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03-25-2006, 04:47 PM
| #1 (permalink) | |
| Moderator Rank: Light Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years  Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: CA
Posts: 3,860
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Gender:   |  Pec Tear w/ PICS! Well fellas, for those of you who haven't been following the soap opera called, "0311 is screwed from birth", I have a minor pec tear of my left pectoralis. I got it from flat barbell pressing. I've been successfully benching for the past 9 years without a problem, with a max of 405x2 back in September. But, I consider myself very lucky. In case anyone's wondering, I was only pressing 325 for (3x5). Nothing near my max. The first set of 5 was nothing..After doing 8 warmup/acclimation sets. My second set, about the third rep, I felt a wierd ripping sensation. It wasn't painful whatsoever, and I can describe it like pulling the fat off of chicken when preparing it. My doctor described what happened like this: Picture having 50 rubber bands that are all in line stretched out. Now take a pair of scissors and cut 5 of them. Those cut bands are now balled up. The good news is that since my chest is good to go aside from a piece of my lower chest, over time it'll reconnect and heal. Here's a pic: http://www.savefile.com/files/8026774 Now, why do I consider myself lucky? Since my tear, I've been doing a ton of research into pec tears with Pub Med, ect. In EVERY case of a actual pec tear (which is rare to begin with), the cause was accredited to the FLAT barbell bench press. Coincidence?....Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it's a measure of risk vs. reward. So I now ask myself, can I still keep growing out my chest without flat barbell?...Yup. From now on, the only flat pressing I'm going to do is with dumbbells. Lesson learned. I'd honestly be too scared to try flat pressing again, worried about retearing my pecs. I'm posting this just to make sure everyone at least learns from what happened to me. I'm NOT saying to dump flat barbell pressing!..Like I said, I had a good run of heavy flat pressing for over 9 years. What I am saying is to keep in the back of your minds to listen to your body when doing this exercise. My first set of 5 reps felt very tight in my outer pec area. I didn't listen and now I'm screwed for the next month (at least). Here's a quote from Dante that sums this subject up: Quote:
My plan now is to go to physical therapy, keep blasting legs twice a week, and cardio in-between. Resting and eating Vicodin on a per day basis.  EDIT: I've just reread this whole thread and I don't see anything about the Superdrol I was taking at the time. By far and large, I'm pretty certain the SD was the only thing I've done any differently in my nine years lifting...It isn't a coincidence that I'm not the only one listing a tear as a side effect from the SD neither..  Last edited by Darkhorse; 04-17-2006 at 02:57 AM. | |
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03-25-2006, 04:57 PM
| #2 (permalink) | |
| Moderator Rank: Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,044
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Gender: | Quote:
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03-25-2006, 05:56 PM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Light Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: CA
Posts: 3,860
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Gender: | One more thing....In case anyone's thinking about it, I always put my pinkey's on the rings of the bar. Never, ever do I use a wider grip for a hundred reasons.. Verb, I just posted pics in the first post. Basically, the bruising first appeared at the site of the injury...Only a few days after the trauma. As of now, my left pec is twice the size of my right. The doc told me that's because there's a lot of fluid (blood) under the pec that hasn't surfaced yet. When a muscle tears, it bleeds, which is why the second it happens, you need to put ice on it to control the bleeding. What did I do?...I did 4 sets of JS Rows because I didn't want to waste the day.  Consequently, not a very good choice! |
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03-25-2006, 09:10 PM
| #8 (permalink) |
| Administrator Rank: Lightweight Experience: 3-5 Years  Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Midwest
Posts: 1,219
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Gender: | Sucks that it actually did turn out to be a tear. I think we all had a hunch that it was a tear by how you were describing the hard lump in the shoutbox, that seemed to be a dead giveaway along with the bruising you got a few days later. On a more positive look, be thankful you don't need to have surgery to get it repaired. Thats a whole nother can of worms you luckily won't have to open. Hope you have a speedy recovery. |
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03-25-2006, 09:31 PM
| #9 (permalink) |
| Moderator Rank: Light Heavyweight Experience: 7-10 Years Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: CA
Posts: 3,860
Country:
Gender: | Thanks all. I was reading up on this and think I may only have a grade I tear. Muscle strains/tears are graded according to the degree of muscle fibers involved. Grade I: overstretching of a few muscle fibers with less than 10 percent actual fibers tearing. No palpable defect in the muscle. Grade II: a partial tear of the muscle fibers usually between 10 and 50 percent of the fibers. A definite palpable defect in the muscle belly. Grade III: an extensive tear or complete rupture of the muscle fibers. From 50 to 100 percent destruction. Very large palpable depression in the muscle. The muscle may be torn away completely. There is no possibility of normal contraction. There's no defect in the muscle, and only a tiny lump. Judging by this, I think it's Grade A. HOPEFULLY!! Probably between a I and II. The surgeon will know more. |
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03-26-2006, 05:50 AM
| #10 (permalink) |
| Rank: Lightweight Experience: 3-5 Years  Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,385
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Gender: | I had a Grade II!!!  I wish you a speedy recovery bro...I know from the short time I've been here that time away from the gym would absolutely drive you nuts. In the words of a great man, Ronnie Coleman once said...."[This injury] ain't nothin but a peanut.......yeeaaaaaahhhhhhhhh buuuuuuudddddaaaaaayyyyy......booooooo" |
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