If you are injuried, GTFIH --- Common weight room injuries and how to deal with it

[NZninja101]

Good thread!

[Cameron26]

Good Thread

[DaneMuscle]

I have pain in my shoulder. If I do lateral raises or if I open my chest up and spread my arms the shoulder hurts, and the muscles around it (the shoulder itself, and the part of my trapezius connected to it) are always sore. I think I have a muscle imbalance of some sort, and my rotator cuff is injured, would this be the case and how should I treat it? I'm thinking band pull aparts, rear delt work, etc. Also I have a swollen knee, at the moment it seems fine, but it swells up and I can't squat, bench or deadlift properly, any experience with this or tips that might work? Thanks.

[iLikeFoxes]

Congrats on the sticky.

[AdCon]

If anyone can think to add anything worthwhile to the OP post it up and i will put it in there or the second post

I know it was mentioned briefly, but a more detailed section on foam rolling would be a good addition, as I personally know very little about how and when to do it and I'm sure others would appreciate the information.

[Ensix]

This thread actually has potential. There's no other sticky about avoiding injuries. An important element in avoiding injuries is a warm up, you should write about that (I've had some serious injuries because I didn't know this).

[Saintsqc]

I have pain in my shoulder. If I do lateral raises or if I open my chest up and spread my arms the shoulder hurts, and the muscles around it (the shoulder itself, and the part of my trapezius connected to it) are always sore. I think I have a muscle imbalance of some sort, and my rotator cuff is injured, would this be the case and how should I treat it? I'm thinking band pull aparts, rear delt work, etc. Also I have a swollen knee, at the moment it seems fine, but it swells up and I can't squat, bench or deadlift properly, any experience with this or tips that might work? Thanks.

This is a "go see your doctor" case. I dont know your physical background, I can't test your shoulder and your knees...so it's simply impossible for me to tell you what's your problem. A physical therapist will have no trouble to fix that and he can also give you personnal advice on how to ease back into your training regimen (if you ask him).

For the mean while, I strongly suggest you to follow the steps I wrote. Rest your knee and shoulder for a few days, then do light stretching/weightlifting/foam roalling until every symptoms are gone. When you can move and perform light weightlifting movement (like squat, deadlift, bench press, lat raises, etc.) without pain, ease back into your regular training.

It is a good idea to stregthen your rotator cuff (especially external rotators). Also work your middle trap and rhomboids, these muscle are often forgotten (facepull, rear delt fly). It wont heal your shoulder quicker, but it can help in the long term. If you have a muscle imbalance around your shoulder, you might injuried yourself frequently until this imbalance is fixed.

Rest is probably all you need to heal knee and shoulder, so be patient. A doctor (especially a physical therapist) will tell you what is exactly the problem and he will tell you better than me what to do.

Good thread!

Good Thread

Thx guys

I know it was mentioned briefly, but a more detailed section on foam rolling would be a good addition, as I personally know very little about how and when to do it and I'm sure others would appreciate the information.

Good point!

That's a good intro to foam rolling : http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/f...FoamRoller.htm
That's a good tutorial : http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...r_for_10_bucks

Cliff : Get on the foam roll (or a pvc pipe, or a tennis ball) and use your bodyweight to put pressure on the spot you want to massage. Count ~10 roll then do the other side. Do this ~3 times, or until it doesnt hurt anymore.

[Saintsqc]

This thread actually has potential. There's no other sticky about avoiding injuries. An important element in avoiding injuries is a warm up, you should write about that (I've had some serious injuries because I didn't know this).

Lol, I cant believe I forgot to write about that!

Thx brah!

[1ntensityrules]

Good thread man, deserves a mod rep srs, will help A LOT of people!

[Saintsqc]

Good thread man, deserves a mod rep srs, will help A LOT of people!

Thx I hope it will help some people!

