Fucked up my bicep - need advice

[Kyoshkin]

I moved into a new house and moved 90% of our shit myself. We are talking over 25 jeep loads of boxes, 5 bookshelves, computer racks, and over 150 boxes all by myself. I then got a couple scrawny buddies to help with the furniture, including a 600lb piano, a 450lb solid wood dresser, and a bunch of smaller stuff.

somewhere in this mess I did something to my bicep. I can tense the muscle, but when I release it, I get a throbbing pain from elbow to shoulder. I can't pick up anything over 10-15 lbs without clutching the arm in pain for 10min or so. Put my kid in the car and almost passed out from the pain.

over the past week of this, it feels better if I don't use it for anything - not even rhjo. As soon as I do anything substantive with it, the pain starts, although today it didn't go all the way to the shoulder.

any ideas on wtf I did, and what the recovery time should be? I keep reading snout bicep tears, ligament damage, etc, and I really don't want to fuck myself up more to where I need surgery.

[R3psForJ3sus]

It doesn't sound like a bicep tear maybe a ligament + or elbow issue. The bone could have stretched some ligaments when you are flex holding something heavy. Bicep tear pain is usually in the crevice between forearm and bicep (that feeling of curls with a tight sweatshirt on balled up in between that ridge) but again would need more specifics to know just exactly what happened. Wait 4-6 more days and if there is no improvement go to doctor or better yet go asap. Bicep tear recovery time can be anywhere from a little under a month to a few and ligament damage is all over the place in terms of recovery. I don't know if you're on cycle right now or not but fishy foods and some GH never hurt nobody

[Kyoshkin]

No cycle, just TRT. Fishy foods are easy enough, but GH not so much.

thanks for the time frames.

[Sheriv]

Alternate heat and ice every twenty minutes as much as you feasibly can and still function throughout the day. Use a nsaid whether you have pain or not on schedule. .keep it as immobile as possible (consider a sling at home) . I would definitely hit up a Dr because a true tear may be in such a place that it will not heal without help.
What the he'll is the dresser made of? 3" thick oak?

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[Kyoshkin]

Alternate heat and ice every twenty minutes as much as you feasibly can and still function throughout the day. Use a nsaid whether you have pain or not on schedule. .keep it as immobile as possible (consider a sling at home) . I would definitely hit up a Dr because a true tear may be in such a place that it will not heal without help.
What the he'll is the dresser made of? 3" thick oak?

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Close - 80 yr old solid mahogany with solid brass hardware.

[Sheriv]

I have a cpl of mahogany dressers..none are particularly heavy. Federal style design. I used to have an oak armoire that was stupidly heavy.
Idk how we didn't kill ourselves moving the woodstove. ..solid soap stone.

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[Gymratt]

SPorts massage therapy coupled with corrective stretching WILL do the trick. Good luck. I seriously recommend you take my advice from personal and other experience.

[tommygunz]

RICE-rest ice compression elevation. Any bruising or swelling?

[Kyoshkin]

RICE-rest ice compression elevation. Any bruising or swelling?

No, no bruising or swelling. Just tightness at the elbow joint when extending the arm and pain across the entire bicep when picking anything more than 15lbs or so.

SPorts massage therapy coupled with corrective stretching WILL do the trick. Good luck. I seriously recommend you take my advice from personal and other experience.

I can go to Madame Helga's House of Pain for the massage, but WTF is 'corrective stretching'?

--Life is a box of chocolates. Lick all the nuts.

[Gymratt]

No, no bruising or swelling. Just tightness at the elbow joint when extending the arm and pain across the entire bicep when picking anything more than 15lbs or so.



I can go to Madame Helga's House of Pain for the massage, but WTF is 'corrective stretching'?

--Life is a box of chocolates. Lick all the nuts.

Corrective exercise is an approach where an assessment is used to determine specific weaknesses and/or limitations of the athlete. This assessment drives the programming process, where a systematic and progressive approach is used to reduce the likelihood of injury and improve performance.


Due to your injury, inflammation, tissue repair, and healing will create minor or major muscle adhesions which will lead to imbalances and you will likely develop shoulder/bicep tendonitis or worse down the line if you, for example, take time off and let it "heal" then go back to the gym when it starts hurting. Massage will prevent adhesion/knots which act like roadblocks during muscle contraction, placing improper stress on the joints it attaches to and leading to possible muscle compensation and further discomfort => ultimately injury

[tommygunz]

If there was no memorable trauma, swelling or bruising, I'd have to say it sounds like a tendon strain. Give it some rest if that's possible and anti inflammatories for pain. If you don't see an improvement in a few days then seek medical attention.

[Kyoshkin]

If there was no memorable trauma, swelling or bruising, I'd have to say it sounds like a tendon strain. Give it some rest if that's possible and anti inflammatories for pain. If you don't see an improvement in a few days then seek medical attention.

The trauma is moving all of that crap.

It didn't show up as pain for a couple days, and today is day 10 since pain onset (started last Tuesday). It ebbs away, but then I do something (stupid) like hammer in a nail (or 20) and it flares up.

--Life is a box of chocolates. Lick all the nuts.

[tommygunz]

Well if you didn't hear any popping or feel tearing then it's hard to say anything else but stress and inflammation. If it was a tear or detachment the pain would be unending. It can take weeks to heal injuries to tendons. I give it a rest for sure.

[Sheriv]

I wound up with tendonitis that sounds a lot like what youre describing and RICE ..like Tommy out lined (and I did too actually) and consistent anti inflammatory drugs use is what ultimately helped it out...took months tho, for real.

I got it because my asshole partner dropped their end of the stretcher and I caught the stretcher with 6'5" 300lb pt on it myself....

that same partner broke another medics nose on the same day by opening a door into his face...like comedy skit style...Im not even makin that shit up

[Kyoshkin]

Uugh. So weeks/months out of the gym? Bleh.

--Life is a box of chocolates. Lick all the nuts.