The bicep muscle helps to keep the shoulder steady. It also assists in rotating the forearm and bending the elbow. A tendon that holds the muscle and bone together is found at the end of the bicep. The biceps tendons attach the bicep muscle from the shoulder to the elbow. A tear on this tendon causes a loss of strength in the arm, which ultimately leads to inability to turn the arm forcefully from the palms downwards and upwards. The tendon tear can either be complete or partial. A complete tear can split the tendon in two detached sections, but a partial tear does not split the tendon entirely. A distal biceps tendon tear may arise as a result due to heavy resistance used to forcefully bend the elbow or as a result of heavy resistance forced to straighten the elbow.

Causes of distal biceps tendon partial tear

Distal biceps tendon tear typically occurs as a result of sudden injury and is not a result of other medical conditions. The tear can occur during heavy lifting without bending the elbows. In a situation where the elbow joints are forcefully straightened the distal tendon gets separated from the bicep. Distal biceps tendon tear is mostly common among men who are 30 years of age and above. Those who smoke cigarettes are at a higher risk for distal biceps tendon tears. This is because cigarettes affect the nutrition in the tendon while corticosteroids increase weakness in the muscles and tendons.

Symptoms of distal biceps tendon partial tear

• Swelling in the anterior part of the elbow
• A pop sound with a feeling of rupture
• Weakness during bending the elbow and twisting the forearm
• Initially severe pain that subsides after several weeks
• Bulge in the forearm

Treatment of distal biceps tendon partial tear Distal biceps tendon tear can be treated by avoiding invasive activities and also using pain-relieving medication with the use of ice in the affected area. As the pain reduces, there affected area should be stretched gently to strengthen it. This may fail and result in constant pain. In such as case surgery can be recommended. This will involve several procedures including the re-attachment of the distal biceps tendon. Depending on the severity, you may require one or two incisions. However, you don’t have to go through all this complex and painful procedure. This is because recently regenerative medicine techniques called Amniotic Regenerative Cell Therapy has been developed that can actually help heal this condition safer and quicker than surgery without the invasive techniques of surgery. That’s not all; the recovery time is typically much faster when this technique is used. You can contact us to learn more about how these procedures help repair torn distal biceps or to find out if regenerative cell therapy can solve your problem.