[ZNaon]

Hey guys,

Any thoughts on my situation would be appreciated. So I have a small tear in my right labrum from overuse. It haven't effected me very much with my lifting, but I have noticed it getting worse, to the point where i camt go very heavy. Basically surgery will be needed sometime and I feel like I am delaying the inevitable. The sooner I get the surgery the faster recovery ill have since there will have been less damage. Any thoughts? Do I push through or get the surgery and plan on a 2-6 month recovery?

Important info- I was planing on competing in a physique show later this year.

Thanks,

[Saintsqc]

Basically surgery will be needed sometime and I feel like I am delaying the inevitable.

Is that an assumption or did your doctor told you so?

Hey guys,

Any thoughts on my situation would be appreciated. So I have a small tear in my right labrum from overuse. It haven't effected me very much with my lifting, but I have noticed it getting worse, to the point where i camt go very heavy. The sooner I get the surgery the faster recovery ill have since there will have been less damage. Any thoughts? Do I push through or get the surgery and plan on a 2-6 month recovery?

Important info- I was planing on competing in a physique show later this year.

Thanks,

Woh, that's hard to answer :s

A sport specialist will guide you well through these difficulties. IMHO, you should not push through it. You still quite young, no need to get srsly injuried. There is still plenty of time ahead of you, dont risk anything right now. You should keep training, but DO NOT push through pain and focus on healing this small tear. Then, get back on a serious program later, once everything is ok. Think about the long-term.

[Jelet]

Thx



Thx bro!

Ice is good mainly because it numbs the pain. In regard to inflammation, ice will be useful because it constrict the arteries. By reducing the vascularisation, you also reduce the inflammation. So, use it as much as you want, it helps. Dont do it more than 20-30 minutes though, because you will have the opposite effect. If you cool an area for too long, your body will dilate the arteries to push more blood as an attempt to warm.

Anti-inflammatory reduce the inflammation through different biochemical mechanisms. These mechanisms also block the action of the "repairing" specialised cells. If you use anti-inflammatory right at the beginning, you dont let these cells start their duty so you hinder your recovery process.

then how come i got a herniated disc and was rushed to the emergency room and they gave me anti flame meds on day 1.... ur telling me u know more than the hospital doctors?

[Saintsqc]

then how come i got a herniated disc and was rushed to the emergency room and they gave me anti flame meds on day 1.... ur telling me u know more than the hospital doctors?

lol

Herniated disc is a thing.
Strained muscle/joint is another.

NSAID have plenty of uses and doctors rely on them a lot. Every case is different and might need a different strategy. However, most minor sport injuries does not require NSAID for the first few days. As said in my previous post, it hinders the recovery process (hinder, delay, slow...call it like you want). More serious injuries might require NSAID for a better control of pain, to avoid tissue damage (too much sweeling can damage the tissue), to avoid compression, etc.

Obviously, any doctor's recommandation >>>>>>>>> OP's recommandation....

[ZNaon]

Is that an assumption or did your doctor told you so?



Woh, that's hard to answer :s

A sport specialist will guide you well through these difficulties. IMHO, you should not push through it. You still quite young, no need to get srsly injuried. There is still plenty of time ahead of you, dont risk anything right now. You should keep training, but DO NOT push through pain and focus on healing this small tear. Then, get back on a serious program later, once everything is ok. Think about the long-term.

Thanks for the input. Yes, my doctor told me that it will never get healthy on its own, but being a weightlifter it has effected me and will probably only get worse. If I did not do anything physical I would no doubt be able to live through this injury but that's not the case.

Edit: Kind of a newb question but if I were to get the surgery, being out 2-6 months, how much muscle/gains could I expect to lose eating at a maintenance level. 193lbs right now.

[HungryLifter]

Great thread, will help a bunch of people

[eperez225]

Hey saint, I want to say thannks for the threead. Since reading it I've goone lighter on my squats with higher reps. Since then my injury has gottten a whole lot better, not to mention my strength on my legs. I felt a little ego coming when I squatted last time thinking to bump the weight up a little more. I thought back to the thread were u metioned go up to 95 max, I stood with it and my legs feel geat.

