Well.. this might be the best place to post this message.

A few weeks ago while bench pressing (flat) I felt a "POP" in my left arm/chest area. The pain was very sharp but lasted only a few seconds. However, I could not bench anymore and was very very sore in that area. The only time I had pain was if I tried any pushing or pulling motions. (Bench,Pull up, cables) So I stoped working out and made a Dr. Appt. with a specialist. I had 2 MRI's done (They screwed up the first one, and didn't get enough of my chest) and I am awaiting the results tomorrow morning at 830am.

Under my left arm pit you can feel a tendon or something, really out of place. My upper bicep on the inside of my arm turned black and blue a few days after the injury. I am now going on 3 weeks since the injury and even making my bed or having SEX hurts!!! (The two seem to go hand and hand)

But, all joking aside I am very nervous about what this could possibly be. Any help you can provide would be GREAT . Anything I should or shouldn't do would also help... such as (surgery YES.....or surgery NO)

Sorry to hear about your injury.
Hopefully everything will work out.
Could have been a tendon or ligament tear, the MRI will tell you for sure......If you need surgery then you will have to get surgery. Good luck tomorrow.

Wait and see what the MRI says....... WAY TOO EARLY to start making surgery decisions.... Sounds like you could have a minor pec tear. Could be tear of the pec minor, could be a rotator cuff problem and the broken blood vessels traveled down your arm. Same thing happens w/ pec tears. Kind of like when you sprain you ankle and the bruise travels into your foot.

Ice it 20min/ several times/day. Take Ibuprofen. (4) 200mg/ ibu's are equal to 1 motrin. That will reduce the inflamation. Unless you have a medical or stomache problem, you can likely take them with food, 4 to 6 times a day for a week or two until you get things cleared up. Otherwise, don't use the arm for now. Rest it. R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, compression, elevation).

Let us know about the MRI and what it says.

YO BRO I DID THE SAME THING TO MY LEFT PEC TO ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO, YOU JUST PULLED IT REALLY BAD........REALLY BAD.......DOC WILL SAY NO LIFTING 6 TO 8 WEEKS....

STAY SWOLLEDUP........:auto :machine :rotating :biggun :guns :sniper

Do you think that the "TENDON" will go back to where it belongs?

You can actually see it when I flex. Its it REALLY sore and I feel a pulling in my upper bicep.

I am so pissed off its not even funny. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow and I don't think it got better AT ALL.

Oh well. I will know @ 830 tomorrow.

Just get the gun and put me out of my misery now.

Actually I'm kinda hoping on the surgery (AFLAC).... hahaha.. well I guess its good that I can joke about this shit now... but come tomorrow we will see if I'm still joking.

LATER GUYS

Thanks for the help

You the big man, right?
They cant keep a FREAKZ down, right?
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!

You can handle anything put infront of you.....your a FREAK!!
Good luck my brother.

No matter what the doc says, keep the ole chin up! ASK QUESTIONS! HOW, WHY, WHEN, etc...... Get all the possible treatment/repair alternatives and the reasoning behind choosing them, pros and cons.

If doc comes in immediately talking surgery, then ask lots of questions. Ask about success rate of the surgery, how many they have performed, any refs of people they've performed that on, recovery after such a procedure, whether you'll be able to return to 100% or not, and when........

If doc states surgery is the only alternative, ask all the questions, tell him you'll call to schedule it. Find out if any permanent damage can occur by waiting (in his opinion), then find a WELL KNOWN doc for a second opinion.... This may sound silly, but call around to PT centers. Explain that you have a serious chest/shoulder injury that needs immediate attention by a specialists and BEG to talk to a staff PT about who the best docs in the area are...... Call enough places and you'll get some names. They will likely be really busy docs that you are given. Most not accepting new patients..... So when you call, explain trauma and urgent need to see them, and give the name of the PT that referred you..... Beg enough and they will likely squeeze you in!

shit bro. I hate to hear what happened. the guys are right. MRI and talk to the doc. Better safe than sorry.
i've had too many injuries that I let go or let a doc just give me some drugs for - that shit doesn't work. Get it taken care of, the right way, and you'll heal back better. Even if it means sacrificing a few weeks, losing some muscles, or whatever. At least you'll be better off in the long run.

Ok,

So I got the results of the MRI. Good news is its nothing "MAJOR" I slight tear or strain of the pec major muscle. They are still not 100 % sure if it was tore or not. But its nothing MAJOR...if its tore is only a little one.

