Bicep tendonitis is a term for painful inflammation of the tendon connecting the bicep muscle to the shoulder. Symptoms include an extremely piercing pain, a shooting or burning pain at the front of the shoulder, especially when you move your arm forward over shoulder height, or during an activity like throwing something. The bicep muscle is in the front part of the upper arm, the bicep tendons connect this muscle to the elbow and at two points on the shoulder. The degree of injury ranges from an irritated tendon to a tear or even a complete rupture of the tendon. Bicep tendonitis is not as common as achilles or supraspinatus, though it is prevalent among weightlifting sports.
Bicep Tendonitis is should not be left untreated as it can degenerate and become more difficult to treat. When treating the bicep tendon(s), rest the area (meaning do NOT workout this area other than stretching), apply cold compression therapy for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for the first day to 3 days.
However, this is not what typical person does; they may ice once or twice and rest a bit, but most often just take some Advil or Tylenol and continue to commence their workouts. If the strain was minor, their body may be able to heal the muscle fibers normally. Unfortunately, this is not the usual result because the injured muscle is being used instead of rested. Because of the stress on the muscle, their body heals the injured muscle fibers by binding them together with fibrotic adhesions or scar tissue. This is done in an attempt to prevent further damage to the injured area. It is a normal protective response of their body.
The most common cause of an tendon inflammation (tenosynovitis or tendonitis) is overuse of the affected tendon. Rest of the affected tendon is all that is required in some cases. Other treatments such as anti-inflammatory drugs or a steroid injection are sometimes needed. Infection of a tendon is an uncommon cause but needs treatment with antibiotics if it occurs.
What is tenosynovitis and tendonitis?
* Tendonitis means inflammation of a tendon. (It is sometimes spelled as tendinitis.)
* Tenosynovitis means inflammation of the sheath that surrounds a tendon (the sheath is called the synovium). Tenosynovitis can be caused by calcium deposits, repeated strain or trauma, high levels of blood cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, or gonorrhea.
These two conditions often occur together.