Muscle Strain Rehab Advice

[John Weaver]

I'd been working on correcting my shitty deadlift form. See First DL Check for bad form.

About a week after I posted that video, I'm going thru the setup steps and as I'm squeezing my chest up and setting my back, I feel a sharp pain in my right quad. It's about 2/3 the way up my thigh at about 45° outside of straight ahead. I let go, stand up and it hurts for several seconds but then dissipates fairly quickly. Tried to setup again a few minutes later and it barks at me. I'm fairly certain this is a minor muscle strain/tear so I call it quits for the day. For the next couple days, it doesn't hurt at all and there is no bruising. I'm pretty doughy so it's not surprising that a minor tear didn't bleed thru.

I did some unweighted setups at home to see how it reacted and I could feel it a bit, but not much. And with no weight I couldn't really get into a position to start squeezing my chest up and keep everything tight.

Back at the gym a few days later I load up 135 and try to squeeze into position and it's sharp pain again - re-injury pain - not working thru something pain.

Try again a week later with 95 and can't really squeeze down without pulling bar off floor. I've been stretching my hamstrings to try and lengthen them as I think they contribute to my bad DL form. Try 135 again and hurt it again.

Same thing yesterday. I got thru 2 sets of 10 at 135 before hurting it this time on the second rep of the third set.

I don't know what to do next. It's weird because the injury happens while I'm setting up. Not while I'm pulling.

FWIW, I don't feel this at all while squatting or in life in general. Only while setting up for DL.

Anyone have any advice or protocol on how to proceed here? Vary the setup? Different rep/set range? Raise the bar up a few inches and work my way back down?

I want to work thru this thing but am getting annoyed at re-injury.

Advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Taylor Grayson]

I'd try rolling your quads. Might have a trigger point somewhere causing the pain.

[John Weaver]

I'd try rolling your quads. Might have a trigger point somewhere causing the pain.

Thanks. I've rolled it a bit but I'll have to try something more aggressive.

I tried squeezing into form yesterday with the bar blocked up a couple inches with only 95#. After about 7 reps I got the sharp pain again. I'm starting to wonder if I've misdiagnosed whatever this is. Obviously I fear making a minor tear into something major. But this isn't reacting like the couple other tears I've worked thru. The fact that I can't feel it at any other time is just weird.

[John Weaver]

Sunday AM I rolled the shit out of the painful area with my orb in between press sets and between sets with some light pulls. I didn't feel any acute pain while pulling but it was pretty tender from the rolling.
The area was painful to the touch/push Monday and Tuesday but seems less tender this morning. I'm going to again try some light pulls and rolling this evening and see how it reacts.

I'm hopeful that I misdiagnosed this thing all along and I'm not dealing with a tear at all.

[John Weaver]

Just to come around full circle on this - this was not a muscle strain or tear. Turns out it's meralgia paresthetica.

"Meralgia paresthetica occurs when the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve — which supplies sensation to the surface of your outer thigh — becomes compressed, or pinched." - Mayo Clinic

Getting down into a DL position really causes the symptoms. I'm working now on dumping some bodyfat to see if it goes away or reduces the symptoms. But it's certainly something I can train through.