# Deadlift torn bicep



## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

I went 60, 100, 140, 180, 200, 210, 230 today.

On 230 I ripped my bicep. NHS an absolute joke don't bother with surgery no follow up appointments. Feeling horrible going to doc on Monday absolutely clear that surgery is indicated.


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

Seems like a lot of injuries goin about at the minute

Wish you a speedy recovery mate


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## Pancake' (Aug 30, 2012)

How do you prevent a torn bicep? just warm up well?


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

Youngstarz said:


> How do you prevent a torn bicep? just warm up well?


By not bendin your arm I'd guess and avoid using an over under grip


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## Thunderstruck (Sep 20, 2010)

Breda said:


> By not bendin your arm I'd guess and avoid using an over under grip


Was going to say exactly this, see alot o guys using under grip but was warned off of them a long time ago.


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

Thunderstruck said:


> Was going to say exactly this, see alot o guys using under grip but was warned off of them a long time ago.


Yea its usually the bicep on the supinated hand that seems to pop off


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## Rick89 (Feb 27, 2009)

Youngstarz said:


> How do you prevent a torn bicep? just warm up well?


lots of factors

main one would be to use straps double overhand but obviously cnt in comps all time


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Unlucky nate .

I was speaking to a guy in gym other day he tore a tricep off benching 15 years ago its just a ball at the delt end of his arm looks fcking weird docs put it in a cast and left it wouldnt operate .


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## WilsonR6 (Feb 14, 2012)

Best of luck on recovery!

Makes me glad I wear straps lol


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## mozzwigan (Apr 20, 2012)

This is the main reason on anything heavy i wear straps! don't give 2 fcuks what people say, I ain't tearing no biceps!


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## mozzwigan (Apr 20, 2012)

i did some axel deadlifts for the first time ever yesterday, my god i never realised how **** my grip is, my forearms are killing me today haha! could not even pick 160kg up, 150kg was my max, then put the straps on and did 200kg for about 4-5 reps


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

Thanks for the wishes guys. Distal tear.

How do you prevent it? By not lifting heavy weights. You can see from my rep protocol that I warmed up. You can rip a bicep doing preacher curls. Horrible injury my bicep is sitting about 2 inches high. Without surgery ill be permanently disfigured.


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## murphy2010 (Dec 17, 2010)

I always use mixed grip, now im scared :S

I did hear though that aslong as your arms are fully straight it should be fine


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## pea head (May 28, 2008)

You need get in to the doc ASAP again and demand they get it attached....if you told them you did it lifting then they usually don't give a fcuk tbh.....tell them you were helping your grandma move a fridge freezer they likely be more willing help as daft as it sounds.

Deadlifts are the worst....that's why I never do them...plus im guessing 50% of people who do them don't know the reason for underhand/overhand grip in the first place.

If not...pay private......don't go through life with it like that if its going affect you menatally.


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## murphy2010 (Dec 17, 2010)

if I can do 220x3 deadlift would you all recommend getting straps?

id love a 250kg dead without them but im scared after this thread


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

NovemberDelta said:


> Thanks for the wishes guys. Distal tear.
> 
> How do you prevent it? By not lifting heavy weights. You can see from my rep protocol that I warmed up. You can rip a bicep doing preacher curls. Horrible injury my bicep is sitting about 2 inches high. Without surgery ill be permanently disfigured.


You prevent it by not using bad technique.

Bicep tears through deadlifting are usually a direct result of bending the elbow and trying to row the weight.

Either that or if it is the shoulder joint then it could be years of bad posture impinging on the long bicep tendon and wearing it out causing it to rupture.

A healthy normal shoulder joint and normal bicep will not snap when deadlifting with correct form.


