It takes about 3 to 4 months for your biceps muscle to heal. You may be able to do easier daily activities in 2 to 3 weeks, as long as you don't use your injured arm. Most people who work at a desk job can return to work in 1 to 2 weeks.
Symptoms of a biceps tear or biceps rupture
Severe pain that may go away after a few days. Bruising and sometimes swelling in that part of the arm. Shoulder and arm weakness. A bulge in one part of the upper arm – with a gap in the other part – because the muscle has bunched up in one section of the biceps.
Here are some tips to help accelerate the healing process: Get plenty of rest: Avoid activities that strain the injury and give your torn bicep time to heal. Use a brace, sling, or cast to immobilize the arm and protect the healing tissue. Elevate your arm: Elevate your elbow above your heart to reduce swelling.
Partial tears may heal and may need protection during healing. Complete tears of the biceps tendon do not heal naturally as the tendon is pulled up into the arm by the biceps muscle.
If left untreated, a distal biceps rupture can lead to permanent weakness, discomfort, and even fatigue in your arm. The injury might not heal on its own, and surgery is often recommended to restore full strength and function.
Milder bicep strains can often be treated with rest, ice, and over-the-counter, anti-inflammatory medicines. Chronic conditions may need physical therapy or injections of corticosteroids. For a bicep tear, your doctor may perform surgery to repair the tendon and prevent further damage to your arm.
Most biceps tendon tears can be treated nonsurgically, but we can perform minimally invasive surgery called arthroscopy to repair it if necessary. We will help you get back to the activities you live for.
Since the biceps tendon takes more than 3 to 4 months to fully heal, it is important to protect the repair by restricting your activities. Light activities can begin soon after surgery. But heavy lifting and vigorous activity should be avoided for several months.
The “long head” of the biceps tendon is much more likely to tear than the “short head.” Because the short head is typically still attached, most people can still use their biceps to move their arm, even when there is a complete tear of the long head.
Your initial assessment should ideally be within 48 hours of your injury. Above: Gentle massage can help in the treatment for a bicep muscle tear.
Compression bandaging like compression gloves can promote blood flow through the site of injury and prevent the blood from pooling. A sling to immobilize the bicep muscle for the first few days.
The most common symptom of a bicep tear or strain is a sudden burst of pain in the upper arm near the shoulder. You could also hear a “popping” sound as the tendon tears. Other signs that you may have torn a bicep tendon can include: Weakness in the shoulder.
People who have had a full-thickness tear of their biceps muscle (Popeye arm) and are looking for support will appreciate the Body Helix Bicep compression sleeve medical grade compression. Our sports compression sleeve keeps the muscles tight while keeping them in a state adapted to strenuous exercise.
Stretching can help you heal from a muscle strain, as long as it's not severe.
Seek care as soon as possible if you think you have torn your distal biceps tendon. The injury is not necessarily an emergency, but a prompt response makes treatment more effective and supports faster recovery. Most orthopedic doctors can confirm a biceps tendon tear by conducting a physical exam.
Doctor Examination
This is commonly called "Popeye muscle" or "Popeye deformity". Partial tears are less obvious. To diagnose a partial tear, your doctor may ask you to bend your arm and tighten the biceps muscle. Pain when you use your biceps muscle may mean there is a partial tear.
A complete tear will not heal on its own, and may lead to certain functional and cosmetic deficits. With good rehabilitation you may overcome some of the weakness caused by the injury, but to restore the natural contour of the biceps muscle and to obtain maximum strength, surgery will be needed…
A bicep tear is a common injury during exercise or sports activities caused by overuse. Biceps tears occur when there is a tear in the biceps tendon, causing fibers in the muscles of the arm to separate. If left untreated, it can cause permanent damage to the muscles and tendons of the upper arm.
Lower demand patients in the nondominant extremity may decide to treat this without repair. It will not heal on its own and while it is unlikely to cause any pain it will cause weakness. Optimal timing for surgery is within the first 2 weeks of injury. Primary repair can be performed up until 6 weeks from injury.
Many cases of biceps tendonitis will go away within a few weeks of simple measures, including rest, ice and NSAIDs. But if your pain makes it difficult to perform your usual daily activities and self-care hasn't improved your condition, you should see your healthcare provider for further treatment.
You might need biceps tenodesis if: You have shoulder pain that hasn't been helped by rest, physical therapy or pain medication. You feel a sudden sharp pain in your upper arm. You also hear a snapping and popping noise.
Ice helps the healing process and can continue to be an effective therapy for one or two weeks after the initial injury. If symptoms persist past the first few weeks, you can try applying heat to help with muscle stiffness.