Bicipital Tendonitis.

BICIPITAL TENDONITIS

This is inflammation of the tendon of one of the tendons of the bicep muscle. The tendon runs down the front of the shoulder in a groove to the bulk of the muscle on the front of the upper arm.

It tends to get inflamed or damaged as a result of over use or exertion rather than the impingement cause of supraspinatus tendonitis.

Common test for bicipital tendonitis

* Pain on the front of the shoulder to moderate touch pressure.

* Pain on movement of the arm forwards away from the body usually with light resistance and more often at the beginning of the movement.

Treatment of bicipital tendonitis.

Essentially treatment involves resolving the inflammation in the tendon. This is achieved by:

*Resting the joint so that the pain is not elicited. Non painful activities are fine but this advice must be applied strictly and can be difficult to achieve with bicipital tendonitis, so rest really does mean using the arm as little as possible. Often avoidance of driving and other such regular activities of daily life is necessary for a while.

* Taking anti-inflamatory medication as prescribed by your doctor.

* A course of treatment by your physical therapist or physiotherapist using treatment modalities that help the body to overcome inflammatory processes, like electrotherapy or deep massage for example.

Resolution of the condition can take varying amounts of time depending on factors such as how old the injury is and the health of the tendon prior to the onset of the condition. My experience with this condition is that it can take anything from one to to six weeks to resolve.

Rehabilitation after bicipital tendonitis may involve light mobilising exercises to restore full and pain free movement of the shoulder joint.

Care must be taken to avoid overly aggressive exercise which can easily re-aggravate the condition.

I have put together, as part of The Shoulder Series, a booklet on the correct exercise regimes for the different phases of bicipital tendonitis. Please click here for furthur information.