Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

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groberts
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Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by groberts »

Over the past 9-months I’ve been getting increasing pain in my left bicep, which if not caused by, is certainly aggravated by cycling. I’ve been riding my Trek 830 on-road for over thirty years with straight bars + Ergon grips + comfortable postion, without any problems, until now.

With some rest + Voltarol etc. I’d hoped it would settle down but it didn’t so I eventually spoke to my daughter, who is a GP, and she suggested it could be Bicep Tendon Tendinitis and gave me some exercises, which just made it worse! Therefore, on her advioce I recently went to a physiotherapist who suggested it could be inflammation of the long head bicep tendon and has been supervising a new physio regime + told me to stop cycling for a while, which after +6-weeks doesn’t seem to be helping much. I got back on the bike again today and sure enough it irritated the bicep pain again.

I wondered if anyone else has experienced such a problem and can provide any guidance on what to do?

Graham
tenbikes
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by tenbikes »

Both my bicep tendons are dislocated: they don't sit in the groove where they should.

I did one playing squash, the other caving. Bloody painful a lot of the time, and never pain free. Been that way for 23 years.......

Because I'm so active the surgeon I saw didn't want to operate. He said that the operation would only work if I didn't stress the shoulder........and he knew I'd never rest it enough....

So, I just suffer the chronic pain. I get some respite now and again, but not much. I hope you fair better; good luck!
groberts
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by groberts »

Not very encouraging but thanks all the same. The funny thing is I played squash for more than 25 years + was into rock climbing and I'm right handed but the problem is my left bicep and, as far as I recall, there's never been any any trauma to the arm. Like you say, it might be a case of grin and bear it!
Jdsk
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by Jdsk »

It's difficult to know what to advise without a lot more information.

Any other medical conditions? Any current medications?

How long does the pain last after riding?

Do you have the opportunity to talk to the physiotherapist again?

Without that the general principles are something like:
• Don't push through pain
• Experiment and don't do what makes it worse
• Discover what analgesia works for you.

You already know that cycling in that position on that bike makes it worse. What do you see as the options for change?

Jonathan
groberts
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by groberts »

Thanks for your comments and observations Jonathan.

I'm not expecting any magic bullet but wondered if anyone had a similar experince from cycling, what they did about it and the outcome.

It's not like I get offf the bike and I'm in pain, it's sore after a ride like yesterday but there's a deep pain today - it certainly feels muscular or tendon related and might just be an age thing. For no particular reason it can come on just watching TV but always is aggravated by cycling. Having used the same bike set-up for so long I'd be surpised if it was that.

I will be seing the phsyio again in x3 weeks and he's already suggested a scan might be needed.

Ironically, as cyling is my main relief from knee pain - TKR in 2015 and now the other one's going - I won't be gving that up and may therefore just hace to live with it. But for the moment, I'm keen to see if there is anything that can be done or learn from others.

Graham
Gearoidmuar
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Location: Cork, Ireland. Corcaigh, Éire má tá Gaeilge agat.

Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by Gearoidmuar »

I got bilateral biceps tendonitis as a side-effect of an antibiotic which can cause tendonitis.
It was bad for about three months and grandually subsided. I rubbed it and all that kind of thing. It was completely gone in one and a half years on one side and in two years on the other but was really only a minor inconvenience after three months. It did restrict how far around my back I could reach to scratch until gone.
I was delighted it went because I could find no medical article on line on the resolution of antibiotic induced tendonitis.
Soft tissue injuries nearly always resolve in time and it's a characteristic that they affect you less often until you suddenly notice they are gone.
I can't recall mine affecting me much, cycling, but it was more than 10 years ago..
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531colin
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by 531colin »

This riding position was OK 30 years ago, so it must be OK now.

Sorry, but I think that is fundamentally flawed.
I'm 75 years old; I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm very different to the "Me" of 30 years ago......weaker, stiffer, arthritic, more breathless, much more injury prone and with a much longer recovery time from both exercise and injury.

Just real life.

You say riding the bike always aggravates your shoulder. OK you can be in pain sitting in the chair, so can I come to that, but what else always aggravates the shoulder?

I think Jonathan is saying "what are you going to change about your riding position?
.....thats certainly my question.

For the record, my riding position has been "evolving" for a long time to help me cope with my deterioration.
1.The saddle has gone back to take the weight off my arms. (When you push the pedal down, the "equal and opposite reaction" of Newtonian physics tends to support your torso.....as my "push" gets weaker the saddle goes back so I don't get too much weight on my arms. )
2.Saddle has gone down a bit, to avoid over-extending my knees.
3.handlebars have come back and up, so i don't have to stretch to reach the bars, and I don't have to crane my neck to see where I'm going.
4.Arthritic hands means I can no longer hang off the brake hoods to brake, and I'm not going down on the drops to brake.....so the drops have gone, I'm now riding bullbars .....the "average" hand position is now somewhere where the "tops" of the drops and the brake hoods were. I didn't use the drops much, but at first I missed being able to "get down" against headwinds; but riding without drops is better than not riding.

ImageIMG_5137 by 531colin, on Flickr

I don't know if you are using grips with a built-in short bar end. If not, that would be something I would try, it means you can rotate your hands almost 90 degrees for a change. (My bullbars are made so I have my hands in the "wheelbarrow" position, like they were on the "hoods" of drops.)

9 months in, and no real improvement......I start climbing the walls if I can't get out on the bike, if it were me I would be altering the position in the hope of getting out in the summer.
Mark, measure, and photograph everything, so you can get right back where you started.
groberts
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by groberts »

Your expeince gives me hope Gearoidmuar. I've been off the bike for a couple of weeks with a lousy cold + the physio is (perhaps?) having some positive effect.

Position was the first thing that ocurred to me also Colin. Although I haven't changed anything recently, except raising the seat a little following a TKR in 2015. Since the pain started I've been trying to use the bar end extensions that I do have (see image) a bit more, which does (I think?) help a little, though not fully convinced yet. Once the weather warms up I'll try some other tweaks, though as I said: I'm not convinced cycling is the root cause, merely just aggravates the problem.
mirror open.jpg
Andy Stow
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by Andy Stow »

I recently had the same tendinitis for a couple of weeks, I'm pretty sure from doing a much longer ride on the Brompton than I'd usually do on that bike. I cleared it up in a week with Ibuprofen in the morning, ice in the evening, riding somewhat less, and not doing my usual weight training & jujitsu.
djnotts
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by djnotts »

531colin wrote: 4 Feb 2023, 3:27pm This riding position was OK 30 years ago, so it must be OK now.

Sorry, but I think that is fundamentally flawed.
I'm 75 years old; I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm very different to the "Me" of 30 years ago......weaker, stiffer, arthritic, more breathless, much more injury prone and with a much longer recovery time from both exercise and injury.

Just real life.........
Just so.
At a few months off 75 breathless is my main "deterioration" (COPD in my case) and more upright helps open my lungs. Arthritic hands means drops a big no - can't pull brake levers and STI shifting just hurts! Bar ends on flat bars and retro 3 x7 thumbies my answer - can use different parts of hands/ combination of fingers to shift.
Perhaps strangely my Bromptons the easiest on my hands and wrists - I THINK the steerer length provides an excellent road shock absorber. (And when my lungs have a bad day public transport steps in!)
Many of our needs change as we age.
3speednut
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Re: Bicep Tendon Tendinitis

Post by 3speednut »

I had tendonitis in my right arm causing mild pain for years particularly when lifting objects above my head, but one day pulling myself sharply up some steps the tendon ruptured completely and since then all pain gone it actually improved this strangely enough.
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