Bicep Tendon

In a small town in Kentucky there is a college located in Campbellsville called Campbellsville University. This is a small NAIA collegiate school that competes every year with top-notch athletes for a national championship. In October 24, 2004 there was a player by the name of Mike Lawn that played defense for Campbellsville that experienced a painful injury. This particular player received an injury one game that was very serious causing some major decisions afterwards. While going for a tackle Mike reached out with his arm for the running back only to find him hearing a pop in his upper arm. Mike received a bicep rupture to his tendon. This is a serious injury that happens in many sports today. A biceps rupture is a complete separation and is a long process during rehabilitation. When this injury occurs it also affects the shoulder and its stability. The bicep supports the arm in many ways and when injured it loses all strengths.

Mike experienced this injury during the season causing him to have surgery along with a well-monitored rehab program. The surgery repaired the tendon and the rehab following assured to strengthen the biceps. This was a long process, but in the end it was well worth it. Mike had to be faithful during this whole process for a full recovery. A login sheet was monitored each day making sure that Mike fulfilled every requirement for that day. He had to do many exercises for strength and stability to the biceps. A very important essential that went along with the rehab process was ice to the area. This helped for mending the tendon and to reduce swelling to the effected area. The process was long, but in the end Mike was able to return to his sport with full recovery.

Mike’s rehabilitation process is going to be extremely long and at times painful. He has torn the bicep tendon in his arm and if he wants to get back to full strength he is going to have to take his rehab seriously, he cannot miss any workout appointments. The injury he has obtained is serious and he has to rehab hard to get full strength and flexibility back. While Mike was attempting to make a tackle during a football game he reached out for the ball carrier that was running past him. Mike attempted to reach out and grab onto the player anyway he could, but his arm was extended and the ball carrier ran through his arm while Mike’s arm was fully extended, tearing the bicep tendon and causing him to be in excruciating pain.

The injury caused Mike to be immediately removed from the game, and there is a good chance he will have to have surgery to repair his torn bicep and he will be out the remainder of the season. This accident was a freak accident but it was hard to avoid, Mike put his body in a helpless position when he extended his arm to make the tackle and he really couldn’t had done anything to avoid being hurt.

Mike injured several parts of his arm and shoulder, when the bicep is torn the shoulder region is also affected. The shoulder loses strength, because the shoulder relies on the bicep to take off some of the pressure that is applied during activity. The torn bicep applies all the pressure to the shoulder region and the shoulder suffers due to that. Mike will have to strengthen his shoulder before he begins strengthening his bicep.

Mike has injured the sternoclavicular, acromioclavicular, scapulothorasic, and the glenohumeral joints. The sternoclavicular joint is between the sternum and collar bone, it is the only bony connection that the shoulder has with the main skeleton ( Smith). The acromioclavicular joint is between the collar bone and the point of the shoulder, called the acromion, which is part of the scapula (Smith). The scapulothorasic joint, called the false joint between the scapula and the rib cage. The glenohumeral joint is part of the scapula and humerus.

The glenohumeral is the most susceptible to injury; it relies on the balance, and strength of the muscles in the shoulder and bicep to make the labrum function properly. The labrum prevents the humerus from spinning or sliding too far from the center.

Overwhelming activity is too much for Mike to handle, because he doesn’t have the stability in the shoulder or the bicep. The large muscles generate movements of the arm and due to his injury they are not ready for activity. Mike actually ruptured his tendon due to how fast his arm was hit by the runner.

After the surgery had been performed successfully, Mike has to now go through an intense rehab program that is going to challenge him. The main goals during this process will be for him to strengthen, stabilize, and improve range of motion to the bicep. Through this process it will be challenging and will take a positive attitude from Mike as well as the trainer. The first thing that will be covered in Mike’s rehabilitation will be to work on his range of motion.