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Have you ever seen someone lift up their arm and flex their muscles to show their strength? Perhaps you’ve done this yourself. Whether in jest or if you have impressive muscles, the one thing that is consistent across the board is that everyone’s favorite muscles to flex are their biceps.
A biceps are a group of muscles in each arm located on the front side of the arm between the shoulder and elbow. These muscles power movements in your elbow and for twisting the forearm. The biceps are connected to the bones in your joints by three different tendons.
Overexertion or a traumatic injury can cause one or more of these tendons to tear or detach from the bone. This causes pain and limited range of motion in your arm.
Who needs biceps tendon surgery?
A little rest, medication, and physical rehabilitation is all some people need to recover from a torn biceps tendon. However, if more than half of a tendon is torn or if it’s detached, or if none of these other treatments are working, you may need surgery.
How long does it take to recover from biceps tendon surgery?
The objective of torn biceps surgery is to reattach the tendon to the bone. Full recovery from biceps tendon surgery can be anywhere from six months to a year. Recovery takes place in stages, with your arm growing stronger and more flexible as time goes by:
- First four weeks of recovery — During these initial months of recovery, you will likely need to wear a sling to help the armrest and recover. You may begin physical therapy during this phase to begin rebuilding the strength and flexibility of your muscles. Physical therapy exercises during this phase are typically light.
- First three or four months of recovery — After four to six weeks, you probably won’t need a sling anymore. There are still a few months of physical rehabilitation, though. At this point, your physical therapist will probably introduce more challenging exercises to further improve the condition of your arm.
- Final months of recovery — After four to six months, if your arm is still recovering, your physical therapist may introduce further challenging exercises to help you reach full recovery.
Visit iRISE Spine & Joint Institute for torn biceps tendon surgery
Have you lost full use of your arm due to a painful biceps tendon tear? If conservative treatments aren’t working for you, it may be time to talk to someone about surgery. Contact our team today for more information about torn biceps tendon surgery or to schedule an initial appointment.