Male 22 y/0
So this injury occurred about a year ago. It happened while I was Barbell flat benching. It was a warm up set and on one of my first reps, I felt a snap followed by a sharp pain at the end of my left bicep ( I believe i consumed alcohol the night before but not positive).
After this happened, I did not understand how serious this injury was and came back after 2 weeks. Still hurt, so took another 2 weeks of an came back. Eventually I just decided to keep lifting and just to not do biceps. When i was working out, my bicep would not hurt and I could do about the same weight I was doing before. My bicep would hurt after the workout and at night though.
After about 4 months of lifting/taking breaks when i decided it was too much, I decided to go to a doctor. She said it was probably a torn bicep tendon. I took 3 months and did 3 weeks of PT. I think my injury might not be on the same timeline because I lifted on my bicep for several months while injured.
After 3 months I still did not do biceps and lifted a lot lighter. I went to one of the best arm doctors in my area and he cleared me for an MRI. I wanted Surgery to be my last option so I decided to give it another shot in the gym.
This is where I am currently. I have been working out for about 3 months and still do not feel the pump/swollen lifts that I should in my left bicep. My right bicep is significantly bigger, more vascular, and more definition than my left
What should i do? Should i continue to lift? Is surgery my only option (my MRI application expired so idk if i can go back) Take time off? is it even a torn bicep tendon or something else? idk what to do! please help, Ive dealt with this injury for too long