Torn tendon in my arm... wanna get back to wrenching!

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by tirwin

Yea I used to laugh at people who said "wait till you're 40! everything changes!"

I'm not laughing now. I'm trying to do a better job of taking care of myself but I didn't even see this one coming. Sudden pain in my arm like someone plugged me into a 120V outlet.

I'm gonna fight the glue factory the whole way!

Wait until you hit 50.

It sure beats the alternative!

I am real close to 60 now.

[recycled sixtie]

There are probably lots of good reasons why us 70 year olds(or close to it) don't post selfies. I used to be a Greek god and now I am a ....etc!Ref. my old boss.
Guy

[J P Stein]

Re: I wanna get back to wrenchin'.

BTDT.

I've been lucky. I can't pinpoint an incident where I have seriously damaged this old carcass, but now pain is is pretty much a constant companion.
I've fought Crohns disease for 30 odd years and "won"......I out grew it.

About 10-15 years back the "potions" I took to control the Crohns caused some apparently permanent damage. My hands/wrists swelled up like a blown up surgical gloves.....I was out of he hunt. Got off the nasty drug and the pain/swelling went away....in about 6 months. My hands have never gotten back to "normal". However when they got back to the point where Aleve (a guy has to be careful with that stuff) made them bearable, I got back in the hunt.

Give your bod a chance to heal. This brings to mind a song containing the line "I never promised you a rose garden". Time really is the great healer....till ya take the dirt nap.

[O'Grady]

This is a torn biceps day 2
I don't post often only when I can contribute

[O'Grady]

These are 8 days post op 4-6 mos recovery from what I am told

[vash]

can you see tendon damage with an X-ray?

[O'Grady]

MRI is best, my doc who does a lot of mlb & nfl repair diagnosed prior to any imaging but wanted to confirm.
I was told to consider it a rope it can be cut through slowly or just broken all at once, but unlike a rope it can repair itself to a degree

[sugarwood]

The best thing to do is to avoid aggravating it for a full year. The worst thing is when you think it's healed, and you re-injure it.

[930addict]

can you see tendon damage with an X-ray?

In my case it required an mri.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by vash

can you see tendon damage with an X-ray?

Not really. Shouldn't be enough calcium in your tendons that they would show up on an x-ray. An MRI is the better test to get. Though, realistically, a physical exam should be able to make the diagnosis with about 95+% accuracy. Your doctor shouldn't be needing the MRI to make the diagnosis--he should know what you have by your story, complaints, and physical exam. An MRI would just be to confirm what he already knows.

That's true for both lateral epicondylitis as well as a torn distal biceps tendon.

This thread has gotten a bit mixed up, but again, they're two totally different things.

[tirwin]

Lots of good info on here... I really appreciate it!

I admit I am not being a good patient right now. I am doing more than I should. I was in the middle of remodeling the kitchen when this happened. I was never supposed to be doing that. I was supposed to be getting the engine back in the 911 and driving it to the Hilton Head Concours this weekend. (Still going to the show though!) After we got the kitchen demo'd the contractor got behind on another project and it was either eat out for months or take the bull by the horns. And you know that saying... if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

Well, I just need to knuckle under and get this done, rest up and get back to the car.

[Noah930]

The problem with lateral epicondylitis is that you've injured the tendon, and need to let it rest for it to heal by itself. It's not just the injury, but a sign of some aging, as well (sorry). When you were young, either the tendon wouldn't get injured with whatever activity you were doing, or if it did it would heal back to 100% by the next day so you'd never notice. Now that you're a little bit older, it's easier to injure, and it doesn't heal as quickly. So you're not 100% the next day. You're 99.999999%. But that's enough that even the little activities of daily living (like picking up a coffee cup) are enough to prevent it from healing. So it festers and the pain persists. Somehow you've got to break the cycle of this, and allow it to heal properly. If what you're doing hurts, you're not doing yourself favors.

[E Sully]

I tore my bicep tendon off about 8 years ago. I knew right away it was something serious. They screwed it back and all I notice now is the scar.

[sugarwood]

For the guys that tore their biceps, was this from extreme load, or just something routine like lifting a grocery bag? This sounds like an awful injury.

[E Sully]

Mine tore at the end of a long day of heavy lifting. As you can see from O'Gradys picture, there is a bit of internal bleeding. Quite an interesting feeling when your bicep is no longer attached and is hanging limp.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

For the guys that tore their biceps, was this from extreme load, or just something routine like lifting a grocery bag? This sounds like an awful injury.

(Usually) It's not so much the absolute load (in pounds), but rather a load with a sudden shock. Like catching a falling person, motor, or 55 gallon drum. Or having a foot slip off a rung while climbing a ladder. I met a guy who had it happen while surfing, though. Said he turned the board to face a wave and felt the elbow go pop.

It also typically happens to people in middle age: 40's - 50's. The collagen of the tendon loses some elasticity. There are different types of collagen, and as you age there is less of the type that is responsible for elastic collagen. So skin sags, and ligaments/tendons become less stretchy (and more brittle). That being said, I saw a 25 year-old last week with a torn biceps, though.

[sugarwood]

What are the accepted ways of avoiding or minimizing the risk of this injury?

[WPOZZZ]

Just take it easy and listen to your doctor. Your arm will improve, but as others have said, work smarter, not harder.

A few years ago, my niece came to live in Hawaii, so I decided to clean up the courtyard where I had lots of small boulders and large trash cans filled with dirt. I moved everything myself and ended up damaging my shoulder. It was very painful, esp when wiping my ass while on the ****ter. The shoulder froze up and I went through PT and it didn't help. I needed to go through two manipulations aka shoulder ripping under anesthesia, to get things back to normal. Then many months of PT again.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

What are the accepted ways of avoiding or minimizing the risk of this injury?

I don't know. Avoid sudden heavy loading of an arm? If you're over 40 years of age, don't catch something heavy if it's falling? I don't know if there's anything reasonable you could do to avoid a distal biceps tendon tear.