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## gripa (Mar 12, 2012)

I tore mine on the 1st of June and had surgery on the 8th, im recovering slowly I also tore the other one last year so ive had surgery on both now. Its a long recovery its been about 6wks now since I done mine in and im curling a empty dumbbell bar ive also trouble turning my wrist (supunating) Its important that you get seen to ASAP or its not possible to repair the injury, you've only a couple of weeks to get the op or the tendon shortens and they cannot repair it, theres a thread on here somewhere with pics of mine,, all the best in your recovery but be ready for a long haul and don't let it get you down as its hard not being able to train never mind all the day to day things you take for granted that you wont be able to do for a while, but time heals so be strong and good luck


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## gripa (Mar 12, 2012)

Heres a link to that thread http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/arms/225844-distal-bicep-rupture.html


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

Thanks a lot mate good post. I'm going to sports specialist doc tomorrow. I'm thinking my legs are gonna be getting big over the next couple of months!



gripa said:


> I tore mine on the 1st of June and had surgery on the 8th, im recovering slowly I also tore the other one last year so ive had surgery on both now. Its a long recovery its been about 6wks now since I done mine in and im curling a empty dumbbell bar ive also trouble turning my wrist (supunating) Its important that you get seen to ASAP or its not possible to repair the injury, you've only a couple of weeks to get the op or the tendon shortens and they cannot repair it, theres a thread on here somewhere with pics of mine,, all the best in your recovery but be ready for a long haul and don't let it get you down as its hard not being able to train never mind all the day to day things you take for granted that you wont be able to do for a while, but time heals so be strong and good luck


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

Waiting for consultant appointment, was referred on Tuesday. Function of arm is very good but I cannot even think about lifting again right now. Thinking about what's going on inside my arm is freaking me out!


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Wish you all the best mate, I was ****ed about for 9+ months with GP and NHS when I did my shoulder. I went private in the end with benenden and TBH, was the best decision I've made. Most of their surgeons are from Denmark and as you may know, they have one of the best healthcare's in Europe.

IF you can't afford it in this country, perhaps do some research and have it done abroad?


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

pea head said:


> You need get in to the doc ASAP again and demand they get it attached....if you told them you did it lifting then they usually don't give a fcuk tbh.....tell them you were helping your grandma move a fridge freezer they likely be more willing help as daft as it sounds.
> 
> Deadlifts are the worst....that's why I never do them...plus im guessing 50% of people who do them don't know the reason for underhand/overhand grip in the first place.
> 
> If not...pay private......don't go through life with it like that if its going affect you menatally.


Is there any exercise you do as an alternative to deadlifts?


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## Poke (May 31, 2012)

Cronus said:


> Is there any exercise you do as an alternative to deadlifts?


Good mornin, rack pulls. But nothing really replace the good old deadlift.

I tore the outer head of my bicep, but not completely off, and I now use straps so both hands are facing backwards as opposed to over under. I dont think its to do with form... its just not natural for some people to have their arm twisted around like that, try doing it without the weight in your hands, if you find it tight or cant do it easily then you probably shouldnt do it with 200kgs lol.


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

TheBob said:


> You asking for dl alternative ?? .. or making a statement ?
> 
> I stick with a smatch grip until last coupke sets or 1rm and then use convential grip ...


Asking for alternative. I don't particularly like going heavy on conventional or even sumo deads. Was thinking about trying trap bar or per-exhausting.



Poke said:


> Good mornin, rack pulls. But nothing really replace the good old deadlift.
> 
> I tore the outer head of my bicep, but not completely off, and I now use straps so both hands are facing backwards as opposed to over under. I dont think its to do with form... its just not natural for some people to have their arm twisted around like that, try doing it without the weight in your hands, if you find it tight or cant do it easily then you probably shouldnt do it with 200kgs lol.


Yes was looking at good mornings, agree that's a good alternative, it's more or less the top half of the deadlift. An old gym buddy did racks and had a decent thick back, but again the trade off is that I'd likely have to go quite heavy.


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## dave-taff89 (Jul 14, 2013)

**** that looks sore....... Hope you have a speedy recovery and I hope you get surgery ASAP. Our NHS is a joke for us working lot with the amount of National Insurance we have to pay. And then you get these health tourist c*nts coming over here from all walks of life, getting it all free and promt!!

Good luck fella.


