Pec tear - advice on injuries and getting older

[kdiggz10]

Hi guys,

I'm not quite 35 but almost so I felt this was an appropriate forum. Quick intro - I lifted a little in high school for sports but was never that into it. I started getting more involved in college simply for the fact that I wanted to look better. I was not interested in gains but really just definition and "tightening up." After getting married and settling down I started getting back into it but with a different mentality. I wasn't scared to eat to bulk and I saw personal bests skyrocket in the gym as a result. I quickly went from an athletic 175 to about 215 in less than a year and PR's in the 3 main lifts went up literally hundreds of pounds.

Unfortunately, these big gains have led to this post. I've been pushing it in the gym a lot more than I ever have and as a result I've been getting injured much more. I've been pulling muscles here and there and I have what the doctor has described as the start of a hernia where it's not quite to the level that I need surgery but I have to keep an eye on it.

Then last week my first major injury. I was doing flat bench at a moderate weight, a weight I had done hundreds of times before. On the second rep of 280 I was coming down slow and I heard a horrible RIPPPPPP sound. In shock, I ran upstairs (home gym) to get some ice and try and figure out what the heck had just happened. After a quick Google search it was apparent that I had torn my pec. I made an appt with an Ortho and he ordered the MRI. I have a musculo tendon tear where the muscle attaches to the tendon at the humorous. The Ortho said that's good news and bad news. Good news was that I didn't require surgery but bad news was it's not repairable. I would forever be a little weaker on that side.

Not accepting this as an answer I researched other such occurrences and found that although it's not a for sure thing, there was an opportunity to try and stitch the muscle back together and by doing so greatly increases the chance for a recovery. I found another Ortho willing to do the surgery and I have it scheduled for next week.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully it explains my situation. I am at a cross roads where I'm not sure if because I'm older I need to start taking it easy or what. Even with proper warm up and technique I've been getting hurt way too often. I have a job and a family and I feel somehow selfish that I am now in this position of needing surgery and months of rehab. Has anyone else had to deal with a pec tear or major injury like this and has it made you re-think your pursuits in the gym?

[pastorgbc]

Hi guys,

I'm not quite 35 but almost so I felt this was an appropriate forum. Quick intro - I lifted a little in high school for sports but was never that into it. I started getting more involved in college simply for the fact that I wanted to look better. I was not interested in gains but really just definition and "tightening up." After getting married and settling down I started getting back into it but with a different mentality. I wasn't scared to eat to bulk and I saw personal bests skyrocket in the gym as a result. I quickly went from an athletic 175 to about 215 in less than a year and PR's in the 3 main lifts went up literally hundreds of pounds.

Unfortunately, these big gains have led to this post. I've been pushing it in the gym a lot more than I ever have and as a result I've been getting injured much more. I've been pulling muscles here and there and I have what the doctor has described as the start of a hernia where it's not quite to the level that I need surgery but I have to keep an eye on it.

Then last week my first major injury. I was doing flat bench at a moderate weight, a weight I had done hundreds of times before. On the second rep of 280 I was coming down slow and I heard a horrible RIPPPPPP sound. In shock, I ran upstairs (home gym) to get some ice and try and figure out what the heck had just happened. After a quick Google search it was apparent that I had torn my pec. I made an appt with an Ortho and he ordered the MRI. I have a musculo tendon tear where the muscle attaches to the tendon at the humorous. The Ortho said that's good news and bad news. Good news was that I didn't require surgery but bad news was it's not repairable. I would forever be a little weaker on that side.

Not accepting this as an answer I researched other such occurrences and found that although it's not a for sure thing, there was an opportunity to try and stitch the muscle back together and by doing so greatly increases the chance for a recovery. I found another Ortho willing to do the surgery and I have it scheduled for next week.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully it explains my situation. I am at a cross roads where I'm not sure if because I'm older I need to start taking it easy or what. Even with proper warm up and technique I've been getting hurt way too often. I have a job and a family and I feel somehow selfish that I am now in this position of needing surgery and months of rehab. Has anyone else had to deal with a pec tear or major injury like this and has it made you re-think your pursuits in the gym?

Sorry to hear about your injury. Because you are getting older, you do not have to take it easy, especially not at your young age. However, my experience is that if you lift for a long time and you give it your all, you will eventually suffer some injuries, such as pulled muscles. I have torn my pec, but it did not require surgery. Rest and re-coop and it came back strong. I also tore my triceps, but it was all soft tissue damage. Bruised like crazy, but three weeks of rest and re-coop brought it back strong and healed.

Good luck with the surgery and treatment. Don't rush things when you come back.

Ray

[bustasinclair]

No advice from me, but here's a link to a thread where a guy I know journaled his experience with a major pec tear. I read this thread cover to cover. It's a good read.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...+dinh+pec+tear

Good luck with the surgery and stay safe.