[Saintsqc]

Thanks for the input. Yes, my doctor told me that it will never get healthy on its own, but being a weightlifter it has effected me and will probably only get worse. If I did not do anything physical I would no doubt be able to live through this injury but that's not the case.

Edit: Kind of a newb question but if I were to get the surgery, being out 2-6 months, how much muscle/gains could I expect to lose eating at a maintenance level. 193lbs right now.

Ok I see. IMO, the sooner you get this surgery, the better it is.

It's hard to tell how much muscle mass you will lose. It depends a lot on how inactive your shoulder will be. Someone can lose a lot of muscle mass very quickly if his body part is totally immobilized for a month. However, if you start a physical treatment shortly after the surgery, it might not be too bad. You will lose muscle mass, that's for sure. How much? Impossible to tell. Keep in mind that what you will lose, you will regain it. It's going to be easier to build your muscles around your shoulder with a healthy joint!

Great thread, will help a bunch of people

Thx man I hope so!

Hey saint, I want to say thannks for the threead. Since reading it I've goone lighter on my squats with higher reps. Since then my injury has gottten a whole lot better, not to mention my strength on my legs. I felt a little ego coming when I squatted last time thinking to bump the weight up a little more. I thought back to the thread were u metioned go up to 95 max, I stood with it and my legs feel geat.

Excellent My ego came in my way more than once, and every single time, I hated myself for that. You're wise to not listen to your ego!

Now, if your legs feel great and it didnt flare up your injury, you can try to slightly increase the volume (more sets or even more reps) or the weight (100 instead of 95). If you feel discomfort during your training, back off instantly.

Good luck!

[WL93]

It has been a week since I DLd, I had a lot of lower back muscular pain for a few days. No pain now however, just some loss of sensation on lower right side of my back, not completely numb, just partially.

Anyone ever had this? Any advice/suggestions?

I've been to the gym once since then just to do shoulders.

[BjarneBetjent]

2. May 2012 I was on my was home from a small road trip me and a friend of mine had. I was lying in the passenger seat with my feet on the dashboard, a really bad was to relax I guess. Anyway, when I sat up to normal position again my lower back hurt kinda bad. Over the next three weeks this became much worse, and the pain went from my the left side of my lower back/top ass cheek and all the way down my foot. I went to see a chiropractor, which made the pain bearable, but nothing more. I still wasn't able to lift weights or bend over like a normal person, and I tried both those needle treatments and massage. The massage help getting it even better, but I still wasn't the good old me. I tried starting lifting weights again, with an easy 5x5 50 kg on squat. Deadlifts I wasn't able to do at all. The squatting went fine, but it started hurting again when I hit 70 kg.

Now I haven't been to the gym in 2 months or so, and I'm sick of not exercising. I'm going to this new physiotherapists, and he is trying this new needle treatment, where he actively uses the needles instead of just leaving them in for 5 minutes or so like I tried before. This hurts like ****, and he says it's the worst case of muscle contraction or something like that he has seen in a long time.

Now the pain doesn't affect me if I live a boring life. School -> watch tv -> pc etc. But I can tell I'm not able to work out again quite yet. But now reading your post, saying lighter weights and a **** load of reps might be a good place to start, I think that might be something for me. I'm going to the physiotherapists again on Thursday, and I will ask him if it will help. I really want to start right away though, so do you guys think it will be okay to hit the gym tomorrow? I don't want to **** up any progress I'm making with my injury, so I gotta play things very carefully here.

I'm used to having fun, and 8 months of immobility is taking its toll. Any suggestions about going to the gym or not? Anything else I can do? I will probably get the answers from an MR x-ray scan on Thursday, so if the problem isn't the muscle contractions I might find out what it is and treat this ****.

Any suggestions and advices is highly appreciated, thanks.

[Saintsqc]

It has been a week since I DLd, I had a lot of lower back muscular pain for a few days. No pain now however, just some loss of sensation on lower right side of my back, not completely numb, just partially.

