Bicep Tendononitis

Tendonitis refers to the inflammation of the tendon of the muscle. This is different than an injury to the muscle belly itself. Tendonitis can happen to any tendon in the body and typically develops as the result of overuse of a muscle. Bicep tendonitis usually develops with repetitive lifting or strain from daily tasks. The bicep muscle has attachments in the shoulder region. The long head attaches to the glenoid in the shoulder while the short head attaches to the coracoid process on the shoulder blade (not shown in the picture). Either one of these attachment sites can become inflamed and cause feelings of swelling, pain, or feelings of thickness in the tendon. Treatment of tendonitis can be tricky. All healing in the body is dictated by blood flow; the more blood flow a structure gets the faster it will heal. Tendons generally have poor blow flow causing them to take longer to heal. We can still use techniques in physical therapy to help alleviate symptoms and facilitate faster healing however. Physical therapy focuses on promoting blood flow to the tendons with methods such as dry needling, soft tissue massage, and scraping, and following this with pain free exercise that promotes blood flow to the region. Tendonitis is often a precursor to a tear so it is imperative to heal the structure in physical therapy to prevent putting the tendon at risk of tearing. Treatment for bicep tendonitis tends to produce excellent results in physical therapy. Please see the pictures below for photos on how tend to treat biceps tendonitis. If you would like to schedule an appointment please reach out to us.