Soultion: 4~6 weeks of PT. I went today for my eval. The PT chick said I'm still swollen in that area. So.. ICE for a few days with 9 ADVIL a day. until the inflamation goes down.

In retrospect. I think I might have brought this injury upon myself. I didn't warm up properly. I'm no "HUGE" guy or anything.. my max was only 260. But I went from 135..to 185 and SKIPPED MY 205 SET went right to 225 ( now i can only get that for about 5 or 6 reps)... I really should have warmed up better. SO take my injury as a warning to everyone.. WARM UP. What happened is I got to the gym 10 minutes after my lifting parter... he started benching before me... so i was in a hury to "CATCH UP"... NEVER AGAIN!

later guys
thanks for all the help
I'll keep ya updated

almost all muscular injuries happen from not properly warming up or stretching.
Sounds like it's torn pretty good to me, if it hasn't healed at all in 4 weeks. you might want a 2nd opinion.
I tore my pec 2 years ago...bitch of an injury. Couldn't compete for over a year.

Hey Buff,

Thanks for the info.

Here is my EMAIL address. brianz2@adelphia.net.

Let me know if anything helped you out from that injury... ICE... HEAT... PAIN KILLERS... DID YOU HAVE SURGERY?.

Any exercises??? stretches??? I kinda live about 2 hours north of philly. There doctors aren't the worlds greatest around here if you know what I mean.

Let me know.

Thanks man.

BRIAN

Ice is always best for injury healing. Sorry to hear you have a torn pec. Ice it 20min at a time. Take ibuprofen to reduce inflamation. Don't tell me you don't have inflamation either. Because it doesn't "look" puffy, doesn't mean there isn't inflamation at the site..... Besides, the ice will cause an increase in blood flow to the are once removed. This will aid in healing.

Is it a partial tear? A full tear? Pec Major or Pec Minor?

Your right about that.. I didn't notice that it was swollen until today when the therapist said so.

It is... a little bit. And also tender in that area. I was not taking the advil like I should have.. I was slacking off. But now I'm on a mission to get healed as quickly as possible.

So... wish me luck.

Thanks,

ice then heat, ice then heat, over and over. playing football, i have fucked everything up from my ankles to wrists. it seems like the trainers got me doing that a lot and it worked better than just ice alone

Tholberg, I agree with you on adding heat in between icings to speed up the blood flow into the area. However, I'd air on the side of caution at this point. If he has a pec TEAR, he needs Ice, ice, ice. He shouldn't be using it if it's torn, unless it's just a partial tear. For a simple muscle strain, adding heat in between is good. But I usually don't recommend it, because most people assume that Heat =Good.... After all, it makes the area feel good... That's not necessarily the case. During rehab, do the heat/ice alternation. Make sure to put heat on before stretching it. NEVER stretch a cold muscle!

Actually, Tholberg, I'm glad you brought up the topic. There is actually some literature floating around out there... Maybe you've seen it. It basically says that taking a shower after training, and alternating hot/cold for set #'s of minutes has been shown to aid in recovery.... If anyone has a link to an article, post it. I don't remember where I read it......

My bud who is a competitive powerlifter tore his pec 2x in the same year...I think w/in 6 months of each......and went on to bench 500 in his last compititon....so fear not....

he used a Chiro who spealized in Active Release Technique..only he then stated he could not get in deep enough....so sent him for acupuncture and deep tissue treatment....took a few weeks but worked.....

Good luck and feel better

*smile*

Cutie

these guys gave you solid advice Brian. I didnt' need surgery(usually only when you tear it away from the bone), but I did require some therapy with deep tissue electrical stimulation. That helped immensely. Ice and heat and resting it is about all you can do, with some good anti-inflamm's. Get a prescription for celebrex or something stronger than advil or tylenol.
The shitty part, is you will prolly have to quit training your upper body for about 6-8 weeks.

The only THING I'm really concerned about is that "TENDON" or something under my arm it.

Its sticking out pretty bad....but nobody seems to worried about it. My doc. said it might not ever go away. ????!!@!@!????


What the HELL kinda answer is that?

I don't know... maybe once the inflamation and the swelling goes down.

I don't know... but its off to Therapy tomorrow morning at 730... They're starting with the Ultrasound....

Thanks.


Brian