Pec Minor/ Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

[Bradley Gish]

A few months ago I was walking my dog through the park and slipped and fell on a slick surface. I actually caught myself from falling down, but the quick jolt forward followed immediately with a sharp pain in my upper pec. I shook it off, went on about my business, continuing to train as usual. The pain persisted, but I continued to train consistently. From my experience, this stuff eventually goes away. The pain is deep, feels as if there is something stuck underneath my upper pec, medial from the pec tendon. Pain in the chest when I take a deep breath or sneeze, and also feel pain at my clavicle/ trapezius when I lean forward and down, like to pick something off of the ground. It’s probably also worth mentioning that this is the same side that I sustained a full thickness pec tear( muscle/tendon junction) a few years back, but this feels like a different injury with different symptoms, and at a different anatomical location. Symptoms were gradually starting to get better( or at least I was adapting to having the injury) up until a couple of weeks ago when I “re-tweaked” the area during my last DL warmup rep. This is starting to get really frustrating, and it’s difficult for me to really bear down on a solid breath while lifting. I would rather not consult with a physician and get an MRI, because they are expensive and my insurance would only cover a fraction of it probably. After doing some research I found that I’m experiencing symptoms of what could possibly be PMS/TOS. The main treatment I found was deep tissue message along with a lot of door frame type stretches. Does anyone have any experience with this type of injury and/or have any suggestions? This fucker Becoming annoying.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The diagnosis of TOS will probably require an MRI. It is managed with surgery or therapy. Or you could just train through it, like we all have to do from time to time.

[Bradley Gish]

The diagnosis of TOS will probably require an MRI. It is managed with surgery or therapy. Or you could just train through it, like we all have to do from time to time.

Yea, I definitely plan to just train through it as usual. This fucker has lingered around for months and is getting annoying, but I guess sometimes it’s just like that. Is TOS and a intercostal muscle strain pretty much close to the same thing Rip?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Completely different situations.

[Bradley Gish]

I’m leaning more towards it being an intercoastal strain at this point, considering my symptoms and that it occurred during a slip. But I’m not about to go to a physician and find out.