Well. Since I’ve seen a few posts about injuries around here I though I’d post mine here too. First let me apologise for any spelling mistakes that I might make.
The story:
I was lifting on a Saturday, and it was time for my squats. I usally do them on a machine that locks the movement, so that I can’t fall back or forward with the weight. I just goes up and down. I have only been activly training in a gym for months, and only squatting for a month or two. So I thought I’d do it on the machine the first months, then jump over to doing it without the support of the machine. Anywho, I think I layed too much weight on the bar. Because when I was going up it was really heavy, my head was all red and I was really barely managing it. (We’re not talking about any weight at all, but notice that I hadn’t be squatting before. We’re talking… 50kgs / 110 pounds.)
When I got up my back really hurt. It was painful all over my back becuause of the effort I had to make trying to get the weight up. This slipped away in a matter of minues though. But in the minutes I had it it really hurt.
…
On Monday at 2 PM something strange happens. Suddenly in class my right upper back starts to hurt really badly. I think I did some movement with my arm. I can honestly not remember more than that it suddenly hurt like hell. Luckily school was soon over. This pain in my upper back, I’ve had it for three weeks and one day now. And I’m getting damn sick of it. I have not seeked any medical help yet. It has of course been going better over the last three weeks. But it’s still going really slow. If I had to make an estimation in numbers I’d guess I am about 1/3 better than I was.
Now about the pain:
I believe it is in a muscle a bit inside of my upper right back. You know the big bone on your right and left upper back? Picture the left edge of the right bone. It’s righ in there. It hurts on some movements, running, jumping are particulary painful. I believe it might be something with a muscle there. Like a sprain or something? Though I am by far sure.
I’m no physical therapist and just going on what you’re saying without being able to actually check it out doesn’t help either so this is just thinking out loud here. It doesn’t sound to me like the heavy squats caused this directly off hand. Most lifting injuries seem to hurt right from the time they happen and you say it was 2 days later that the persistent pain started.
However it does sound like you strained the muscle during the workout leaving it susceptible to being pulled by the movement in class you mentioned which normally you may have not even noticed. In other words a 2 step process. It being weakened under the bar and finishing the job in class.
An UPPER back strain indicates to me horrendous squatting form frankly. I don’t mean that as an insult at all, but most times people hurt their lower back doing squats and it would seem that you must have been all outta whack to have strained something that high and almost certainly your shoulders were forward though of course I wasn’t there.
There’s probably not much you can do to get it healed other than basically be careful and rest it which is, I’m sure, exactly what you didn’t want to hear, but if you don’t you may wind up doing more serious damage. Again, don’t base your recovery on what I’ve said, just tryin to be helpful. The take home lesson here is: let your ability and not your ego or what you THINK you should be able lift determine how much weight you try to move.
Always go lighter than you may want to when learning new movements. You can always add more once you see what you can do.
–Tiribulus->
EDIT: One other note. I sure as hell don’t know everything, but one thing I can tell you for certain. NEVER mistake the poundages you can move on ANY machine with what you’ll be able to safely move with freeweights EVER. I don’t care if it’s the super zootiest wondertron rig developed by the finest bio mechanical minds in the universe. The weight will never translate directly to the freeweight movement it’s designed to copy. Start low and work up.
Oh no. It’s exactly what I want to hear, if it’s what you think. I’m gonna read up on squatting before I make another attempt then. Thanks =)
I have worked out once since I got the injury, and it hurt too much to go again. Not going to the gym is extremely boring. Luckily I’m in a state now where normal day events do not hurt anymore, though lifting will. And running still hurts a bit. I think I read something about ice and muscle sprains, so I’m gonna go try that now.
Sounds like you may have strained some part of your trapezius. Maybe due to using poor form in the gym, maybe due to having stress in life, maybe both.
My traps used to get very tight when I had stress and sometimes the simplest move like lifting an arm would cause the “hot needles” feeling of straining or pulling a muscle and then the resultant ache for a week or two.
I’ve since learned to stretch and relax the area when necessary.
[quote]Tmmmey wrote:
Oh no. It’s exactly what I want to hear, if it’s what you think. I’m gonna read up on squatting before I make another attempt then. Thanks =)
I have worked out once since I got the injury, and it hurt too much to go again. Not going to the gym is extremely boring. Luckily I’m in a state now where normal day events do not hurt anymore, though lifting will. And running still hurts a bit. I think I read something about ice and muscle sprains, so I’m gonna go try that now.
Thanks for advice again.
[/quote]
The barbell squat, while one of the most overall results producing excercises does require precise form, even more so than most others. You can flat out maim youself with enough weight and poor form.
I saw a guy years ago get pitched forward (low back gave way) with 6 hundreds + the bar half way down on his first rep and if not for the quick thinking of his 2 buddies he was going down with all that weight on top of him. They managed to pull it back enough so that he just dumped it on the floor behind him and fell on all fours.
Get somebody who knows what they’re doing to help you. Your enthusiasm will get you far, but just make sure it’s harnessed with some healthy caution.
I’m gonna take some time reading guides and guidelines to deadlifting and sqatting before trying them again. Not that I ever deadlift much.
And a Trapezius stretch sounds very accurate, the lower part it oughta be. Because I feel no pain in the upper part of it. Ice works pretty well on it, so I’m gonna do that a few times a day.
I have a few questions more for you all, reply if you know anything at all:
Is stretching Trapezius possible? (stretching as in making for flexible.)
Should I wait untill I am fully recovered untill I go back to activity, or should I perhaps try to be in activity in a few days? (jogging, walking, jumping, not lifting.)
Again, thanks for the help T-nationers. What would I do without you.
Hopefully one of the physical therapists who float around here will see this and maybe give you some more knowledgable advice. I’m hesitant to recommend anything other than rest to get over this because I’m not qualified and even if I was not being able to examine it leaves us with educated guesses at best.
I’m betting on one of the smaller muscles being the culprit here though. Rhomboids or infraspinatus maybe. They’re just easier to pull with offbeat sudden movements being that they’re smaller. Any muscle can be pulled, but the traps are pretty meaty, relatively speaking and the way they attach it just seems like it would be more difficult to do this kind of thing to them. I keep speaking in plural, but if I remember right I think the trapezius is actually classified as one muscle.
In the absence of professional opinion I’d err on the side of caution and not do anything that makes it hurt. When it stops hurting and you decide to train again go easy and pay close attention to that area. Any sign of discomfort and I’d stop immediately if it was me.
Reading and getting some good info is a great idea, but there’s no substitute for help. In the gym where you train ask around.
There’s probably somebody who can help you learn some basic movements properly. A personal trainer would be great for a little while, but if you can’t afford or find a good one most gyms have got some guys (or girls )willing to help new folks. Just make sure you’re careful. The guy who’s tripping over himself in a rush to share his wealth of training wisdom with you may not have any idea what he’s talking about. In any case you can never go wrong starting light and working your way up.
Good news. Strangely enough these three-four days I have recovered a lot, just as much as the past weeks. And now I barely feel it, unless I run at max speed. Gonna try going to the gym to work out my legs next week and see how that goes, and perhaps the week after try with my arms.
)willing to help new folks. Just make sure you’re careful. The guy who’s tripping over himself in a rush to share his wealth of training wisdom with you may not have any idea what he’s talking about. In any case you can never go wrong starting light and working your way up.