I am an anatomy instructor in my first teaching year looking for any information you may have on biceps tendon tears. My hope is to provide a lecture that covers both the anatomy with some information on what happens during and after tendon injuries. What can you recommend?
There is a recent review of distal biceps tendon ruptures that may be of interest to you. In this article, hand surgeons from the University of Pittsburg Department of Upper Extremity Reconstructive Surgery provide an update on this problem. The "new news" about distal biceps tendon injuries has come about for three reasons: 1) Technology has made it possible to discover new understanding about the biceps tendon anatomic form and function. 2) Thirty years of improvements have been made on surgical techniques to reduce complications following surgery and to improve strength of the repair (referred to as tendon-to-bone fixation). 3) Studies over the last 30 years (since the mid-1980s) have given us enough data to see long-term results of both conservative (nonoperative) care and surgical management. As you will appreciate, a discussion of form and function (mentioned in number one above) can be the topic of just one lecture alone. In this topic, the authors include the structure of the biceps tendon, "footprint" (where and how it attaches to the bone), and biomechanics (how it contracts and relaxes to create movement). Data mentioned in number three above has been collected on both acute and chronic injuries as well as partial and complete tears of the distal biceps tendon. Through a series of illustrations, photos, and imaging studies (MRIs, X-rays), the authors will bring you up-to-date on the basic science of biceps tendon, repair biology (how it heals), and the diagnosis of partial versus complete tears. The same approach is used to describe current methods of treatment. Here are a few highlights of new findings that may be of interest to you: