Combination of power snatches and pull ups causes overuse injury?

[Brahms]

A little under two weeks ago, I resumed power snatching after years of not doing it. I have stayed light while I work out my technique (either using a bare bar, or a little weight--never more than 75 lbs).

Shortly after stepping off a long international flight and in a moment of weakness, I dashed off to the gym to get in a quick workout after 3 days of sitting around being sedentary. I eased through my deadlifts (working weight in this case never exceeded 285 lbs, 1 set) and then tried to do some pullups, only to notice that I couldn't really do them. I can normally bang out 14,10,9 in three sets but in this case I struggled to do a single set of four, and injured my right shoulder on the fourth rep. The first three reps weren't painful, but they were unusually difficult and slow.

This was five days ago, and I had mild/moderate numbness and ROM issues: e.g., I couldn't fully extend my arm and raise my right hand. After getting a couple very painful massages on consecutive days, I have mostly restored ROM but there is still mild numbness and tingling that extends into my right hand and its fingers. My right shoulder is still very tender, especially on my side under the armpit, and I've noticed I can't even do five pushups. Squatting is unaffected and, strangely enough, so is power snatching--but I've stopped the latter out of abundance of caution.

My questions:
-Is this injury the result of power snatches (or more specifically, crappy form that uses my back muscles) and pullups done in the same workout?
-Is this injury something that warrants seeking professional help?
-Can I continue with squats and deadlifts?
-When can I resume pull ups?

Any advice would be much appreciated. I am not a novice lifter--I've been lifting over 10 years--and want to minimize downtime. Other relevant data and recent maxes: Male, 35 years of age, 165 lbs bodyweight, 345x2 DL, 295x2 SQ, 185x2 Powerclean, 19 pullups.

[Luke S]

Numbness and tingling are signs of neurological impairment. Causes can range from a inflamed muscle belly compressing the nerves in question to a vertebral pathology.

My guess would be that the fatigue from the flight was followed by a muscle strain during the workout because you're not used to strain yourself during these conditions.

However, since there is neurological impairment it is valid to seek an orthopedist to rule out other causes. It is hard to diagnose over the internet.

[Brahms]

Numbness and tingling are signs of neurological impairment. Causes can range from a inflamed muscle belly compressing the nerves in question to a vertebral pathology.

My guess would be that the fatigue from the flight was followed by a muscle strain during the workout because you're not used to strain yourself during these conditions.

However, since there is neurological impairment it is valid to seek an orthopedist to rule out other causes. It is hard to diagnose over the internet.

Thanks for the advice; I've scheduled an appointment with my orthopedist about a week from now. The numbness and tingling seem to have gone away (we'll see how long that lasts) and I'll try deads tomorrow.

[Nadroj]

For what it's worth, I've also had a lot of success using chiropractors that strength train for mechanical diagnosing. I have no idea what the SS community thinks of chiros, but they've worked for me.

[Brahms]

For what it's worth, I've also had a lot of success using chiropractors that strength train for mechanical diagnosing. I have no idea what the SS community thinks of chiros, but they've worked for me.

Thanks. I'm willing to try it--it's just that I've never gotten any positive references for chiropractors near me (South Bay Area, CA).

[Brahms]

Just an update for anyone who encounters this thread via search in the future:

Visited the orthopedist. He poked around and tested my strength in various ways. Apparently, only my serratus is affected: It seems to not work, at all, on the right side. He thinks the issue concerns nerves and not muscles--and doesn't think it's related to lifting weights. He believes that it is idiopathic neuritis, possibly related to a herniated disc in my neck, and that lifting exposed the issue but didn't cause it. (In other words, as he put it: "If you weren't lifting, you might not ever know this had even happened.")

He requested an MRI on my neck to be sure, and asked to hold off on power cleans, power snatches, presses for the time being. He encouraged me to continue on with squats, deadlifts, pullups, pushups, etc.--and to record my progress so he can see how I'm recovering. He also cautioned that I'd need to get a qualified form coach before returning to the aforementioned forbidden lifts.

[Luke S]

Cool, he seems to know what he's doing. Although I don't understand the rationale to keep doing pushups since they are a very serratus dependent movement. Bench presses would be fine since the scapulae won't move.

[Brahms]

Cool, he seems to know what he's doing. Although I don't understand the rationale to keep doing pushups since they are a very serratus dependent movement. Bench presses would be fine since the scapulae won't move.

He wants to see to what extent things heal on their own. The pushups are in large part how he intends to gauge this. It was by doing pushups in front of him that he noticed that my scapula 'wings' out. Also, the guidance is that I should push myself but not go nuts trying to increase the number of pushups I can do.

I neglected to mention in my original post that a few days after noticing that I couldn't do pull-ups anymore, I tried doing pushups, and my front right quadrant just collapsed before I could even get a single one. I worked my way up to 5, and then 10, 13, and, as of a few minutes ago, 17 in a single, non-stop effort before I feel the telltale intense fatigue on the right side that he told me should indicate that it's time for me to stop.

Many thanks for the advice, by the way. It'd not have occurred to me to see my orthopedist, or that this was anything more than just letting myself get out of shape.

[Robert Santana]

Thanks. I'm willing to try it--it's just that I've never gotten any positive references for chiropractors near me (South Bay Area, CA).

If you're willing to make the trek, hit up Dr Kang @ K & H Chriopractic in Monterey Park. He works on all of the powerlifters at my gym for an amazing price. Its the best format I've seen, he does his chiropractic work, then sends you to his massage therapist for a massage right after. I've heard nothing but good things from both my lifters and fellow members of my gym. If you don't want to make the drive I know a good unconventional Physical Therapist named Niki Spohn in Redondo Beach. She's worked on myself, Paul Horn, and a couple of my lifters. She does great work and doesn't waste your time with gadgets and things you can do on your own time.

[Brahms]

If you're willing to make the trek, hit up Dr Kang @ K & H Chriopractic in Monterey Park. He works on all of the powerlifters at my gym for an amazing price. Its the best format I've seen, he does his chiropractic work, then sends you to his massage therapist for a massage right after. I've heard nothing but good things from both my lifters and fellow members of my gym. If you don't want to make the drive I know a good unconventional Physical Therapist named Niki Spohn in Redondo Beach. She's worked on myself, Paul Horn, and a couple of my lifters. She does great work and doesn't waste your time with gadgets and things you can do on your own time.

Thanks for responding. I live in the SF Bay Area, so a trek out there will take a bit of planning. Let me look into this.