My EF Fam, I got injured/hurt pretty bad....Need your help to keep me motivated!

[the_alcatraz]

Guys,
I was part of a local power lifting competition in my gym (nothing serious) and I was benching...going for 1st place. I did 365 lbs first attempt, 405 lbs second attempt and on my third attemp at 455 lbs, shit went downhill real quick.

I heard a tearing sound in my chest, sharp pain in my chest and shoulder and I lost the grip. The bar went down on my chest. I was able to leverage ot with my right arm and kind of take a huge portion of the hit off of my chest.

I did an x-ray: no broken ribs. No broken bones. Although I was having a hard time breathing after this for a good 10 minutes.

The doctor said he's not sure if there's an actual tear in my pec or shoulder. My left pec is the size of a catcher's mit - it feels like I've injected synthol in there. It looks like Greg Valentino's arms. My left shoulder is starting to get all purple and black and bubles are starting to form on the skin. It's starting to spread down to my left biceps. I feel tenderness, on my chest...it's so pumped I can't even flex it. I can move it though (so I don't think it's torn)

My shoulder feels like there's a knife stuck in there....I can't over there....not nearly enough range of motion. I cant flex my biceps...I have very little motion in my arm....the purple / black stuff is spreading.

See pictures below:

It is getting bigger by the day..that was two days ago.

My left chest looks like it needs draining or something...

The pain is really bad and I have a high tolerance for pain. I can hardly move my left arm, my shoulder or my chest. I have to sleep on my right side and I have trouble putting on shirts and getting out of bed.

I need your advice and thoughts on wtf is happening to me...do you think it's a torn muscle? how long do you think it will take to heal?

I'm on naproxen right now, which is doing nothing really....

 

[iggy]

Damn bro....

I'm sorry that happened to ya.

Best Wishes for a speedy recovery

- iggy

 

[DaBangEm]

Damn bro. I would have a CAT scan or at the very least an ultra sound done. Something looks torn for sure with that amount of blood near the surface and that dark. I would imagine it will be about 7-9 days before it even starts to get to a point where yesterday was better than today kinda feeling. It's gonna take time for sure bro but who knows how bad it really is without a look inside. Best of luck on a speedy recovery bro.

 

[ceo]

probably a tear but not super bad, then I imagine some bruising/hemorrhage from dropping 455 lbs on your chest. Go back to doc and keep bugging him. It's pretty much wait and see up there with that socialized fucking medicine. By the time you get any more scans or any real treatment, you'll have healed naturally.

 

[hurricane]

that sounds like a tear bro..to be in that bad of shape

glad to hear no broken bones/ribs

monitor everything close to be on top of things..wish u the best of luck bro..sorry to hear about that

 

[needtogetaas]

damn man I hope you have a quick recovery man

 

[needtogetaas]

I will send you some balm too bro

 

[cuthroat]

Ouch...thats some serious bruising. Smashed the hell out of a lot of blood lines I can imagine that would hurt like a beatch for a while. Best of luck with recovering.

 

[cryptosporidium]

something like that happened to me a number of years ago. ice it down 20 mins on 20 off to deal with that swelling/inflamation, and take a healthy dose of the NSAIDs. dont take no for an answer from the doctors bro. whether its scans or pain management, make sure they sort it out.

 

[stevesmi]

since you were pushing it when the injury occured its likely a tear. the swelling is a good thing, its trying to heal.

i've had something similar happen to me.. was benching 225 and the bar literally slipped out of my hand on the way up and landed luckily flat on my chest. and i was able to push it off.. if it was heavier weight or it landed on my neck then who knows.. anyway the next day my collarbone and chest was very sore, like i had been punched.

did you have a spotter there with you?

you are looking at a while off from doing your upper body, but trust me keep killing it with your legs. maybe this will be a blessing in that you can focus on your legs for a while until your upper body heals up.. then you will have a nice trunk and be able to zoom back fast on your upper body.

good luck man, keep us informed how it goes

 

[zedhed]

Dam bro thats some dam tuff luck, sorry to hear your injured. Hope the very best for you my good man.
I would agree get back to the DR and find out what the hell is torn in there.
My best to you bro and take care.

 

[ramnares]

Can't really add to the advice given above. Everyone's pretty much spot on with the, "Keep bugging your doctors...keep on monitoring..." Hang in there though and see this through safely!

 

[Sub-Zero]

urgh sorry bro. injuries are awful.

a while back jnevin had something similar on his bicep and it turned out not to be a tear, but a broken vessel i think. the location of that looks like a tear though :\

keep us updated

 

[trex74]

Bad bruise, hope you heal up soon.
Glad you didn't break anything, but ya, maybe go back if it's not a bit better in a week.

 

[the_alcatraz]

Thanks guys...I appreciate the feedback. I'm going to keep a close look on it, what else am I going to do in the meantime?

 

[b fold the truth]

Buddy of mine said you got hurt...that is horrible man. I suggest buying some ThermaFlex from the nearest feed store or just from google. I've also heard good things about NeedTo's balm as well although I've never used any myself.

