What is Bicep Tendonitis?

Tendons, the connective tissue that joins muscles to bones, can become inflamed and painful as a result of injury or overuse. Tendinitis is a common disease that can affect any of the tendons in the body, including the biceps.
Let’s look at the causes, signs, and treatments of tendonitis that affects the biceps muscle.

What is Bicep Tendonitis?

Bicep tendonitis is a disease caused by inflammation in the upper bicep tendon. This tendon, sometimes referred to as the long head of the bicep tendon, joins your shoulder blade bone to your biceps muscle. Your elbow may also develop the problem.

Causes of Bicep Tendonitis

Biceps tendonitis often results from excessive wear and tear of the tendon from daily activities. Age-related tendon weakening can be made worse by excessive usage, particularly with shoulder motions. Athletes who play tennis, golf, baseball, or swim professionally run the risk of developing tendonitis in their elbows, arms, and shoulders.

Here are a few causes of bicep tendonitis:

• General wear and tear
• Overuse of a tendon in a repetitive motion
• Poor posture
• Lifting something heavy
• Poor technique while playing sports
• Injury
• Shoulder impingement

Types of Bicep Tendonitis

Tendons connect the biceps muscle to the elbow and shoulder. The biceps are attached to the shoulder by two tendons: the glenoid, which attaches to the top of the shoulder socket, and the coracoid process, which connects to the front of the shoulder blade.

The site of inflammation can be used to categorize bicep tendonitis:

1. Distal Biceps Tendonitis: Inflammation near the elbow end of the tendon is a symptom of distal biceps tendinitis.
2. Proximal Biceps Tendonitis: Inflammation near the tendon’s shoulder end is a symptom of proximal biceps tendinitis.

Usually, a person only gets one of these tendinitis types, not both at the same time.

Risk Factors

Repetitive strain injuries can result in biceps tendonitis. The following factors may raise your chance of getting this condition:

1. Age: Since tendons deteriorate with time, older persons are especially vulnerable.
2. Activities involving overhead heavy carrying: Excessive strain on tendons is caused by carrying heavy things overhead on a regular basis, whether at work, in sports, or during exercise (such as weightlifting or heavy labor).
3. Repetitive Strain Injury: Tears in the biceps tendons can result from bad posture at work or in sports.
4. Smoking: The use of nicotine is linked to weaker and lower-quality tendons.

Treatment Options

The first line of therapy for biceps tendonitis usually consists of non-surgical methods such as:

Pharmacological Intervention

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or aspirin, can successfully reduce pain and swelling.

Rest

It’s important to refrain from activities that make the disease worse, such as heavy lifting, bending the elbow, and overhead motions.

Cold Therapy

Cold packs can reduce swelling and discomfort.

Physical Therapy

A physical therapist can help you recover from your elbow and shoulder injury. Your particular injury and general health will determine your physical therapy routine and suggested exercises, but they will most likely include:

• Resistance training to build shoulder strength
• Flexibility drills

Surgical Treatments

Your doctor could suggest surgery if non-surgical therapy proves to be unsuccessful. Surgical alternatives include:

1. Biceps Tenodesis: In this treatment, the injured biceps tendon is removed, and the healthy residual tendon is reattached to the humerus (upper arm bone).
2. Tenotomy: The injured biceps tendon is released from its attachment site by the surgeon during this technique.

Summing Up!

Bicep tendonitis is a painful condition that particularly results from age-related wear and tear, repeated movements, and excessive usage. If you are noticing signs of bicep tendonitis, Rheumatology Care of North Houston can help you.

Schedule an appointment by contacting us online or calling (832) 532-9779.