Muscle Tear and Repair

[Patience]

I'd always thought that if I tore a muscle it would hurt quite sharply at the time.
I've torn my pec for the second time this year and I don't know what's caused it. I know it probably happened some time in a training session, but I don't feel anything until I start to drive home and can't move the steering wheel very well and the ROM of my arm goes down the pan.

And whilst we're on the subject...........recovery time. I've been very, very good this time. From my initial tear I had 6 weeks of doing absoultely nothing, followed by 6 weeks of remedial and specific strength work whilst getting physio twice a week. Much longer than either myself or the physios expected. Tendon injuries have always been a nightmare for me as I can't get the blood with the necessary levels of iron to do the repair, but we hadn't thought that a muscle injury would be such hard work.

Any advice, other that "chin up"or RICE (I swear if I see any more ice packs I'll scream. I've just picked up my latest supply of disposable instant ice-packs, now bought in lots of 50! )

[slinger]

norma, get well soon and don't get too down about it, things will get better, you are just going through a spell of bad luck, you'll get a spell of good luck, promise!

[willow]

I've done something to my quad. Can't be too sure what tho. Did it runnining the other day. Few of my mates were there, who were unprofessional physios, and said its a potential tear, it is killing me to walk on, especialy if my stride is too big! I can run sideways - so can do jav - thankfully! But I don't stand a chance running normally, what can I do? I don't think it is torn - there is no obvious bruising.
Willow

[thedarklord]

pec tear get lots of deep massage the scar tissue build up will keep tearing if u dont. Start ur rehab with static holds on the bench just above the chest 3*3 30 sec holds and increase weight over time do that for 4 to 6 weeks then introducre some walking on hands type movements.

[Patience]

Certain parts of a "ladies" anatomy can be a bit problematic when it comes to deep tissue massage! The pec is one of them.

Apparently ultrasound isn't a goer either. Something to do with an internal organ called a "lung" .

I'm getting it lasered weekly to prevent / get rid of scar tissue. I've also got an appointment to see the orthopedic bod.

[Caroline]

'some walking on hands type movements. '?? How many javelin throwers can do that then?? (ok I know one....)

[Patience]

I thought he meant all that Gambetta stuff.

[willow]

what about quads? not pecs-mine are ok thanks!! But myleg isn't too happy with me Has a small briuse, but not where the main pain is - that mean its torn? how long do i rest it?

[wez]

A good rule of thumb for any muscular injury is to rest it until its no longer painful when doing nothing. Then start to do some kind of rehab exercises. Like in this case easy jogging or squats without weights.

You will know how hard to do any exercise by learning to read your body. If doing something hurts then you are exercising the right muscle group and this will help you rehabilitate. However do it at a level where the pain is minimal, what i mean is if it hurts alot you are probably causing yourself further injury or atleast prolonging it.

An example might be, i have torn a hamstring and have rested for 2 weeks. Now i want to rehabilitate the injury so i start to do squats. 20kg doesn't hurt atall, 60kg hurts a little bit and 100kg hurts alot. So i will do 50-60kg. Then the next week i will probably be able to do 60-70kg because the level of pain has reduced and so on until i am back to full strength.

If its definatley your quad i might suggest the first thing you need to do is elastic conditioning exercises. Start by sitting on a chair and loop a piece of elastic around your ankle, secure the ends under the chair leg and do a quad extension- you will notice the tension in the elastic increases the more you extend your leg, this is great for rehab as it lets you start the movement gently. Then at full extension resist against the elastic so your leg slowly returns to the start position. This is the eccentric movement and is the most important part of the exercise for improving stability of the damaged area.

You can buy these elastic exercise bands from most sports shops and they are great for a whole range of rehab stuff including elbows. Alot of us old jav throwers use these on a regular basis for keeping away old injuries and getting rid of niggles or even just for warming up as they are totally impact free unlike most other exercises.

It will be better before you know it, and remember with the elastic bands the number of different exercises you can do with it is only limited by your imagination.

[ironbrew]

The first thing to do with a damaged muscle is stop the bleeding, anything cold will do can of coke if no ice is available, apply 3/4 times over the first 24 hours, then you need to encourage blood flow back into the damaged area, this will promote healing and help remove all the crap that has built up, this can be started using the cold and hot treatment i.e cool the effected area for 5 minutes the warm the area, resting till no pain will just create scar tissue which will be difficult to break down, gentle exercise should be started as soon as possible and built up slowly. I have worked along side several physios with proffessional rugby teams and rehab starts within 24 hours, if in doubt find a good sports physio.

[wez]

Cold then hot packs are indeed very useful even still within the first week its true. You are right of course that this is the very first thing to do, i stand corrected.

I have found often that for some types of minor injury like elbow spankage a cold pack can reduce the effects enormously if applied right away. As in before you take your javs spikes off. Even if you have to drive home you can attach it with an elastic band or just inside your elbow support.

By the way i have no physio credentials except that i have been injured alot of times and know what works for me.

[Patience]

As someone very familiar with icepacks, here's a link to some "instant ice packs"

Linkie

[lee]

ive had 3 rotator cuff repair on my shoulder ok but still carnt throw javelin