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

dave-taff89 said:


> **** that looks sore....... Hope you have a speedy recovery and I hope you get surgery ASAP. Our NHS is a joke for us working lot with the amount of National Insurance we have to pay. And then you get these *health tourist c*nts coming over here from all walks of life, getting it all free and promt!!*
> 
> Good luck fella.


Not to go too off topic and start a debate but that's partly due to corruption in our healthcare i.e. the GP's. There is a lot of fraud going on in our health care system - like that fckin don't earn enough, no morals or ethics.


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## Poke (May 31, 2012)

Cronus said:


> Asking for alternative. I don't particularly like going heavy on conventional or even sumo deads. Was thinking about trying trap bar or per-exhausting.
> 
> Yes was looking at good mornings, agree that's a good alternative, it's more or less the top half of the deadlift. An old gym buddy did racks and had a decent thick back, but again the trade off is that I'd likely have to go quite heavy.


Good morninbg are the closest to dead lift, rack pulls are just the very top part of the deadlift, good morning replicate the deadlift very well on the back from top to bottom, but there is less stress on the quads and traps and more on the glutes and hams and core.


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## dave-taff89 (Jul 14, 2013)

@ Cronus I also agree with you there too!! It's a joke, to be fair I would prefer to go private. Although the NHS does have its perks too! Like the States for instance, most employers offer health insurance policies and you would be covered in that way. How much i pay in NI a month would be sufficient enough to cover the costs of going private. Its a shame that you can't choose over the two!!

Imagine the money that would be saved or wasted in our case if there was no NHS.

Anyways I don't want to go into a big debate on a Saturday night lol


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## exvigourbeast (Dec 4, 2009)

If you have reasonable function remaining and you haven't torn the tendon I think your going to struggle to get surgery. That said there is an element of luck involved in so much as the treatment you get is dependant on who the consultant or registrar is on the day you rock up at A&E so it may be worth repeatedly trying and making a fuss.

10 years ago I did my tricep badly. Entire arm was black and I couldn't extend it as I couldn't control it rather than due to the pain. I went to A&E and ended up with some pain killers and the legendary advice "the body is good at healing itself" I stupidly just accepted that and the end result was permanent loss of approximately 1/3rd of pressing strength and a funky shaped arm.

In Feb this year I snapped my quad tendon and by virtue of the fact that I went to a different hospital and I knew the sort of things to emphasise (IE you've lost control of the limb, not just that it hurts. Try and force the issue of getting an MRI not just an ultrasound) I got a repeat appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon within 3 days and was getting my tendon screwed back on in a fortnight.

Be warned though , as someone else has mentioned some doctors/surgeons won't be as interested in you if you take gear ( degrades tendons ) or tell them you did it lifting. I was honest with the surgeon I saw but he warned me that if he thought I was continuing to take gear he would refuse the surgery, and in my 3 or 4 appointments before surgery he would ask my missus if I was ( who is a stinking lousy grass ).

I did tell him that I hardly thought the 8 weeks I'd exposed my poor little tendons to ProChem's Test 300 was likely to have degraded them to the point of snapping and it was more likely the preceeding 8 months of tendonitis I'd ignored and the compensatory squatting style I'd adopted but he was on an anti-steroid trip at the time and was getting into full flow so I thought I better not **** him off.


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

Poke said:


> Good mornin, rack pulls. But nothing really replace the good old deadlift.
> 
> I tore the outer head of my bicep, but not completely off, and I now use straps so both hands are facing backwards as opposed to over under. I dont think its to do with form... its just not natural for some people to have their arm twisted around like that, try doing it without the weight in your hands, if you find it tight or cant do it easily then you probably shouldnt do it with 200kgs lol.


Was it at the elbow and did you have surgery? I've got a consultant appointment in 2 weeks. I'm hoping for surgery but would struggle to afford private.


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

[email protected]

Thanks for the advice. I agree I will have to push for surgery. I intend to emphasise my job as a rugby and strength coach at the school I work in. I also have ambitions to rejoin the military as a reservist. I think I will need to show how it will effect my every day life. I don't take gear so that's not a worry. It's pretty bad that you need to sell yourself to get appropriate treatment!