Probably a fiber tear...which heals but hurts and doesn't require surgery. You still have a pec there, which is a good thing. The ThermaFlex will help a lot with the pain and the healing process. Do you have any bands? I'd be doing one armed band chest press all the time with as little tension as possible to keep everything moving in there.

 

[axismundi]

Christ on a stick that makes ME hurt!

 

[Sub-Zero]

IGF-1 injections? anyone?

 

[the_alcatraz]

Buddy of mine said you got hurt...that is horrible man. I suggest buying some ThermaFlex from the nearest feed store or just from google. I've also heard good things about NeedTo's balm as well although I've never used any myself.

Probably a fiber tear...which heals but hurts and doesn't require surgery. You still have a pec there, which is a good thing. The ThermaFlex will help a lot with the pain and the healing process. Do you have any bands? I'd be doing one armed band chest press all the time with as little tension as possible to keep everything moving in there.

I tried doing that today with a band..I shrieked from pain couldnt do it

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Damn bro good luck with the recovery, that sounds awful and I know you were beastin it up with the weights and the arm wrestling.

One thing about icing, I wouldnt do 20 on/20 off. I would do 10 on, 45 off. You only need about 10 min of ice to shrink the tissue and blood vessels, and then you want new blood and fluid to enter and drain everything out for about 45min. Then repeat. Just my .02

 

[ceo]

ice for 10 minutes, off for 15-20 minutes, repeat. You could also alternate ice/heat for 10/10. For heat, you can take a towel right out of a super hot dryer. Fold it a couple times to keep it hot longer - even better if it's just a bit damp still. Or you can use a heating pad on low. Not really necessary to do the heat, but it would feel good.

 

[the_alcatraz]

naproxen twice a day with food and rubbing voltaren 3 times a day..icing 2-3 times a day two....slight improvement in range of motion

 

[b fold the truth]

Just keep working that ROM...it will come back in leaps and bounds!

 

[oso0960]

Damn bro I'm sorry to hear that. you gotta remember though that the body is pretty fuckin impressive. Give it the time and rest it needs there's no rush. Yeah you'll get smaller and weaker, but shit happens. You'll also get bigger and stronger just as quickly. I know you'll be reppin 455 when you're back in the game.

 

[the_alcatraz]

I can move my arm up to shoulder height now and a little inwards....the discoloration is decreasing everyday...pain, however is still there...and lots of it

 

[Sub-Zero]

pics? did u get MRI or anything on it? whatd the doc say?

 

[hurricane]

glad to hear its starting to show some improvement .looked wicked at first glance..keep the updates comming and i hope u keep healing !

 

[RADAR]

Its most Certainly a Tear, You need to get an MRI and later on if your still having problems you may need to get a static electical test done that determines how many nerves were torn. Hate to say it ,i had something similar and it took be a little over a year before i was healed about 60%. Take care of it, IGF may offer faster relief,sure wouldn't hurt.

 

[Rachel...lol]

Wishing you a speedy recovery brotha. xo

 

[ExtraMile]

ice/heat worked very well for me a few weeks ago when my tricep tendons started to get sore

20mins with an ice pack
then 20mins submerged in a hot bath

did this for hour total each night

3 days later the pain was completely gone

I agree with getting an MRI

 

[burnthiscorpse]

Keep your head up brother. I've been out of action for almost 9 months.
You will rise above.

 

[C0LUMB0]

Good luck with your recovery traz....take it easy for a while bro.
Am sure you could do a couple of leg days and liss cardio to keep the wheels turning.
Fight the urge to return to upper body training too soon....I see alot of folks walk into that mistake..including guys that should know better.

 

[the_alcatraz]

thanks guys....appreciate the positive feedback

 

[the_alcatraz]

pics? did u get MRI or anything on it? whatd the doc say?

pics in the very first post dude

 

[hardrock]

Sorry to hear bro. Best of luck and a speedy recovery!

 

[Sub-Zero]

pics in the very first post dude

i meant more pics

like more recent

how are u doing ?

 

[zedhed]

How you coming along Traz? Post up bro we all wanna know.
Best regards bro!

 

[Mr. dB]

Yeah, updates? Everything healing okay?

 

[the_alcatraz]

Hey guys, I've been healing faster than I thought. I still can't bench for another 1-2 months at least. Can't do any heavy lifting either. I can do light upper body workout and can go as heavy as I want on legs. Doing squats twice a week now.

 

[C0LUMB0]

Hey guys, I've been healing faster than I thought. I still can't bench for another 1-2 months at least. Can't do any heavy lifting either. I can do light upper body workout and can go as heavy as I want on legs. Doing squats twice a week now.

Good stuff traz, your quads are going to be shocked into some nice growth.
4-8 weeks aint that bad to have to hold off on bench - muscle memory is a great thing.
I would consider GVT when you start hitting chest again ,great for hypertrophy without having to go too heavy.
Good luck bro.

 

[the_alcatraz]

Good stuff traz, your quads are going to be shocked into some nice growth.
4-8 weeks aint that bad to have to hold off on bench - muscle memory is a great thing.
I would consider GVT when you start hitting chest again ,great for hypertrophy without having to go too heavy.
Good luck bro.

Thanks bro, appreciate the positive words.