Will I know if I have a bicep/tendon tear?

Yesterday I performed deadlifts for the first time with the help of an
experienced power lifter. After my workout I noticed some pain below
the bicep near the inside of the elbow of the arm that I used a
reverse grip with, but didn't think much of it.

Later, while browsing Strength Training Anatomy I read that while
performing the deadlift with a reverse grip it is possible to develop
a tear in that area without realizing it, and that the only remedy is
immediate surgery. Reading that caused some loss of sleep last night.

So my question is, would I know if I had a tear? The pain is not
serious, but noticable, mostly when extending my arm fully. It would
probably go away with some Advil.

Moving forward, should I forget the reverse grip if I'm worried about
this? I'm using relatively light weight for my size and just trying
to focus on getting the form down right.

On Fri, 29 Jun 2007, Jeff Reese wrote:

> Yesterday I performed deadlifts for the first time with the help of an
> experienced power lifter. After my workout I noticed some pain below
> the bicep near the inside of the elbow of the arm that I used a
> reverse grip with, but didn't think much of it.
>
> Later, while browsing Strength Training Anatomy I read that while
> performing the deadlift with a reverse grip it is possible to develop
> a tear in that area without realizing it, and that the only remedy is
> immediate surgery. Reading that caused some loss of sleep last night.
>
> So my question is, would I know if I had a tear? The pain is not
> serious, but noticable, mostly when extending my arm fully. It would
> probably go away with some Advil.
>
> Moving forward, should I forget the reverse grip if I'm worried about
> this? I'm using relatively light weight for my size and just trying
> to focus on getting the form down right.
>
>

If you think you have any medical risk your best bet would be to consult a
physician, not any of us (-: That being said, I prefer the over/under
grip as it torques the bar and helps my weak little hands' grip.

--
Sir Jackery

In article <Pine.LNX.4.64.0706291009050.4211@pc29.cs.ucdavis. edu>,
Sir Jackery <roehrig@cs.ucdavis.edu> wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Jun 2007, Jeff Reese wrote:
>
> > Yesterday I performed deadlifts for the first time with the help of an
> > experienced power lifter. After my workout I noticed some pain below
> > the bicep near the inside of the elbow of the arm that I used a
> > reverse grip with, but didn't think much of it.
> >
> > Later, while browsing Strength Training Anatomy I read that while
> > performing the deadlift with a reverse grip it is possible to develop
> > a tear in that area without realizing it, and that the only remedy is
> > immediate surgery. Reading that caused some loss of sleep last night.
> >
> > So my question is, would I know if I had a tear? The pain is not
> > serious, but noticable, mostly when extending my arm fully. It would
> > probably go away with some Advil.
> >
> > Moving forward, should I forget the reverse grip if I'm worried about
> > this? I'm using relatively light weight for my size and just trying
> > to focus on getting the form down right.
> >
> >
>
> If you think you have any medical risk your best bet would be to consult a
> physician, not any of us (-: That being said, I prefer the over/under
> grip as it torques the bar and helps my weak little hands' grip.

The problem is that you pulled with a bent arm. You want to voluntarily
contract the triceps muscles and try to get the biceps out of the
picture. The experienced powerlifter must have missed your slightly bent
arm or assumed the weight was light enough he/she decided to focus on
something else in technique. Can only do so much at once.

I tore the distal tendons on my biceps on my left arm two weeks before a
meet, but it was pretty obvious since my bicep rolled up to my shoulder.
If you have a complete tear you would know. But you may have a partial.
You would need an MRI to tell for sure.

Best thing to do is take it easy till the pain goes away and then start
slowly. I've pulled heavy in competition since then, so even a full tear
isn't the end of the world.

--
Keith

On Jun 29, 11:57 am, Hobbes <khobman...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> In article <Pine.LNX.4.64.0706291009050.4...@pc29.cs.ucdavis. edu>,
> Sir Jackery <roeh...@cs.ucdavis.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Fri, 29 Jun 2007, Jeff Reese wrote:
>
> > > Yesterday I performed deadlifts for the first time with the help of an
> > > experienced power lifter. After my workout I noticed some pain below
> > > the bicep near the inside of the elbow of the arm that I used a
> > > reverse grip with, but didn't think much of it.
>
> > > Later, while browsing Strength Training Anatomy I read that while
> > > performing the deadlift with a reverse grip it is possible to develop
> > > a tear in that area without realizing it, and that the only remedy is
> > > immediate surgery. Reading that caused some loss of sleep last night.
>
> > > So my question is, would I know if I had a tear? The pain is not
> > > serious, but noticable, mostly when extending my arm fully. It would
> > > probably go away with some Advil.
>
> > > Moving forward, should I forget the reverse grip if I'm worried about
> > > this? I'm using relatively light weight for my size and just trying
> > > to focus on getting the form down right.
>
> > If you think you have any medical risk your best bet would be to consult a
> > physician, not any of us (-: That being said, I prefer the over/under
> > grip as it torques the bar and helps my weak little hands' grip.
>
> The problem is that you pulled with a bent arm. You want to voluntarily
> contract the triceps muscles and try to get the biceps out of the
> picture. The experienced powerlifter must have missed your slightly bent
> arm or assumed the weight was light enough he/she decided to focus on
> something else in technique. Can only do so much at once.
>
> I tore the distal tendons on my biceps on my left arm two weeks before a
> meet, but it was pretty obvious since my bicep rolled up to my shoulder.
> If you have a complete tear you would know. But you may have a partial.
> You would need an MRI to tell for sure.
>
> Best thing to do is take it easy till the pain goes away and then start
> slowly. I've pulled heavy in competition since then, so even a full tear
> isn't the end of the world.
>
> --
> Keith- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I was so focused on making sure my back posture was good that I didn't
think about what my arm was doing. I was told that the pain could
also just be from the arm getting stretched out or extended in a new
way. I'm not particularly flexible and my arm is not used to taking
weight like that. There was no swelling and no moving of the bicep as
far as I can tell, so I'm feeling better about it.

In any case, I'm going to see how its feeling in a week and go from
there. The idea of an MRI without health insurance is enough to make
me slow down, not to mention the idea of surgery.

Thanks for the advice and personal account of what a tear is like.

"Hobbes" <I've pulled heavy in competition since then, so even a full tear
> isn't the end of the world.
>
Did you have surgery?