Asymmetrical Muscle Activation/Pump

Training Injuries
1

Approximately two months ago I started running consistently and aggravated an old high school back injury, which at the time was nothing major. Suddenly I began to experience muscle stimulation and pump more intensely on the right side than on the left. This happens during all training, lower body included.

I have symmetrical strength and size, but the stimulation/pump isn’t. I have a close friend who is a successful Licensed Massage Therapist and we began to do some rehab, and he found some old scar tissue in my lower back just above L2/L3 as well as some newer scar tissue a bit higher on the right side.

This issue developed suddenly and it has not happened prior to a 6-8 weeks ago. I have taken the past 6 weeks off, hoping rest might help, but since resuming training this past week I am experiencing it again.

I was unfamiliar with the potential causes for something like this and wanted to see if someone else had experienced this and had success dealing with it.

2

Hello, I see your post is dating back to January so I don’t know if you are around anymore. But the muscle activation/pump issue you speak of- I am familiar with this- if it is what I think you are talking about. If your pelvis is not sqaare (pointing straight ahead) then your 2 legs- each are at a difference mechanical advantage when say squatting or doing leg presses or even walking. The same thing can happen to arms. I learned this from a book called “The malaalignment Syndrome”. I have the same problem.