Muscle Repair
CASE REPORT
Simultaneous Bilateral Biceps
Tendon Rupture
A Case Report with Practical Sonographic Diagnosis
ABSTRACT
Babaei-Ghazani A, Eftekhar-Sadat B, Ghabili K: Simultaneous bilateral biceps
tendon rupture: a case report with practical sonographic diagnosis. Am J Phys
Med Rehabil 2015;94:e13Ye18.
Simultaneous bilateral complete tear of the biceps tendons is a rare clinical entity
with challenging treatment approaches. Current diagnostic imaging of rupture of
the biceps tendon has reverted to magnetic resonance imaging; however, in the
recent years, sonography has been widely used in musculoskeletal practice. The
authors present a case of simultaneous bilateral biceps tendon rupture diagnosed
on the basis of fundamental sonographic findings of the torn biceps tendons.
Key Words: Biceps, Tendon Rupture, Sonography, Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation
S imultaneous complete rupture of both long head of biceps brachii tendons is
a rare clinical entity mainly occurring in older individuals. This injury can have a
detrimental effect on the level of function, and it is difficult to treat and may have
poor outcome. The long head biceps tendon (LHBT) is a key stabilizer of the
humeral head within the glenohumeral joint. The LHBT may be affected by
several pathologic conditions such as acute or chronic tendonitis, subluxation or
dislocation, and partial or complete tear.
1
Biceps tendon ruptures are commonly
detected through exploring distal migration of the biceps brachii muscle mass.
They may occur suddenly by a seemingly trivial event. Often, individuals will note
an acute Bpopping[ sensation.
2
Herein, the authors report a patient with si-
multaneous bilateral biceps tendon rupture diagnosed with sonography and
treated with rehabilitation therapy.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 71-yr-old right-handed white man referred to the authors’ physical
medicine and rehabilitation department with bilateral arm pain, swelling, and
ecchymosis. The day before, while he was lifting an object from the ground to his
chest level, he felt a sudden sharp pain in the anterior aspect of his right arm and
shoulder. He immediately shifted the weight to his left arm, incurring another
eccentric contraction at his shoulder, and he felt a similar pain on his left side.
Both arms were in resisted flexion position, and both forearms were in supination.
The pain and subsequent weakness in both shoulder and elbows persisted, precipi-
tating his visit. Ecchymosis was more dominant on the left side (Fig. 1).
Authors:
Arash Babaei-Ghazani, MD
Bina Eftekhar-Sadat, MD
Kamyar Ghabili, MD
Affiliations:
From the Department of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation, Iran
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,
Iran (AB-G); and Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation Research Center (BE-S)
and Medical Philosophy and History
Research Center (KG), Tabriz
University of Medical Sciences,
Tabriz, Iran.
Correspondence:
All correspondence and requests for
reprints should be addressed to: Bina
Eftekhar-Sadat, MD, Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation Research Center,
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences,
Daneshagh Street, Tabriz, Eastern
Azerbaijan, Iran.
Disclosures:
Financial disclosure statements have
been obtained, and no conflicts of
interest have been reported by the
authors or by any individuals in control
of the content of this article.
0894-9115/15/9402-e13
American Journal of Physical
Medicine & Rehabilitation
Copyright * 2014 Wolters Kluwer
Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000000169
www.ajpmr.com Simultaneous Bilateral Biceps Tendon Rupture e13
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.