Bicep tendonitis can hinder professional baseball players, tennis players, swimmers and golfers. Physical therapy may provide relief!
Your physical therapist (PT) may suggest stretching and strength-building exercises that you can do at home to reduce pain while improving shoulder and elbow mobility, function, strength, and prevent further worsening of the condition.
Stretches
First step to treating bicep tendinitis is doing stretching exercises that will loosen muscles and tendons. Starting off light can be key, since any movement that compresses your bicep tendon could worsen pain and delay healing. You should aim for stretching exercises where your arm hangs down by your side; with heavy weights you may want to try some bicep curls, but ensure the elbow does not pull back behind your body (this position puts strain on the tendon) or perform pullups/pushups where arms cross your chest (this should also avoid).
An effective bicep stretching exercise involves standing with your injured hand palm down against a wall, slowly raising it until you feel a stretch in both shoulder and chest area. Keep arm straight and move it back and forth 15 times until stretch sensation occurs in shoulder/chest region.
Use a chair or table, and place your arms out in front of you with arms stretched out in front of them, holding arms out. Gently move your arm up and down slowly while flexing and straightening elbows – this exercise can be repeated several times each day to increase circulation in that area and can even help heal injuries faster!
You can perform forearm twists to keep tendons flexible and prevent them from stiffening up over time. Stand with hands hanging down at side while bending elbow to about 90 degrees; rotate palm so it faces upward then back downward again, repeating this exercise ten times daily.
As your stretching becomes easier, weight training should begin gradually. At first it is wise to start off light; just a few repetitions with very light weights may suffice as an indicator for what your tendon can tolerate. Over time you should gradually add weight until it becomes comfortable before stopping and taking a rest period before continuing. Our licensed physical therapists at Continuum Wellness can assist in finding an exercise program to get your arm back into working condition!
Strengthening
Stretching is often the first step to recovery from bicep tendonitis; however, strengthening exercises are also effective in strengthening rotator cuff and shoulder joints – as well as helping prevent it from coming back if overdoing things or engaging in too much repetitive activity occurs.
Bicep curls are an effective exercise to target the biceps, whether done with or without weights. Begin slowly by increasing your load gradually. Aim to complete 3 sets of 10 repetitions daily at least three times weekly.
Bicep internal rotation is another highly beneficial exercise that is often neglected. This movement involves moving your arm from its forward position to palm facing the ceiling, often leading to tendonitis in people lifting heavy loads over their head or performing too many tricep dips behind you – activities which put too much strain on the upper bicep tendon.
Therefore, stretching and strength training are an effective combination in treating bicep tendonitis. If ice, resting, and strength exercises don’t provide relief, physical therapy could provide essential exercises and treatments to eliminate your condition quickly.
Education on how to prevent injury to the biceps and shoulders is also key; taking breaks from certain activities and lifting heavy loads more slowly are among them. Carry groceries twice instead of once when shopping, or start with less weight when doing exercises like biceps curls at the gym may also be effective strategies for protecting these vital areas of body movement. Listen to what your body is telling you; your PT can teach you to recognize these clues of overload.
Rotation
Bicep tendonitis usually arises when the tendons that connect the biceps muscle to the shoulder become irritated or inflamed, leading to inflammation or irritation of its attachment point tendons. Over time, adhesive tenosynovitis may develop wherein thickened walls of its sheath restrict space available for its passage by thickening and restricting it resulting in compression of its tendon, leading to pain and swelling.
Overuse is one of the main contributors to biceps tendonitis, but other factors can play a part as well, such as ageing, repetitive shoulder movements and poor posture. People engaging in activities that involve lifting heavy objects overhead may be more prone to developing this condition as may athletes participating in sports or working jobs that require frequent overhead activity.
Biceps tendonitis symptoms typically manifest themselves with shoulder pain on the front side, at where its tendon inserts into your shoulder joint. You may experience snapping sensations when moving your arm in certain positions such as raising it above your head or rotating out to the side, as well as experiencing snapping when lifting or rotating out to the side. Biceps tendonitis affects both long head of biceps muscle as well as its short head which connects to an attachment point on your shoulder blade known as coracoid process – all symptoms that point toward Biceps tendonitis affecting all four heads of this muscle grouping!
As part of your rotation exercises to open up space for your biceps tendon, try performing rotation exercises to relieve discomfort. Begin by gently swinging your arm forwards and backwards or in small circles around your body; gradually increase their size but only up until a point where there is no longer pain. Be wary of rotating exercises which involve bending your elbow up towards your chest as this could aggravate this condition further, along with movements which put strain on the rotator cuff.
Once your pain has subsided, you can increase the intensity and introduce other strengthening exercises gradually. Be wary if any time the intensity increases too rapidly as this could result in worsening injuries that will take longer to heal from. Overdoing it could worsen an injury further and necessitate even more extensive care when your recovery time is up.
Ice
Bicep tendonitis pain results from an irritation of a tendon linking the bicep muscle to the shoulder. This tendon irritation often comes about through excessive lifting, overusing of biceps or sudden heavy exercise. Ice applications and light exercises alone do not always suffice; for optimal results physiotherapists use hands-on therapies including massage and joint mobilization techniques as part of their approach in improving muscle movement while decreasing tension in this area.
Once the pain has subsided and your tendons have healed, a physiotherapist can assist in returning you to normal activities and exercise, though with modifications. For example, instead of performing seated bicep curls with arms extended out in front of you, try standing them up while supporting them against a wall instead. This allows for greater range of motion while protecting tendons against overextension and irritation.
Your physiotherapist may suggest exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff and increase shoulder stability, such as shoulder circle crossover. When standing upright with injured arm loosely hanging at side, slowly lift arm up just over head height with elbow straight while holding for five seconds before returning back down again to side position – this stretches biceps, strengthens rotator cuff, and increases shoulder stability all at the same time!
Walking arm raises are an excellent exercise to increase range of motion while protecting bicep tendons against further injuries and becoming stronger over time. Place one hand against a wall, bend forward until your fingers point toward the ceiling, then repeat for 10 repetitions per set and 3 sets daily – this exercise should become increasingly comfortable as your arm strengthens over time!
Conservative treatments often suffice in treating bicep tendonitis; however, for best results it’s always wise to speak to your physical therapist about any complications or other concerns related to your injury. An app like Hinge Health makes connecting to physical therapists easy so you can receive appropriate care quickly.
