Hey EC,
I seem to have a biceps tendon impingement. My bench, shoulder press, curls are all effected by this. When I do rows I sometimes feel all sorts of snapping, and over all my shoulders feel pretty crappy!
External rotations cause the most pain.
What should I add/remove from my workouts to start rehabing this?
Thanks!
[quote]Watson2K5 wrote:
Hey EC,
I seem to have a biceps tendon impingement. My bench, shoulder press, curls are all effected by this. When I do rows I sometimes feel all sorts of snapping, and over all my shoulders feel pretty crappy!
External rotations cause the most pain.
What should I add/remove from my workouts to start rehabing this?
Thanks![/quote]
Eliminate anything that causes pain, as you’re in a stage of acute inflammation right now. Some rest, ice, and NSAIDs for the next few days without avoidance of any activities that give you trouble should be your first course of action.
Generally speaking, bentover row variations cause more problems than seated rows. Avoid overhead work and benching variations and replace them with a ton of posterior delt work and seated cable rows. You can also do some of the prone cobra isometrics that Mike and I outlined in the GPP portion of the “Neanderthal No More: Part IV” program.
I hope you might be able to give some help… I’m just getting over chemo and as a result I tore my biceps tendon doing a 385 lbs warm up on the deadlift. I’m about 170 and can pull close to 600. i pulled 530 at 162 last april and at that time I was in stage II of my lymphoma. The cancer is gone now and i had surgery for my tendon in Febuary, My doctor thinks it might be about 6 months before I can lift heavy again but he’s never worked with a powerlifter before. I don’t want to risk reinjuring my tendon again. but I’d like toi start lifting some weight again soon… hope you might be able to give me some advice,
Danny
[quote]dan4745 wrote:
I hope you might be able to give some help… I’m just getting over chemo and as a result I tore my biceps tendon doing a 385 lbs warm up on the deadlift. I’m about 170 and can pull close to 600. i pulled 530 at 162 last april and at that time I was in stage II of my lymphoma. The cancer is gone now and i had surgery for my tendon in Febuary, My doctor thinks it might be about 6 months before I can lift heavy again but he’s never worked with a powerlifter before. I don’t want to risk reinjuring my tendon again. but I’d like toi start lifting some weight again soon… hope you might be able to give me some advice,
Danny[/quote]
Rehab is a very individual thing; did you do any physical therapy post-op? If so, how much, and where did they leave off?
No… My surgoen said I would not need rehab work because I was able to get full range of motion right ahter I got my brace on… I had it on for six weeks. I was able to get full range in only a few days on my own. i’ve been training for about 26 years so I know how to listen to my body.
I’d like to start deadlifting again but i don’t know how much weight I should use and how much I c an go up each month. I can still squat over 500 lbs and my deadlift was always better than my squat. I’d just like some adice on how much weight I would be able to hold with out risking injury…
Danny
Thanks EC you’re the man!
dan4745,
Did you rip your tendon at the elbow or the shoulder insertion point?
I tore mine at the elbow, around the same time you did… Now I am not a PLer, and my training age and numbers are far less impressive than yours, but my main focus right now is on rebuilding the biceps to its previous capacity. Even though I have a full range of motion (just like you) there is still a lot of scar tissue around the insertion point that has to be delt with. My therapist has suggested doing curls and hammers in 3x15 schema. Obviously you want to start with the lightest weight and work your way up from there, while gradually decreasing the reps. I was told not to do any bar movements untill my injured arm is at least 80% (prefferably 90%) as strong as the healthy one.
Of course everyone is different, and your goals are different form mine. The best bet is to find a Physical Therapist that specializes in working with athletes. Still, for liability reasons, their advise would always be conservative and over-conscious. Then again, you probably already know this…
I am still very interested in knowing what Eric has to say.
Peace,
DreDay
It was an 80% tare of the inner head tendon, it was cut then reatached. The doc said that at this time it should be at about 80% of my previous strength… being conservative 80% of my last best pull is still about 475… I don’t want to risk that, even 50% is 295… seems kinda scary right now… I don’t want to go all out but I also don’t want to wast a lot of time with weight that will not help me in my rehab…
Danny
If you’re very concerned about deadlifts, I’m going to assume that it was a rupture at the proximal end (shoulder). You can definitely protect yourself by using an overhand grip on the previously-injured side. Ruptures are more common in the alternate grip on the supinated side. Also, make sure that the elbow is extended completely when you initiate the pull; don’t bend it when you dip.
no… my tare was at the elbow… I’m planning on useing a hook grip from now on… Just wondering how much weight I might be able to safley use…
Thanks, Danny
[quote]dan4745 wrote:
no… my tare was at the elbow… I’m planning on useing a hook grip from now on… Just wondering how much weight I might be able to safley use…
Thanks, Danny[/quote]
It’s just a case of progressively increasing the weights. Don’t try to jump back into it full throttle; take it slowly and use other exercises to get your significant loading. Remember that the deadlift is one of those exercises that responds well to being left alone.
thanks for the help…
Eric,
On a related note, could you please suggest a good exercise for the upper back that does not put too much stress on the bicep and its elbow tendon? Chin-ups and heavy rows are not an option for me, untill the tendon heals and the bicep recovers…
Thanks,
DreDay