[Mumra]

tore my left pec a few years ago. you'll be fine. for me it was the tendon and it split right in half. still isn't quite as big as my right side but with a good pump you can't tell.

did the Dr give you any instructions? did he refer you to a therapist? for me the one of the biggest parts in my come back was going to my physical therapist and doing the work to get back on track.

besides all that. when I finally got the clear to lift again I started using a slingshot. every other week while I gradually moved the weight up. I think it played a major role in getting back to form.

[kdiggz10]

Sorry to hear about your injury. Because you are getting older, you do not have to take it easy, especially not at your young age. However, my experience is that if you lift for a long time and you give it your all, you will eventually suffer some injuries, such as pulled muscles. I have torn my pec, but it did not require surgery. Rest and re-coop and it came back strong. I also tore my triceps, but it was all soft tissue damage. Bruised like crazy, but three weeks of rest and re-coop brought it back strong and healed.

Good luck with the surgery and treatment. Don't rush things when you come back.

Ray

Thanks, Ray. That's encouraging to know that I can come back from this as you have in the past. How bad was your pec tear? The first Ortho said not to bother with surgery so I'm questioning if I really do need it or if I should just rehab. But I'm hoping to stay in the game for many years so if I can get back to close to 100% with surgery it might be worth that chance

[kdiggz10]

No advice from me, but here's a link to a thread where a guy I know journaled his experience with a major pec tear. I read this thread cover to cover. It's a good read.

Good luck with the surgery and stay safe.

I'll definitely give that a read. Thanks for the link and well wishes!

[kdiggz10]

tore my left pec a few years ago. you'll be fine. for me it was the tendon and it split right in half. still isn't quite as big as my right side but with a good pump you can't tell.

did the Dr give you any instructions? did he refer you to a therapist? for me the one of the biggest parts in my come back was going to my physical therapist and doing the work to get back on track.

besides all that. when I finally got the clear to lift again I started using a slingshot. every other week while I gradually moved the weight up. I think it played a major role in getting back to form.

I guess if it splits all the way through at the tendon to bone it's a little easier fix. They said with my type of tear it's like trying to sew hamburger meat together so there's a chance it won't take. Hopefully I'm able to recover as well as you have. The doc mentioned therapy for upwards of 6 months but we haven't planned it out yet. This place has more of a sports focus so I'm hoping to go to a therapist with a similar focus and one that has dealt with this type of injury in the past. I'm definitely willing to put in the work. I have a yoke bar for squats so hopefully they understand my need to do something in the meantime so to be able to squat without using my arm will definitely help. I do have a slingshot so I'm sure I'll be using that in my recovery process.

[pastorgbc]

Thanks, Ray. That's encouraging to know that I can come back from this as you have in the past. How bad was your pec tear? The first Ortho said not to bother with surgery so I'm questioning if I really do need it or if I should just rehab. But I'm hoping to stay in the game for many years so if I can get back to close to 100% with surgery it might be worth that chance

My doctor termed it a minor tear. He did not give me any prognosis where it would always be weak. He basically told me to rest it for a couple weeks, then put me on a week of PT. I started back slow and steady, and now I feel as strong as I ever did.

Ray

[Mumra]

I guess if it splits all the way through at the tendon to bone it's a little easier fix. They said with my type of tear it's like trying to sew hamburger meat together so there's a chance it won't take. Hopefully I'm able to recover as well as you have. The doc mentioned therapy for upwards of 6 months but we haven't planned it out yet. This place has more of a sports focus so I'm hoping to go to a therapist with a similar focus and one that has dealt with this type of injury in the past. I'm definitely willing to put in the work. I have a yoke bar for squats so hopefully they understand my need to do something in the meantime so to be able to squat without using my arm will definitely help. I do have a slingshot so I'm sure I'll be using that in my recovery process.

yeah, that muscle belly taring is the worst. it would be just like trying to sew 2 pieces of meat together. recovery will take a while but stay patient and you'll be fine. G/L

[kdiggz10]

Had the surgery yesterday. Dr didn't fix anything. Said it looked fine. MRI said it's torn at muscle tendon juncture and only a sliver of tendon left on bone. Dr said it's basically all attached to the bone and didn't see anything wrong on the muscle. They closed me back up and now I have a scar, long recovery, and a high hospital bill. Needless to say this is extremely frustrating. There must have been something that needed fixing otherwise what were the MRI results about and what was the rip sound I heard that was so loud? Very upsetting to say the least

[Mumra]

Had the surgery yesterday. Dr didn't fix anything. Said it looked fine. MRI said it's torn at muscle tendon juncture and only a sliver of tendon left on bone. Dr said it's basically all attached to the bone and didn't see anything wrong on the muscle. They closed me back up and now I have a scar, long recovery, and a high hospital bill. Needless to say this is extremely frustrating. Is this malpractice or just incompetence? There must have been something that needed fixing otherwise what were the MRI about results and what was the rip sound I heard that was so loud? Very upsetting to say the least

sucks man. that's almost the worst news you could have gotten.

welp I guess it goes to show you not everyone graduates at the top of medical school.

