The tendon, connection between the bone and muscle, can rupture if the pressure applied on it is more than five times greater than your body weight. The cases of this condition can be mild, or very painful and problematic. There are four regions of the body in which tendons usually rupture. The first is rotator cuff. These muscles are located in the shoulder and they help the arms to move. Quadriceps is another, and it helps the knee and leg to move and extend. Biceps is the third area. Two types of tendon rupture are possible with these muscles, distal, which rarely happens, and proximal. Achilles is located above the heel and helps with the foot pushing off.
Causes
What causes these ruptures? Some of the most common causes include eccentric loading (stress causes the rupture when muscle contracts and moves in the opposite direction) and age, because with age blood supply is reduced. Causes for the Achilles tendon rupture include extreme physical activity, trauma, forced arm Flexing, tendon rupture of the biceps and age. For the quadriceps tendon rupture, the causes may be age, direct trauma and mentioned contraction and simultaneous stretching of the muscle. General problems caused by tendon rupture include weakness, deformity and inability to use the limb and bear weight, acute pain, and bruising of the area. With rotator cuff, patients will not be able to move the troubling arm sideways. Inability to get on your leg or toes is associated with Achilles tendon rupture, while inability to raise arm is a problem experienced with rupture of the biceps.
Treatment
The first element of the treatment for any type of rupture, is the ice application, so put ice in a towel and apply it to the troubling area. You may also use a bandage to compress the area, while in order to reduce the swelling, troubling location will have to be raised. You will also need to immobilize the limb affected. In the hospital, for quadriceps injury, doctors will immobilize the limb, which only applies for a partial rupture, whereas more serious will require surgery. Cast has to be worn after the surgery. The rotator cuff is treated with a surgery, but it is optional. In more severe cases, the surgery will remove the dead tissue. For Achilles tendon rupture, there are two possibilities, the surgery, and a method lasting 4 to 8 weeks, during which the sole of the foot will be facing down. The surgery is very rarely performed, since the benefits are not that great. What can surgery bring? Doing surgery with Achilles tendon rupture is recommended for those in need of activity fast. The recovery will take approximately 7 weeks. Surgery for rotator cuff is rarely performed and only in severe cases. Surgery for biceps tendon rupture will eliminate the deformity and loss of function, but bear in mind that surgery will return the strength while non-operative treatment may not.
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