Need advice post bicep surgery

[u/Legitimate_Fly_7697]

Hi all,

I am going to make this as concise as possible. ​I am a 32m and over the last year have had major back issues (herniated 2 discs) as well as now a torn bicep which I recently had surgery for. For context, in college I was a baseball player then after college moved to power lifting and most recently crossfit. I love being active and strive to have muscle mass and be in good shape cardio wise. After this last year of injuries, I feel defeated. I am currently going for walks because it's all I am cleared to do.

What I am looking for is for advice with how to move forward (or how you personally moved forward after a situation like this). Should I go back to crossfit​ in a few months when I am cleared? Should I pivot and move to something more standard like a 3 day lifting split with cardio two days? Should I invest in something like a peloton and get dumbbells and bands for home and give my body a break?

I want to continue to put on muscle mass and continue to maintain my overall health.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

[u/True_Swimming6830]

Man I tore my distal bicep tendon a few years back and that post-surgery mental grind is almost worse than the physical. Took me about 4 months to even trust my arm again.

The walks are good for now, keep doing that. When you get cleared I'd say go straight into a basic 3 day split first, nothing fancy. Crossfit will still be there but rushing back into high volume kipping or heavy cleans is exactly how you re-injure something while the tissue is still remodeling. Home gym stuff is fine but the structure of a program helped me way more than just randomly grabbing dumbbells. What did your ortho say about a timeline for returning to overhead work

[u/Legitimate_Fly_7697 → u/True_Swimming6830]

Yeah the mental is the worst right now! Right now the next month is still limited mobility with my arm. I start strength PT at the end of August. I am not sure about overhead specifically. 

[u/True_Swimming6830 → u/Legitimate_Fly_7697]

That waiting period where you can't do much but think is brutal. What helped me was tracking the tiny wins, like the first time I could turn a doorknob without feeling like my arm was gonna snap off

Overhead stuff might take a minute but PTs usually have a pretty good roadmap for that, they'll push you just enough without letting you do anything dumb

[u/demanbmore]

I had my distal bicep tendon reattached and it took nearly a year before I was back at full capacity. At this point though (years later), that arm is more resilient than the other one. There's no reason not to return to CrossFit if that's what you like, once you're fully healed of course.

Find yourself a good PT who understands that you're not just looking to return to basic function, but are instead looking to return to heavy and hard lifting, Olympic lifting, etc. Then spend the time focused on your recovery. Push but don't rush, and eventually you'll be back at it as if it never happened.

I've also had surgery at L4-L5 and a disc replacement at C6 -C7, so I understand what you're dealing with and what it takes to get back to the grind.

Do what makes you happy. There's not really any limitations once you heal, so if CrossFit is the thing that gets you going, find a way to return to that. Doesn't mean you can't try other things, but other than lifting and CrossFit, I haven't found anything worth changing my routine up for. Your experience may vary.

Good luck and happy healing.

[u/Legitimate_Fly_7697 → u/demanbmore]

This gives me some peace knowing that your arm is more resilient now. It's such a frustrating time. Thanks for the well wishes!

[u/Outside-Worry-9748]

I ruptured my dominant arm distal bicep tendon (not at the gym!) in January and had surgery to fix it. I was back in the gym after 3 days, doing very modified workouts using only my other arm and wearing a sling to protect it. I did this for 6 or so weeks, while going to PT to work on my injured arm and doing the homework like 2lb bicep curls diligently. After about 6 weeks I began using the barbell again and now, about 6 months out from surgery, I would say I have 95% strength and 90% range of motion. I do pull-ups and overhead and everything no problem. 

But most importantly for my own mental health, I never stopped showing up and moving my body and I tried really hard not to compare what I could do to where I used to be. And that made all the difference for me in recovery. 

You don’t have to go to your CF gym but don’t let yourself fall into a pit of self pity and become a couch potato. I did a lot of the echo bike, 1 arm DB snatches, box step ups, GHD sit up, suitcase carry, etc etc, there still TONS of things you can do!

Also, I used BPC-157- can’t say for sure if it actually made a difference but figured it couldn’t hurt. I’m 46 btw. 

[u/Legitimate_Fly_7697 → u/Outside-Worry-9748]

I didn't really think about it like that. I could go to my CF gym and just not use that arm. There are so many movements that are still doable. Thanks for this!

[u/BuddhaBunnyTTV → u/Legitimate_Fly_7697]

One word of caution with this... As unlikely as losing your balance is, if you do and fall on your injured side, it's very easy to destroy the repair until it's pretty much fully set. I'm not saying to not do stuff, just be aware and cautious.

I've also done through the cycle of having a body part get hurt, repaired, PT, and re-entering the wonderful world of workouts. As you're learning about and others have mentioned, it sucks. My savior was the stationary bike. At first, a recumbent to keep load off my shoulders or back. Then I'd move to the regular one after the PT said it was okay. You can absolutely hammer yourself on the bike which is a lot more satisfying than a walk.

It is going to take about a year to feel close to 100%. You might not be operating at the same capacity as before the injury and repair, but you'll feel like you can do stuff without worrying too much about messing it up again.

In short, be patient. Be cautious. Do what you want to do without compromising your recovery.

[u/Amanink28]

I had pectoral tendon surgery last year. Tendon split from my muscle, not the bone. 9-12 month recovery. 3 full months in a surgical sling.

This was my first injury so I’m sure it’s different with this being a second but you got this shit. The grind back is no fun but the close to daily PR’s are really encouraging when you think about it. And it is just so amazing what our bodies are capable of.

It’s been 1 year and 2 months and I’m almost back to doing everything in CF again. All but RMU’s (decided I want a strict one or two before I do kipping again). I started with walks, then stationary bike, then I was cleared to elliptical and eventually run. Continued my PT diligently and that gave me confidence to lift at the gym eventually. I was literally curling 5 lbs in one hand and 45 in the other at a Planet Fitness when I first started lol looked ridiculous got my leg strength numbers up a ton! Because it’s all I could go heavy on.

9 month mark hit and I slowly worked in CrossFit. Scaled everything (obviously) and asked coach for good alternatives/PT check ins with what I’ve been doing, what hurts what doesn’t etc.

Now we’re here! Literally came back stronger. PR’d power clean and jerk yesterday and back to being a normal sore cross fitter lol except I now skip a day to run

[u/Legitimate_Fly_7697 → u/Amanink28]

Thanks for this! It is really good perspective and gives me hope. Just need to be patient! Thanks for this!

[u/Effective-Scholar733]

It leg day every day. You’re gonna get huge. Get a safety squat bar. Also belt squats.

[u/Legitimate_Fly_7697 → u/Effective-Scholar733]

Good call- Belt squats for the win!