, you should institute them. Management will likely support you if you explain the health benefits and increases in productivity that will result from proper stretching.
Tennis Tip: If you experience pain during your serving motion, this may be a sign of an improper serving motion. Even professional tennis players will sometimes develop poor serving habits that may lead to injury. Often a serving motion will have a hitch in it that disrupts the serving motion and strains the muscles in the arms unnecessarily. Many tennis stars have had injuries due to improper serving motions (consider the former Wimbledon champs Ana Novotna and Anna Sharapova). The key to a healthy service motions is having a fluid serve based on a regular ball toss that allows for proper timing. A good tennis coach can help you develop this timing.
Regardless of what you use your shoulder for, a healthy shoulder should be a priority. Be sure to take proper care of it and it will serve you well.