Anyone ever had this? Any advice/suggestions?

I've been to the gym once since then just to do shoulders.

The loss of sensation in your lower back makes me think about a pinched nerve or something like that. If I was you, I would call my doctor. You dont risk anything with your back.

You can keep training but avoid every exercises that put stress on your lower back(simply put, no lower and mostly upper body isolation exercises). Go see a doctor, a sport specialist or a physical therapist and ask advices to him.

2. May 2012 I was on my was home from a small road trip me and a friend of mine had. I was lying in the passenger seat with my feet on the dashboard, a really bad was to relax I guess. Anyway, when I sat up to normal position again my lower back hurt kinda bad. Over the next three weeks this became much worse, and the pain went from my the left side of my lower back/top ass cheek and all the way down my foot. I went to see a chiropractor, which made the pain bearable, but nothing more. I still wasn't able to lift weights or bend over like a normal person, and I tried both those needle treatments and massage. The massage help getting it even better, but I still wasn't the good old me. I tried starting lifting weights again, with an easy 5x5 50 kg on squat. Deadlifts I wasn't able to do at all. The squatting went fine, but it started hurting again when I hit 70 kg.

Now I haven't been to the gym in 2 months or so, and I'm sick of not exercising. I'm going to this new physiotherapists, and he is trying this new needle treatment, where he actively uses the needles instead of just leaving them in for 5 minutes or so like I tried before. This hurts like ****, and he says it's the worst case of muscle contraction or something like that he has seen in a long time.

Now the pain doesn't affect me if I live a boring life. School -> watch tv -> pc etc. But I can tell I'm not able to work out again quite yet. But now reading your post, saying lighter weights and a **** load of reps might be a good place to start, I think that might be something for me. I'm going to the physiotherapists again on Thursday, and I will ask him if it will help. I really want to start right away though, so do you guys think it will be okay to hit the gym tomorrow? I don't want to **** up any progress I'm making with my injury, so I gotta play things very carefully here.

I'm used to having fun, and 8 months of immobility is taking its toll. Any suggestions about going to the gym or not? Anything else I can do? I will probably get the answers from an MR x-ray scan on Thursday, so if the problem isn't the muscle contractions I might find out what it is and treat this ****.

Any suggestions and advices is highly appreciated, thanks.

I dont know where to start

Massage is definitely a good option. I mean, therapeutic massage (not relaxation massage). It might hurt, but if it's muscular, it will help tremendously. You have to keep with it though. One session is probably not enough.

I have no opinion on needle treatment. If it's help, stick to it...but if you dont see any improvement...meh.

Good idea to get a scan and a specialist opinion. You will waste your time until you find what really is the problem.

Until you have a diagnosis and you've been take in charge by a doctor/PT, I believe you should go to the gym, or at least, do some kind of physical activity. Obviously, light weights/high rep (I would say 15 and more) is the way to go. Weightlifting, cardio, stretching. Maybe there is a sport you can do with friends that will not make things worst. As long as you dont feel pain doing an exercise/activity, or as long it doesnt make things worst post-training, it should be good. When you feel pain or discomfort, stop.

Good luck!

[TBIRD9412]

I have pain at the top of my left bicep near where it connects with the front deltoid. This only occurs when I do dips... Anyone else have this problem????

[HalfPastJACK3D]

Grade 3 sprain in my ankle which is also known as a torn ligament .. Happened about 7 weeks ago at gym playing basketball landed on the side of my foot coming down on it .. Hasnt really gotten any better at all .. Orthapedic gave me a air cast and hasnt done anything but cause discomfort walking around with .. Going to start physical therapy soon .. Any advice from someone who had a similar injury and how long it took them to fully heal ? Thanks

[mightyillidan]

great thread man ... gratz on the sticky
speaking of injuries 3 days ago while i was benching using the BB my leg and neck cramped badly the leg thign went away in a minute or smth but pain in the neck si still here ..... after 3 days of rest the pain isnot the same but its still here any ideas on that ?

