Did i just tear my chest muscle?

[gmenfan40]

About two weeks ago i was going running drills in my backyard and i couldnt break down fast enough after a sprint. Causing me to accidentally run on a big flat rock and since i was wearing grass cleats i was slid backward and was going to fall on the back of my head, so i grabbed my bbq since it was right there and basically stopped all the momentum from me falling with one arm and i felt some weird sharp pain in my chest armpit area. Abouty 5 minutes later the sharp pain was completly gone. That was on a Wednesday.
Then the next friday i was going 5X5 on flat bench doing the Bill Starr Program. I would get this weird sharp pain in my chest armpit area when bringing the bar down to my chest about 3-4 inches away and bringing it up at around that point. I still didnt think too much of it and continued to workout regularly.
The next Monday it was still there and i still stupidly continued to workout regularly. Now today on Fridays workout i felt it on every set and soon on my 4th set on my 3rd rep i felt like a ripping felling. I immediately stopped my workout and left the gym.
Ok, now the pain is still there after the workout and everything but i have regular motion with my arm and everything. There is pain but its not bad, more of just an annoying pain if you know what i mean. After my workouts before this though it would sort of hurt after but then go away. Only bothering me from benching.
Also when i touch it, it sort of hurts and its a little swollen.
So did i tear it and if i did how long will this take to heal?

the circled area on arnolds chest is wear it hurts

[gmenfan40]

i woke up this mourning with basically a huge ball in my chest, still basically have normal movement but it hurts when i touch it.

[Mindi912]

i woke up this mourning with basically a huge ball in my chest, still basically have normal movement but it hurts when i touch it.

Sounds like you have done some damage, go see a doc to make sure though.

[mitch555]

Dude it sounds like you had a small partial tear you aggravated seriously by not resting and training on it.

The difformity in your pec and the fact it is swollen are massive red flags, head to an MD immedialely and see what is going on. Don' t wait as the more you wait, the bigger the chances they won' t be able to fix it.

Pec tears and pec tendon tears are an absolute mess to deal with, surgery is a painful hell with some 6 months of rehab and if no surgery is performed, either because it wasn' t possible or because you didn' t want to, you have a very high chance of a permanent strength loss as it can never quite heal to its formal strength.

[gmenfan40]

Dude it sounds like you had a small partial tear you aggravated seriously by not resting and training on it.

The difformity in your pec and the fact it is swollen are massive red flags, head to an MD immedialely and see what is going on. Don' t wait as the more you wait, the bigger the chances they won' t be able to fix it.

Pec tears and pec tendon tears are an absolute mess to deal with, surgery is a painful hell with some 6 months of rehab and if no surgery is performed, either because it wasn' t possible or because you didn' t want to, you have a very high chance of a permanent strength loss as it can never quite heal to its formal strength.

I just came back from the emergency room, the doctor made me move my arm around and asked me if it hurts when i move it and it didnt, but i told him it only basically hurts when the muscle is getting used. Then i took off my shirt and he saw my left chest was swollen and he felt it. His diagnosis was it is a partial tear and i asked him if it would heal by itself and he said yes you should be fine. He never mentioned surgery or even an MRI.
Now im going to the specialtist very soon to make sure its nothing serious. This doctor will defientely have me get an MRI.

[gmenfan40]

after the emergency room, i got an appointment to a specialtist and he questioned me alot better and understood the injury. Felt it and rubbed it says its defientely torn. But its only a partial tear. Says most likely wont need surgery or anything, and he will officially diagnose me after the MRI.

[gmenfan40]

today, 6 days later my pec dosnt even hurt, no swelling, and i have complete movement. Is it possible that its almost healed already? Im still getting a MRI though on Wednesday, the specialist says getting a MRI is not urgent.

[IronAbrams]

That's good to hear.

If the pain continues, you should see if there's any ART Therapists in your area. They work wonders for soft tissue injuries- breaking up scar tissue, adhesions, etc.

[superfunk]

Is it possible that its almost healed already? Im still getting a MRI though on Wednesday, the specialist says getting a MRI is not urgent.

You need to ask your doctor when you can begin chest training again, until then don't train your chest at all.

[ROSEVILLECA]

I just had surgery 5 weeks ago on a torn pec. My injury sounds a little worse as I had extensive bruising... But DONT LISTEN to your doctor when they say it will heal itself... They told me the same thing, and when I forced them to give me an MRI, they found it was a 80% tear, and they rushed me to surgery... GET THAT MRI!!! Let me know how it goes, best of luck!

[IVBARK]

Yeah I ripped my pec doing bench back in 05 and I knew what I did as soon as I did it. The pain really wasn't bad and as a matter of fact I was able to mess around in the weight room a little during the 14 days before surgery (other body parts). My pec ripped where the muscle turns to tendon and wow did that surgery hurt. I was lifting again little by little in 3mths (i mean like 20lbs d press), 6mths I would say I was about 65% and 9mths I was pretty much good to go althougth now I just can't seem to convince myself to go heavy. I had a bruise all the way down the inside of my arm and alittle on my pec. Not fun. I did a lot of research and they say you can get away without surgery on a non 100% rupture, I just didn't get a choice. In high school I benched 330lbs at 151lbs and never gave any thought to ripping anything. It ripped on the 3rd rep with 245lbs after working with 135,185,205,225. Weird deal. Good luck.

[gmenfan40]

Good News, i got a call from my doctor today in reponse from my chest MRI and he said it's all ok, it' a pulled muscle (small tear), no surgery and to make an appointment. So im hopping this is good news and that i can start working out my chest again. My chest hasn't even bothered me or even hurt for almost 2 weeks already, i have been able to do heavy deadlifts and even dumbell military presses. Does anyone know how long this should take to completely heal?

**my dad took the message, and i just asked him if there is anything that he didnt write down that the doctor said and he basically said the doctor mentioned exercises to get my chest back to strength.

[Ravish]

Stating the obvious here - DO NOT RUSH yourself in your recovery. The last thing you want is to reinjure your chest.

[gmenfan40]

Stating the obvious here - DO NOT RUSH yourself in your recovery. The last thing you want is to reinjure your chest.

Yes i know that, i can't be ignorant about it. It's just frustrating that i can't bench and power clean. When i went to the hospital they said it takes from 4-6 weeks to heal and this Friday makes it 3 weeks, so hope i can come back 100% in 1-2 weeks, but i'm not going to rush it i'm just hoping.

[Ravish]

Do not jump right up from where you left off lifting 100% - chances are your chest will not be ready. Start very light.. yes it will suck at first and you might get self conscious lifting a lot less than you could but you have to ignore that and think of your long-term health.

I wouldn't recommend any BB chest work for another month when you resume lifting. Stick with light DBs.

[gmenfan40]

Update, my doctor on december 3rd told me to only do the pec deck 3 times a week untill the week after new years. Well today i was doing the pec deck and for the past week i haven't felt any amount of pain in my chest at all. I also noticed i have been getting alot stronger on the machine. I was feeling good today so i said why not do some dumbell bench. I started with 35's and it was too easy, then 55s and they were too easy then i went up to 75s for 8 and that was easy so i did one more set with 85s for 8. I could of went heavier but my chest was tired and im still scared to over do it. But it felt great to be able to do that and it being only the first time benching in almost 2 months. My doctor also said that my left pec will be weaker than my right, but i didn't really see a difference at all.