slightly torn / ruptured bicep?

[IliekFude]

hurts when i extend or reach on the inside of the biceps. no bruising/bleeding. hoping its a strain. gona take it easy. anyone torn a bi wana comment on the feeling of a partial tear? i kinda went balls out with rack pulls followed by a lat day this week, maybe just stressed it a bit. last thing i need is another injury and this time an upper body injury. id be stuck training nothing but my neck and nether regions vigorously for the next 6months.

[aahepp]

If you have a muscle tear or partial tear you will see some bruising. Depending on how deep it is/or isn't it might take a while to surface. Now tearing the muscle from the bone would be a different story. I was just speaking in the muscle belly itself. My tear was to the tendon itself and that pain is more towards the outside of the arm.

Does it hurt when you flex it, or just when you extend the muscle? I would say heat for 15 and ice for 15 for 3 times and see if that helps relieve some of the pain. Ibuprofen to help if it is inflamed. I would say if it doesn't stop hurting head to the ortho to see what he/she thinks.

[IliekFude]

hurts at extension. its along the top and slightly towards the inside of the bi, starting at the upper bi and radiating down towards the elbow. pain is worst when extended as mentioned or especially extended and rotating hand clockwise (turning palm up while extended).
ill def rest it along with the usual ice/heat and i have plenty of meds on hand if need be. ill see my doc if it doesnt change.

[Pixie]

Don't use heat for about 72 hours after the initial injury. This will only bring blood and increase swelling to the area... possibly increasing pain.

Ice for the first 48-72 hours, no more than 20 minutes on at a time, and waiting until your arm reaches room temperature again, before icing again. After the initial 72 hours, ice and heat contrasts are great to help move the "crap" (technical term) out of the area and promote healing.

Brusing is NOT necessary with tears. Likely, yes, but not necessary. My fiance tore both of his and no bruising on either... One being a complete tear and one being a partial at the tendon on both. He also said that extension was kind of painful with the partial, had nearly full range of motion with flexion.

Don't procrastinate on seeing an ortho surgeon with bicep tears though. Best repairs for them happen within the first 2 weeks, preferrably within 10 days of the actual tear. Afterwards, the tendon's integrity starts to compromise and the repair has the potential to not take without doing something more invasive than just metal anchors or natural bony plugs. So plan to contact the doctor accordingly, keeping the timing of scheduling an appointment, MRI/X-ray and scheduling of surgery (if necessary) in mind.

(Note: information is coming from medical training, not just personal experience)

[Tweak]

Are you sure it's the bicep itself or is it a tendon?

[Ulter]

If you get bruising inside at the bottom of the bicep near the elbow then you may have a problem. With no bruising then you likely just strained it. I suggest you don't use it for a week.

[Killer]

Like Pixie said, you do not have to have bruising, but most often the more severe the injury, there will be bruising and more of it.

Sounds like you have a little tear (strain).

Is there any defermity that you can see or feel? If not, you should be good to go. But, for peace of mind, you may want to get it checked out to be on the safe side as it is hard to give medical advice without seeing you, but I would bet that you are fine.

Like Pixe said, ice for the first 72 hours and sometimes a little more - 20 too 30 minutes on and one hour off is a pretty good rule of thumb. And do not forget to wrap the area when iced with a compression bandage, do not just lay the ice bag on your arm.

If is minor, I would take 3 weeks before I tried anything half way significant with the arm. Take it very slowly and be smart or you may end up with a total rupture.

Let us know how you are doing.

[IliekFude]

No deformity. Its not a tendon. Its the meat of the bicep in the areas i mentioned. The pain has drastically decreased. Now it feels like a not-so-bad lingering bruise along the inside upper bicep and the extension / rotation does not tweak it like it was.
Its healing whatever it is, and fast. So ill let it become pain free and test it out. If it tears down the middle of the bi during my next session i guess it was a little too soon and we'll know what the the problem was.
Thanks for all the replies guys, i really appreciate it.

[JoeD]

If you get bruising inside at the bottom of the bicep near the elbow then you may have a problem. With no bruising then you likely just strained it. I suggest you don't use it for a week.

i agree here. no bruising it aint torn, probably just strained.

[Sarge]

i've had the same thing just on the inner lower portion of the bicep.

Did you use an alternate grip on heavy sets? If so, that can aggravate things. Be sure to avoid that and grip over/over with straps while you heal.

[Ulter]

This is what a tear looks like. It would be kind of hard to miss.

http://www.anafit.com/images/myarminjury.jpg