[95builder]

Recently i suffered what i believe is an intercostal sprain or a tear of muscle fibers on across the left side of my ribs. It hurts to breathe in deep, turn, cough, sneeze!!!!!, and other things. Im just wondering if i should really be staying away from the weights and wait the injury out or just tough it out????

[PonteVedraOG]

I dropped a 35 on my foot and my little toe is swollen and red and hurts still after 3 weeks. What to do??

[Woolyyyy]

Sprained my back in June of last year. Pain was originally in my lumbar, moved down to my tailbone, and now there's hard spots around the mid/low portion of my back (muscle knots maybe?). I was working out until October when my doctor agreed with me about shutting it down until I'm healthy again. I've had an x-ray, bone scan, and an MRI, which all came back good. My doctor said it was most likely muscle related because the pain has jumped around a little.

I have 2 doctors appointments within the next month (yearly physical, and one with the back doctor), and I'm going to again bring up being put on muscle relaxants. They've steered away from prescribing them, because they don't want me to get hooked. I'm fcuking tired of sitting around doing nothing everday of the week, and I want to workout like a normal person again.

Have any of you ever gone through a back injury like this? And am I right to ask for muscle relaxants? I've done everything else they've asked, and I just want to take them until this **** heals.

[Saintsqc]

Grade 3 sprain in my ankle which is also known as a torn ligament .. Happened about 7 weeks ago at gym playing basketball landed on the side of my foot coming down on it .. Hasnt really gotten any better at all .. Orthapedic gave me a air cast and hasnt done anything but cause discomfort walking around with .. Going to start physical therapy soon .. Any advice from someone who had a similar injury and how long it took them to fully heal ? Thanks

I never experienced a complete torn ligament. It's a good thing if you dont need surgery!

My advice is to put a lot of time and effort for your physical therapy. You are young and you can heal quickly and the physical therapy will improve the recovery process. Dont neglect it!

great thread man ... gratz on the sticky
speaking of injuries 3 days ago while i was benching using the BB my leg and neck cramped badly the leg thign went away in a minute or smth but pain in the neck si still here ..... after 3 days of rest the pain isnot the same but its still here any ideas on that ?

Thx man!

I suggest you to follow the steps written in the first post. I cant tell you what is the problem. Probably a muscle spasm or something like that. Since it improves quickly, it is probably nothing serious. Go see your doctor if the problem remain for a long time or if it's come back frequently.

Recently i suffered what i believe is an intercostal sprain or a tear of muscle fibers on across the left side of my ribs. It hurts to breathe in deep, turn, cough, sneeze!!!!!, and other things. Im just wondering if i should really be staying away from the weights and wait the injury out or just tough it out????

Never tough it out.

Stay away of every thing that causes pain. So if lifting weight hurt...then, dont lift. You can perform painfree exercise. Back off if there is discomfort.

I dropped a 35 on my foot and my little toe is swollen and red and hurts still after 3 weeks. What to do??

If you are worried about it, go see your doctor. If it didnt get better after 3 weeks, you should go see your doctor. But it's normal that it is not 100% healed after 3 weeks. Protect your little toe, ice it and be patient.

Sprained my back in June of last year. Pain was originally in my lumbar, moved down to my tailbone, and now there's hard spots around the mid/low portion of my back (muscle knots maybe?). I was working out until October when my doctor agreed with me about shutting it down until I'm healthy again. I've had an x-ray, bone scan, and an MRI, which all came back good. My doctor said it was most likely muscle related because the pain has jumped around a little.

I have 2 doctors appointments within the next month (yearly physical, and one with the back doctor), and I'm going to again bring up being put on muscle relaxants. They've steered away from prescribing them, because they don't want me to get hooked. I'm fcuking tired of sitting around doing nothing everday of the week, and I want to workout like a normal person again.

