Kenneth Piar finally got a weekend off to finish some long awaited chores since the COVID pandemic began. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Kenneth was lifting some heavy sand with bad body mechanics. Kenneth recalls hearing sounds of a rifle shot but realized quickly it was actually the sound of his bicep tendon being torn from the bone.
Your surgeon will likely give you an elbow brace that will prevent excessive elbow extension in order to protect the repair – straightening your elbow will put too much tension on the still healing repair. The brace will be adjustable, starting at limiting extension to 45 degrees in your second week and gradually increasing the amount of extension until you have full range in about the eighth week.
The first six weeks of recovery following a distal biceps tendon repair will focus on protecting elbow motion. Your active motion of your elbow will be restricted in order to keep tension off of the repair – in other words, you won’t be able to straighten your elbow all the way for a couple weeks.
The biceps brachii is a muscle with two distinct muscle bellies. The short head of the biceps brachii originates from the coracoid process, and the long head of the biceps originates from the superior glenoid labrum. Both heads insert into the same place on the radial tuberosity. Because the biceps brachii crosses both the shoulder joint and elbow joint,