You have a torn muscle, and the "doctor" suggests a months-long layoff? More importantly, you are getting an ultrasound test from a doctor that you decided to see about a small muscle belly injury?
Just do what he tells you. Good luck.
I probably have a fibrillar tear in the vastus medialis. I say "probably" because I'm waiting for an ultrasound to confirm it.
What are the do's and don'ts of Starting Strength training? Just two days before receiving this diagnosis I had no problem completing my last workout doing squats and deadlifts. Perhaps the exercise that I dare not do in these conditions is the power clean.
The doctor tells me not to do any lower body efforts and exercises for several months. But considering that he is not an expert in sports training, can I really continue doing the starting strength method especially as rehabilitation?
You have a torn muscle, and the "doctor" suggests a months-long layoff? More importantly, you are getting an ultrasound test from a doctor that you decided to see about a small muscle belly injury?
Just do what he tells you. Good luck.
Let's see. I went to the doctor without knowing what I had. Obviously I don't expect him to cure me. I don't think it's a bad thing to have a diagnosis of what you have, especially when you have it for the first time.
The same thing happened to me when I had my first sciatica. I never had such an experience and did not associate it with back pain. I didn't stop doing the SS method and I was cured. The doctor had told me that he should give up physical activity for life and I ignored him, but I went for the diagnosis because I had never experienced such a thing. If it happens again (hopefully not) I already know how to deal with it.
I'm not good at diagnosing myself with things I've never had before.
So, no problem with continuing with my workouts as before including the power clean?
I just have read this article about rehab injuries. "Knowledge is power."
Rehabilitation | Mark Rippetoe
Your question makes a lot of sense. 6 whole years studying to end up being encyclopedias. And becoming authorities in areas that do not concern them, such as physical activity. At the end their job is so bureaucratized and they overtreat people. And the issue of mutual insurance becomes a big deal.
But the thing is, if someone does not know about the ailment or injury that one suffers, especially if it is the first time. Who can we turn to for a diagnosis? Physiotherapists are not much better.
Today I feel better about my injury, even without knowing exactly what I have. The truth is, I don't know if it's important to know what I have, but you want to give a name to something that escapes your understanding and that you experience for the first time.
I was training and I only reduced the kilos in the power clean to gain confidence and strengthen the technique, which is the lift that worried me. Today I feel better and walk better. And I owe it all to SS, the best training to get strong and also rehabilitate.
Thank you Rip for contributing so much to humanity. They should build a statue for you, name a street or even a city after you, and above all, give you the Nobel Prize in science and medicine. Long live Rip and all SS coaches.
A better question is this: is a diagnosis actually useful for the overwhelming majority or musculoskeletal ailments or injuries that occur as a by-product of training, or, does a "diagnosis" get in the way of an otherwise linear recovery?
If you were to think about your training injuries by an impairment based model, and you have a solid analytical mind unhindered by a strict adherence to seeking approval from Primary Care Providers, I think you can self-treat and self-rehab almost anything (within reason).