Have any of you ever gone through a back injury like this? And am I right to ask for muscle relaxants? I've done everything else they've asked, and I just want to take them until this **** heals.

That's a tricky one.

I never had a back injury, but I know people who suffers from back injury and it's a pain in the ass. Really hard to get rid of it.

A physical therapist will help you. If it's muscular, therapeutic massage does wonders.

I am no doctor/pharmacist so I have no opinion on muscle relaxant. I believe you can buy muscle relaxants over the counter though, you dont need a prescription? Anyway, if I was you, I would listen to my doctor in regard to drugs. Working out on drugs will most likely make things worst for your back.

IMHO, light work out, stretching and trunk stabilization exercises could help. Obviously, dont overdo it. But, this is quite tricky and advices from a kinesiologist or a physical therapist will be a good idea. Your body needs rest to heal, but being inactive for too long do more harm than good.

[Woolyyyy]

That's a tricky one.

I never had a back injury, but I know people who suffers from back injury and it's a pain in the ass. Really hard to get rid of it.

A physical therapist will help you. If it's muscular, therapeutic massage does wonders.

I am no doctor/pharmacist so I have no opinion on muscle relaxant. I believe you can buy muscle relaxants over the counter though, you dont need a prescription? Anyway, if I was you, I would listen to my doctor in regard to drugs. Working out on drugs will most likely make things worst for your back.

IMHO, light work out, stretching and trunk stabilization exercises could help. Obviously, dont overdo it. But, this is quite tricky and advices from a kinesiologist or a physical therapist will be a good idea. Your body needs rest to heal, but being inactive for too long do more harm than good.

I went to PT for a few months, but it honestly did nothing except improve my flexibility. If the pain moved around or get better/worse, it did it on it's own lol. I don't think working out during the summer helped my cause, and I'm starting to think being inactive for close to 3 months is doing the same. Right now, I just stretch twice a day, take ibuprofen, and have epsom salt baths 2-3 times a week. The hard areas on my back feel like muscle knots to me, but I'm hesitant to foam roll or do some trigger point release things because I don't know if it's part of the sprain or what. There's no pain in the original area. It's just the mid/low back tight spots and my hamstring bugs me after 10 minutes of standing lol.

As for the medication thing, I get what you're saying, but this is hands down the most frustrating thing I've ever dealt with. I'd do anything to get back into the gym.

[mightyillidan]

I never experienced a complete torn ligament. It's a good thing if you dont need surgery!

My advice is to put a lot of time and effort for your physical therapy. You are young and you can heal quickly and the physical therapy will improve the recovery process. Dont neglect it!



Thx man!

I suggest you to follow the steps written in the first post. I cant tell you what is the problem. Probably a muscle spasm or something like that. Since it improves quickly, it is probably nothing serious. Go see your doctor if the problem remain for a long time or if it's come back frequently.



Never tough it out.

Stay away of every thing that causes pain. So if lifting weight hurt...then, dont lift. You can perform painfree exercise. Back off if there is discomfort.



If you are worried about it, go see your doctor. If it didnt get better after 3 weeks, you should go see your doctor. But it's normal that it is not 100% healed after 3 weeks. Protect your little toe, ice it and be patient.



That's a tricky one.

I never had a back injury, but I know people who suffers from back injury and it's a pain in the ass. Really hard to get rid of it.

A physical therapist will help you. If it's muscular, therapeutic massage does wonders.

I am no doctor/pharmacist so I have no opinion on muscle relaxant. I believe you can buy muscle relaxants over the counter though, you dont need a prescription? Anyway, if I was you, I would listen to my doctor in regard to drugs. Working out on drugs will most likely make things worst for your back.

IMHO, light work out, stretching and trunk stabilization exercises could help. Obviously, dont overdo it. But, this is quite tricky and advices from a kinesiologist or a physical therapist will be a good idea. Your body needs rest to heal, but being inactive for too long do more harm than good.

thx man as i said every day of rest the pain gets reduced i even went to the gym today thank god i think by the end of the week it will be gone