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## exvigourbeast (Dec 4, 2009)

NovemberDelta said:


> [email protected]
> 
> Thanks for the advice. I agree I will have to push for surgery. I intend to emphasise my job as a rugby and strength coach at the school I work in. I also have ambitions to rejoin the military as a reservist. I think I will need to show how it will effect my every day life. I don't take gear so that's not a worry. It's pretty bad that you need to sell yourself to get appropriate treatment!


Yeah , I think general functionality and your job are what they care about. Obviously with limited resources they only operate if it impairs everyday life rather than our aspirations to develop a level of strength beyond that required for daily function or to hit PBs. I think the good news for you if it doesn't work out is that even without surgical intervention as painful and worrisome as a torn bicep is if the tendon is intact I can't imagine it affecting your coaching or reservist plan and whilst your bicep curls or symmetry might never be quite the same again I would imagine the "main" exercises will suffer negligible harm in the long run. You might even get a bigger back from the lesser assistance of the biceps !


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## Cronus (Jun 5, 2012)

Honestly fckin hate this country.........sorry had to get it out there.


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## drago78 (Oct 1, 2007)

@ NovemberDelta

I have to disagree with the comments above that knock the NHS. I have the same injury, accident on 15/07/13 and operation on 24/07/13 and the NHS have been great.

However , you have to be proactive and use common sense. I immediately went to a+e and was seen after 4 hours by a junior dr. She was nice, but only 3% percent of bicep ruptures are distal so she probably didnt know what she was looking at, I was referred to the consultant on 26th, I knew this was too long to wait and so called the fracture clinic a couple of days later and got the appointment bumped to the 20th. I was polite on the phone and discussed my worries in a compelling manner.

On 20th the consultant confirmed the complete rupture, said surgery was the best option I then met the surgeon operating on me later that day. Things were a bit chaotic at the clinic that day as a dr failed to turn up, but never the less after a bit of waiting I was booked in for surgery on the 24th.

Surgery went ahead on 24th and 5 days out I am relaxing, going for brief walks and vegging on the sofa, I am signed off till 07/08/13 at the least, suspect it could be longer.

It is not correct to say that surgery is not an option after a couple of weeks, it is but the procedure is trickier and involves a tendon graft, apparantly a dr friend of mine said there are tendons that you wont miss so it's not as big a deal as it sounds.

This website helped me, quite a bit of info on this particular issue : http://tendonsurgeryinfo.com/distalbiceps/index.php

good luck


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

drago78 said:


> @ NovemberDelta
> 
> I have to disagree with the comments above that knock the NHS. I have the same injury, accident on 15/07/13 and operation on 24/07/13 and the NHS have been great.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I phoned this morning and questioned the wait. I am now in for surgery on Thursday.


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## Ballin (Aug 24, 2011)

Sorry to har this mate- terrible injury to have.

Was so glad I was slapped by a veteran in my gym for going over undergrip after he said this.

I pinged my lower back lifting 280kg so now I refuse to go over 5 plates and rack pull only- it's pointless unless you are competiting in my opinion to much risk involved of causing severe damage.

Speedy recovery- just glad I have got BUPA with work.


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## mozzwigan (Apr 20, 2012)

NovemberDelta said:


> View attachment 130937
> 
> 
> Waiting for consultant appointment, was referred on Tuesday. Function of arm is very good but I cannot even think about lifting again right now. Thinking about what's going on inside my arm is freaking me out!


oooooooo that looks sore


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

So I am nearly 3 weeks post op and am now in a brace.

Stitches out tomorrow.

Does anyone have any experience of this type of injury who could offer some tips/advice for maximising recovery? Cheers.


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## gripa (Mar 12, 2012)

NovemberDelta said:


> So I am nearly 3 weeks post op and am now in a brace.
> 
> Stitches out tomorrow.
> 
> Does anyone have any experience of this type of injury who could offer some tips/advice for maximising recovery? Cheers.