[anonymous]

WTF? The surgeon who goes inside will always have more information than the MRI and they can often get different opinions from the radiographer but that sounds most unusual

if the tendon is torn off that would be very visible - mine was high grade and the doc said only maybe 10% was left attached pre surgery

where did you get the surgeon??

[kdiggz10]

WTF? The surgeon who goes inside will always have more information than the MRI and they can often get different opinions from the radiographer but that sounds most unusual

if the tendon is torn off that would be very visible - mine was high grade and the doc said only maybe 10% was left attached pre surgery

where did you get the surgeon??

The MRI results said sliver of tendon left on the bone and surgeon said he called to verify with radiologist prior to surgery but said it's hard to tell until you get in there. Then wtf is the point of the MRI if you can't tell? Needless to say I'm pretty upset. The surgeon said it's a good thing and that I will heal but I don't know, don't know what to believe. What do you guys think? Am I getting upset for no reason here?

[kdiggz10]

sucks man. that's almost the worst news you could have gotten.

welp I guess it goes to show you not everyone graduates at the top of medical school.

My wife said worst news would have been that it's so bad they can't fix it. But I guess the news he gave her was that it looked fine once they got in there and that it was already healing correctly. She's fine with it and isn't sure why I'm so upset. I just find it really hard to believe that there wasn't something that could have been stitched up a little here or there to help in the healing process. Or am I the Wolverine and I just automatically heal? I'm worried once I'm back at it that I will see some weakness and then be upset. Or who knows, maybe I'll be fine. It's still a big unknown and it's freaking me out unfortunately

[sowilson]

Opening up and taking a look is the truth - imagery isn't. Same thing applies to oil exploration, you can do all the seismic reflection surveys you want but the drill bit is truth. So, unless you want to be opened up again by another surgeon you should believe the diagnosis of the surgeon who operated on you.

[kdiggz10]

Opening up and taking a look is the truth - imagery isn't. Same thing applies to oil exploration, you can do all the seismic reflection surveys you want but the drill bit is truth. So, unless you want to be opened up again by another surgeon you should believe the diagnosis of the surgeon who operated on you.

That is pretty much what I was told. It's hard to tell until you get in there. I wish there was a better way than going through all of this though unfortunately. All I can do now is trust them and hope it heals correctly. Trying to stay positive. Thanks for the help everyone

[ToPHeR35]

That is pretty much what I was told. It's hard to tell until you get in there. I wish there was a better way than going through all of this though unfortunately. All I can do now is trust them and hope it heals correctly. Trying to stay positive. Thanks for the help everyone

This. I have MRI-a on both hips that showed FAI and tears. Doc told me 4 months recovery for each and we'd do them 6 weeks apart. Got in to do the first one and it was 10x worse than the imaging. both were 4-5 anchor tears and the right needed a microfracture which meant 1 year recovery minimum

[mwithm]

Hi guys,

I'm not quite 35 but almost so I felt this was an appropriate forum. Quick intro - I lifted a little in high school for sports but was never that into it. I started getting more involved in college simply for the fact that I wanted to look better. I was not interested in gains but really just definition and "tightening up." After getting married and settling down I started getting back into it but with a different mentality. I wasn't scared to eat to bulk and I saw personal bests skyrocket in the gym as a result. I quickly went from an athletic 175 to about 215 in less than a year and PR's in the 3 main lifts went up literally hundreds of pounds.

Unfortunately, these big gains have led to this post. I've been pushing it in the gym a lot more than I ever have and as a result I've been getting injured much more. I've been pulling muscles here and there and I have what the doctor has described as the start of a hernia where it's not quite to the level that I need surgery but I have to keep an eye on it.

Then last week my first major injury. I was doing flat bench at a moderate weight, a weight I had done hundreds of times before. On the second rep of 280 I was coming down slow and I heard a horrible RIPPPPPP sound. In shock, I ran upstairs (home gym) to get some ice and try and figure out what the heck had just happened. After a quick Google search it was apparent that I had torn my pec. I made an appt with an Ortho and he ordered the MRI. I have a musculo tendon tear where the muscle attaches to the tendon at the humorous. The Ortho said that's good news and bad news. Good news was that I didn't require surgery but bad news was it's not repairable. I would forever be a little weaker on that side.

Not accepting this as an answer I researched other such occurrences and found that although it's not a for sure thing, there was an opportunity to try and stitch the muscle back together and by doing so greatly increases the chance for a recovery. I found another Ortho willing to do the surgery and I have it scheduled for next week.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully it explains my situation. I am at a cross roads where I'm not sure if because I'm older I need to start taking it easy or what. Even with proper warm up and technique I've been getting hurt way too often. I have a job and a family and I feel somehow selfish that I am now in this position of needing surgery and months of rehab. Has anyone else had to deal with a pec tear or major injury like this and has it made you re-think your pursuits in the gym?

I've been here twice. Each pec. Unlike a hamstring tear, it only took me 2-3 months to fully recoup. I came back stronger. Eat at your TDEE and try not to get fat is the best advice for the moment. Protein! Protein! Protein!