Chest Tendon Injury

[conan]

A few weeks back I was doing heavy chest as usual. The next day I had some discomfort and pain in what I think is my chest tendon. It is where the chest meets the shoulder, sort of in the armpit. It would cause discomfort in the gym when doing certain exercises... Wide grip Lat pull down, Chest fly's, flat bench chest press etc.

I waited a whole week before doing chest again in hopes that it would heal. When I began my warmup (Flat Bench) I felt some discomfort in that area. The more I trained the more blood that went to the area, the less it hurt. Unfortunately today it hurts pretty bad.

Is this something I should work through? I mean I am mid cycle and would hate to not go heavy on chest day. Is there something I should be doing to heal faster? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[masswithclass]

It's hard to know what exactly you are feeling painwise, but I would personally let it rest another week. Work around it and just get the muscle pumped a little and see how you feel next week. Some might tell you to work through it, but if you're a serious lifter, this is about the long term. A bad injury would suck.

[conan]

The thing is there was no bruising or swelling which tells me it is not a tear. I just hope its not too serious.

[powerman]

Originally Posted by conan

The thing is there was no bruising or swelling which tells me it is not a tear. I just hope its not too serious.

After having had a couple muscle tears(abductor in left leg and a pec tear), i can tell you this they suck worse than broken bones(ive had many of those as well). This is exactly the same feeling i had in my pec and not taking off a couple weeks is what led to the tear IMO. Take 2 weeks off from chest and shoulder training .( i wish i had done it) It cost me 3 months of training in the long run. Just my 2 cents

[alaski]

Ice it, stretch it, and do some light movements to keep it from atrophy. If you have a stimulation machine (an electric pulse to the muscle) that would be a bonus. You need to keep any swelling out of the area but don't give it total rest as that will only slow recovery. After a few days of ice you can start some heat therapy to that region coupled with more icing. If you have a hot tub with strong jets that would be a another treatment option to add. Be patient with that area keeping your exercises light enough so that it is not painful. You will not lose any muscle mass if you keep it moving and stimulated.

[breakthrough]

Would a sauna be beneficial at all? I think I read somewhere that they are good for healing but I'm not too sure on the subject.

[alaski]

Originally Posted by breakthrough

Would a sauna be beneficial at all? I think I read somewhere that they are good for healing but I'm not too sure on the subject.

I've rehabbed a dozens of injuries and that was never a part of my treatment. Of course that does not mean it would not be beneficial, I just never was treated that way by my professional trainers.

Keeping the injury stimulated with blood flow, keeping inflammation out, and lightly working the muscles in that area has been the basis for all my rehab. I had my knee surgery at the sports medical unit at UC Davis which does many of the surgeries for professional athletes in this area. The first thing my doctor wanted me to do, ACL replacement, after waking from surgery was to get up and walk. It hurt like a mother fucker but I healed very quickly by stimulating that area, keeping supportive muscles strong, stretching and messaging to keep scar tissue from forming, and icing the living shit out of it.

Moreover, I had my open heart surgery at the Standford heart unit in the bay area (one of the best in the world in cutting edge heart surgeries) and as soon as I was coherent the therapist had me up and walking. Again, I was a miserable mofo but I healed very quickly with kept my strength. As side note of something that has a relationship to bodybuilding and recovery. They gave me insulin and dextrose IV's for the first 4 or 5 days after my surgery. I had nurses tell me that research had shown that insulin will accelerate the healing process. I don't think it is an approved method for medical purposes but they said I was diabetic for those days...yeah right! I'm not diabetic now nor have I ever been, not even freaking close to being.

[Gman]

Originally Posted by supy1962

After having had a couple muscle tears(abductor in left leg and a pec tear), i can tell you this they suck worse than broken bones(ive had many of those as well). This is exactly the same feeling i had in my pec and not taking off a couple weeks is what led to the tear IMO. Take 2 weeks off from chest and shoulder training .( i wish i had done it) It cost me 3 months of training in the long run. Just my 2 cents

I'am thinking of my abductor injury a couple of years ago. I didn't listen to my body and tried to keep training legs, only it was making it worse. It got so bad I couldn't squat 135 without serious pain, as I got warmed up the pain diminished, but next day it was killing.... I just finally stopped all leg work and stayed like that for 3 months, it was really hard but I learned a lesson. What should have took maybe a month or so to heal with proper care took me 8 months because I was hardheaded. Man take some time off to let it heal otherwise you will make it worse and lose more training time.

[conan]

I am going to refrain from doing chest and shoulders for now. Any exercises that cause pain are out of the question. I am adding an extra leg day to supplement the loss of the chest day. I am currently applying heat, and taking ibprofen. It just sucks that this happened at the beginning of my cycle. Thank you all for your help.