Hi, I was 10 weeks post op on Saturday past, im going to the physio this morning for what I think will be my last vist. All I can advise you to do is concentrate on getting your full range of motion back first before you start to even think about training again. If you read back in this thread ive done my left last year and the right one this year on the 1st June, ATM im doing about 10 sets of pushups to failure for my chest as I cant lift dumb bells and I don't fancy being under a bar if I tear it again! I can do tricep extensions with a 10kg dumb bell using my good arm to spot myself, train legs normally although I still cant do squats as I cant get my arm stretched under the bar yet, im up to 4kg curls with the bad arm I could do more but am afraid of tearing it off again. So my recovery is coming on slowly but surely,, a few weeks ago I was having a lot of trouble supunating my hand/wrist and was very worried about this as my left arm didn't heal properly and does not supunate, I have to have a further surgery to repair this,, but my right arm which I have injured in June is about 90% ROM now so im hopeful it will come a bit more. Im probably doing to much but cant help it, two torn distal tendons two years running is frustrating to say the least! The best thing you can do is just work on getting it moving again and don't worry about training for another while,, I was taking 5000mg vit c daily as its supposed to be good for the tendons.

Here's a pic of my arm just after they took the first cast off, I had dissolving stitches in, the second piic was about 3 weeks later and the last is the shape I was in when I tore it, if you look closly you can see the right bicep up my arm instead of where its supposed to be!


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## NovemberDelta (Apr 17, 2011)

gripa said:


> Hi, I was 10 weeks post op on Saturday past, im going to the physio this morning for what I think will be my last vist. All I can advise you to do is concentrate on getting your full range of motion back first before you start to even think about training again. If you read back in this thread ive done my left last year and the right one this year on the 1st June, ATM im doing about 10 sets of pushups to failure for my chest as I cant lift dumb bells and I don't fancy being under a bar if I tear it again! I can do tricep extensions with a 10kg dumb bell using my good arm to spot myself, train legs normally although I still cant do squats as I cant get my arm stretched under the bar yet, im up to 4kg curls with the bad arm I could do more but am afraid of tearing it off again. So my recovery is coming on slowly but surely,, a few weeks ago I was having a lot of trouble supunating my hand/wrist and was very worried about this as my left arm didn't heal properly and does not supunate, I have to have a further surgery to repair this,, but my right arm which I have injured in June is about 90% ROM now so im hopeful it will come a bit more. Im probably doing to much but cant help it, two torn distal tendons two years running is frustrating to say the least! The best thing you can do is just work on getting it moving again and don't worry about training for another while,, I was taking 5000mg vit c daily as its supposed to be good for the tendons.
> 
> Here's a pic of my arm just after they took the first cast off, I had dissolving stitches in, the second piic was about 3 weeks later and the last is the shape I was in when I tore it, if you look closly you can see the right bicep up my arm instead of where its supposed to be!
> 
> ...


Thanks for the post - it's really helpful and much appreciated. Great to see how your scar has healed and your progress sounds great. It's a hard road back, not training is really frustrating, slowly slowly though.


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## gripa (Mar 12, 2012)

Yeah not training and even besides that the little day today things we all take for granted can get you down, but the weeks fly in and you'll be back to normal in no time, even the little bit of training im able to do now has cheered me up  a couple of weeks ago I couldn't even get a fork to my mouth! 

Good luck with your recovery


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## Big-Mac (Aug 31, 2009)

gripa said:


> Yeah not training and even besides that the little day today things we all take for granted can get you down, but the weeks fly in and you'll be back to normal in no time, even the little bit of training im able to do now has cheered me up  a couple of weeks ago I couldn't even get a fork to my mouth!
> View attachment 133763
> 
> 
> Good luck with your recovery


I wish mine went that colour when it happened I got a +50% tear in mine and docs kept telling me it was tendinitis even after an MRI it showed nothing until 18 months later I decided enough was enough and I got a surgeon to agree to open it up for exploratory surgery. So he opened it up fixed the tear and now 9 months post op it's back to normal! It felt good after I got the bandage and sling removed 6 weeks post op.


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