Partial tear in distal bicep tendon

Hello all, I have recently experienced a setback with my training and hoping to get a few answers

Approximately six months ago, I was doing a biceps workout and nothing remarkable happened. However while leaving the gym I felt what I thought was just an incredible pump in my arms, specifically the left, which had always been lagging a bit behind my right

The next day I woke up with quite a bit of soreness and some swelling. After it subsided I was able to do a successful hook test on it to determine my tendon was still intact. It took about 2 months before I was able to get an ultrasound on it to determine there was a partial tear in the tendon (1.6cm was indicated on one of the stills from the ultrasound)

I was sent for physio and was assessed, where they determined based on strength tests that it was healing and I likely had some scar tissue to work through. I did not receive any sessions, just the assessment.

Fast forwarding to now, it still bothers me in the following ways

A very slight aching and discomfort occasionally
Weak supination strength
When flexing, the muscle feels softer on that side and a bit further from the elbow, as if it has retracted up the arm but only slightly
And I have a distinct lack of connection with it when working out. I can perform curls with approx the same weight as my right, but I just don’t feel the muscle, don’t get any burn in it, etc

I have pulled back on volume and intensity in arm training because I fear it will tear completely, and I’m trying to take an active recovery approach through light weight and higher reps

My questions would be, are these things all in line with this type of injury? Would there be much hope of this ever healing on its own? If I needed surgery on it, would the fact that it has already partially torn so long ago complicate the procedure?

I really appreciate any thoughts on this, thank you

Hey Derek,

Welcome to the forum. We moderate some of the sections here, so please be patient for us to approve your post.

I am assuming you had symptoms of arm pain and weakness to go for the ultrasound, though maybe not.

If you have an unrepaired distal biceps tendon rupture, it may have benefitted from orthopedic referral at the time of injury. That still may be the case, especially since you still have symptoms. There are a number of other factors that would need to be considered.

We can weigh-in on this via consultation with our pain and rehab team. Feel free to reach out at support@barbellmedicine.com

Thank you Jordan, I’ll reach out to the email you provied