Nutrition during injury

[LawStudent1993]

First off, sorry for posting this here but I feel as if the injury recovery and prevention section is dead...

Long story short: I've been in and out of the gym for about 6 months now with shoulder/neck/arm pain. I've had a MRI, echo, ... First I'd been diagnosed with shoulder impingement syndrome, then calcification of the supraspinatus tendon, then a labrum tear and recently I've had an appointment with a shoulder surgeon. He actually believes, based upon my symptoms that the problem could be thoracic outlet syndrome, which is an obstruction of nerves in my shoulder girdle.

I've been advised by my PT to cut off all upper body work, including leg work which uses the upper body as a stabilizer (squats, deadlifts, any machines that put pressure on my arm/shoulder like a hack squat, ...) to prevent further injuries as my shoulder isn't moving as it should at the moment. I have an upcoming scan of my shoulder on Friday and another MRI (of my neck this time) to locate the cause of the obstruction. Probably a malformation of my clavicle...

So basically the only thing I can still do is some bodyweight ab work, leg press/extensions/curls and if I'm lucky I might find another machine at the gym I can still use. My questions:

- How should I eat meanwhile? Calorie-wise, amount of protein (as I'm not looking to build any muscle, just preserve)? I'm used to eating whatever I want with minimal fat gain because I'm fairly active. But exams are coming up and no gym = recipe for disaster.

- Will training my legs preserve some muscle in my upper body due to the fact that I'm still giving my body a stressor in general? Or is this complete BS?

- Is running a good idea or will this just burn muscle without adequate stimulus from weightlifting? Don't want to quit exercising in general.

- Anyone else has experience with thoracic outlet syndrome and has some tips for me?

[Nedo]

Eat at maintenance and don't do any cardio.

[Mikeez0]

- How should I eat meanwhile? Calorie-wise, amount of protein (as I'm not looking to build any muscle, just preserve)? I'm used to eating whatever I want with minimal fat gain because I'm fairly active. But exams are coming up and no gym = recipe for disaster.

Just eat, try to maintain weight, live a normal life.

- Will training my legs preserve some muscle in my upper body due to the fact that I'm still giving my body a stressor in general? Or is this complete BS?

Hard to tell, IMO, it might help overall, but I wouldn't expect something significant.

- Is running a good idea or will this just burn muscle without adequate stimulus from weightlifting? Don't want to quit exercising in general.

Cardiovascular exercises are good for you.

- Anyone else has experience with thoracic outlet syndrome and has some tips for me?

Stop worrying about muscles, it's painful to read and sounds extremely absurdly, find a normal hobby, start running/cycling, develop new habits. Life isn't only about lifting 3 hours a week.

[Heisman2]

Sucks you're going through this. I'd definitely rest until you get the results of the MRI and suggested next steps as that will be soon. If you end up needing surgery of some sort then after recovering from it you'll be able to get back to where you were relatively quickly (muscle memory is wonderful in this regard).

Stop worrying about muscles, it's painful to read and sounds extremely absurdly, find a normal hobby, start running/cycling, develop new habits. Life isn't only about lifting 3 hours a week.

I wouldn't go this far. It's not like he's saying his life is over. Also if it is thoracic outlet syndrome most people are able to recover from this so there is still definitely a lifting future to look forward to.

[EjnarKolinkar]

I see no "recipe for disaster" just a little less activity. Have you talked to your doctor about your concerns?

Take care of yourself OP.