Torn pec tendon

[FKYT]

I, for one, would be interested in hearing your progress.

[sumtexan]

I, for one, would be interested in hearing your progress.

You got it. MRI tonight and the results will be next Tuesday.

[veryhrm]

OP sorry to hear about the injury. A friend had his achilles tendon detach and i think it was a few months before he was walking and a good year before it was back to normal..

I'm also curious: did this area feel bad before? looking back do you feel there were warning signs?

Also did something go wrong during the rep? like did you lose tension in your tricep somehow and overload the pec or had a muscle spasm of some sort or did it just let go?

[sumtexan]

I'm also curious: did this area feel bad before? looking back do you feel there were warning signs?

Also did something go wrong during the rep? like did you lose tension in your tricep somehow and overload the pec or had a muscle spasm of some sort or did it just let go?

Good questions. The area did feel tight before, which I attributed to general chest and deltoid aches and pains. I don't think there were necessarily any warning signs, beyond the occasional DOMS.

When it happened on Monday, I remember thinking that my elbow was hurting unusually as I did my squats. I believe the elbow pains were because I carried some of the load with my arms by not keeping a straight wrist. Quick reposition of the hands by moving them out a bit wider, and pain lessened. Once I got to bench, I warmed up with 2 sets of an empty bar, and progressed from there until I got to my working sets of 215. My first set felt harder than usual, but not terribly so. On my second set, I pressed my first three reps, paused before my fourth and began to lower the weight, still no problem. The tear occurred as I was pressing upward. Looking back, when I paused before my fourth rep, I must have relaxed the tension between my shoulder blades, so my form on the press portion was not good which in turn fukt up my mechanics.

I'm sure I've bench pressed with shitty form before in my prior years, but I guess the cumulative effect of trying to force a rep out of bad form caught up.

[nkelman]

Damn that looks sore.

How wides your grip?

Do your elbows flare?

Do you arch your back hard?

[sumtexan]

The doctor's appointment to review the MRIs taken last Thursday confirmed that the pec tendon is torn/avulsed at the labral insertion. Surgery to repair the tendon is scheduled for Friday.

From the looks of the MRI, my tear was complete but appears that a portion of the tendon remained on the bone. The doc told me that there may be a bit of shortening because of this but that the shortening will be minor and unnoticeable within a year.

More updates to follow after the surgery.

[FKYT]

Good luck with the surgery and recovery!

[sumtexan]

Thanks for the good wishes. It's going to take some getting used to for sure. One of the immediate difficulties that jumps out, besides wearing a sling for 3 months, is that I'm forbidden from lifting anything greater than 5lbs during this time. It'll be interesting to see how far I'll need to go just to get to a percentage of pre-injury strength. good news is nowhere to go but up.

[veryhrm]

Good luck man. One thing i'd suggest is that you consider today and tomorrow what you're going to need in your first few days of recovery. e.g. if you're somehow going to have to be in bed w/ your shoulder elevated (don't know how that would even work) get things set-up before hand. And, esp if you're single, stock up on some food that you can open/prepare/eat w/ one hand since you prob won't be able to use the injured arm at all in the beginning, i'm guessing.

Oh, also, if they suggest a "nerve block" (basically local anesthetic delivered to a large nerve or two that knocks the nerve out for about a day), go for it. From what i've heard it really makes the first night feel a lot better. (and that seemed to be the case w/ my knee surgery a while back... even if the nerve block procedure itself was a little uncomfortable (though not terrible)).

Hmm... seems the world has advanced. In some hospitals for some surgeries looks like they even stick a little pump on you to do a "continuous nerve block" for a few days. Fancy.
http://www.uwhealth.org/healthfacts/...668550239.html

[nkelman]

Good luck man. One thing i'd suggest is that you consider today and tomorrow what you're going to need in your first few days of recovery. e.g. if you're somehow going to have to be in bed w/ your shoulder elevated (don't know how that would even work) get things set-up before hand. And, esp if you're single, stock up on some food that you can open/prepare/eat w/ one hand since you prob won't be able to use the injured arm at all in the beginning, i'm guessing.

Oh, also, if they suggest a "nerve block" (basically local anesthetic delivered to a large nerve or two that knocks the nerve out for about a day), go for it. From what i've heard it really makes the first night feel a lot better. (and that seemed to be the case w/ my knee surgery a while back... even if the nerve block procedure itself was a little uncomfortable (though not terrible)).

Hmm... seems the world has advanced. In some hospitals for some surgeries looks like they even stick a little pump on you to do a "continuous nerve block" for a few days. Fancy.
http://www.uwhealth.org/healthfacts/...668550239.html

GREAT suggestion.

I had hernia surgery a while ago, felt alright when I left the hospital, so I lay down on the couch. After a while the local wore off and the pain set in, getting off the couch was horrible.

Eat as clean as you can and keep protein high, try not to get discouraged as your strength decreases.


Good luck mate