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Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan on Monday underwent a triceps surgery for an old injury that recently got triggered while performing an action sequence for his new film. Triceps injury or triceps tendon disruption is a rare orthopaedic injury that can lead to poor outcomes if misdiagnosed or managed inappropriately.
According to Dr Gaurav Prakash Bhardwaj, Director – Sports Injury, Joint Preservation & Replacement Surgery, PSRI Hospital, triceps injury can happen if you are not working out correctly and overexercising. “At times the triceps can pull the bone too. This may cause elbow fracture,” says Dr Bhardwaj.
Triceps is a muscle behind the arm. It connects our shoulders to our elbow. The function of our elbow is to straighten out the arm. So if I put my palm on my head and let it rest and if I need to straighten my elbow, that’s when the triceps muscle is working.
When it gets ruptured, either because of resistance arm workouts or lifting weights with incorrect technique, we have to repair it through surgery. Using anabolic steroids makes it more vulnerable which the athletes/gym goers often use for muscle building and performance enhancement. Their use weakens tendons. There are eight to 10 times more chances of tendon tears, especially in the upper limbs, with anabolic steroid use.
Triceps injury is common in people who are into heavy lifting and resistance training. Repeated overuse or extension of the triceps tendon can cause the injury along with forceful movements like bench-pressing. Movements that aren’t natural to the body, like overextension of the arm, sudden sharp movements with weights and a poor posture or technique can also cause the injury.
In mild cases, you may recover after several days of taking pain relief medication, icing and resting. A moderate case may require weeks or months for a full recovery. In cases of muscle tear, a surgery is required to put the muscle back where it belongs. Triceps surgery patients need at least three months to recover after the procedure. However, individuals may experience some side effects of the surgery, such as mild range of motion and strength loss.
Weight lifting can cause a triceps injury so the idea is to start your workout routine with a warmup, which increases blood flow and lessens your risk of injury. It is very important to perform exercises correctly and not overexercise because that can lead to bigger tears in the tendons.
If the symptoms don’t get better after you rest and ice the area for three days. Watch out for redness and swelling.
