I used the hack squat machine at the gym for the first time today and When I took off the my shirt I had several red lines on both of my shoulders and its been several hours since then and nothing has changed
is it normal? did I break some tiny blood vessels or something? looks weird
I believe broken blood vessels actually look like there is blood pooling up beneath the skin area, and it looks purple-ish. Your blood is actually purple (turns red when it has contact with oxygen - i.e. when you have a scab and blood is flowing outside of your skin), so I don’t think you broke any blood vessels. I’d imagine that would hurt/be more obvious as well. The red lines seem like they would just be some intense impressions left by the shoulder plates on the hack squat machine.
I’m no expert however, this is just off the top of my head.
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
i have done several things at the gym that have left red marks, scraped me, cut me, made me bleed, made me dizzy…don’t sweat it.
that’s when you toughen up.
good fucking work!!
[quote]mafzal4 wrote:
I believe broken blood vessels actually look like there is blood pooling up beneath the skin area, and it looks purple-ish. Your blood is actually purple (turns red when it has contact with oxygen - i.e. when you have a scab and blood is flowing outside of your skin), so I don’t think you broke any blood vessels. I’d imagine that would hurt/be more obvious as well. The red lines seem like they would just be some intense impressions left by the shoulder plates on the hack squat machine.
I’m no expert however, this is just off the top of my head.[/quote]
Actually your blood is always red. When you get your blood drawn It is red and it hasn’t contacted oxygen yet. It appears blue/purple in your veins because thats just the only pigment that makes it through the skin. I used to think the same thing till i took anatomy.
Anyways do the red lines hurt? Are they getting worse?
The color of blood depends on whether it is oxygen rich or depleted of oxygen. For example blood traveling to the heart would be “red” and blood traveling away would be purple cause the heart used up its oxygen.
"Blood in the arteries is bright red from the oxygen content, blood in the veins is dark red from the lack of oxygen. Blood in veins can look “blue” when viewed through the skin because of light refraction and other factors.
When a person donates blood, it comes from a vein, not an artery. It is also not exposed to air, or it would be contaminated and need to be disposed of. It also happens to be dark red, NOT blue.
The common misconception of “blue” blood is continued due to textbook illustrators use of blue and red to differentiate arteries and veins. "
[quote]B rocK wrote:
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
i have done several things at the gym that have left red marks, scraped me, cut me, made me bleed, made me dizzy…don’t sweat it.
that’s when you toughen up.
good fucking work!![/quote]
lol my shins almost started bleeding during dead lifts lol 
[quote]Petermus wrote:
B rocK wrote:
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
i have done several things at the gym that have left red marks, scraped me, cut me, made me bleed, made me dizzy…don’t sweat it.
that’s when you toughen up.
good fucking work!!
lol my shins almost started bleeding during dead lifts lol :P[/quote]
Come to think of it, my forearm got a red mark a couple inches long while dead lifting. It didn’t hurt and went away in a day.
I occasionally use the hack squat machine and will get those same marks on my shoulders. I don’t think that it is anything to be concerned about.
I would say that the cause is from a combination of compression of shirt, skin and weight along the design of the pad (because you don’t get those marks when you squat right?).
no I dont get any marks when I squat
[quote]Petermus wrote:
I used the hack squat machine at the gym for the first time today and When I took off the my shirt I had several red lines on both of my shoulders and its been several hours since then and nothing has changed
is it normal? did I break some tiny blood vessels or something? looks weird [/quote]
par for the course…
I get that every time I use the hack squat…
I get it all the time I do anything that puts pressure on my traps…squats,hack squat, standing calf raise machine… I always thought it was broke blood vessels
[quote]Petermus wrote:
no I dont get any marks when I squat[/quote]
use more weight… Then repost.
[quote]inthego wrote:
Petermus wrote:
no I dont get any marks when I squat
use more weight… Then repost.[/quote]
Thank you, inthego.
This has all been amusing. Anytime your body gets pushed up against the edge of a pad (hack, standing calf, heavy benching) you have a good chance for lines/bruising if the weight you are using is heavy. Same goes with the bar when squatting heavy. Shoulders when doing cleans. Shins can get beat to hell deadlifting. Calluses form, sometimes even tear off.
Consider all these badges of honor.
Completely normal (and harmless) when you’re starting out. I’ve experienced a couple different varieties: the red lines you’ve described, patches of small red spots, along with bruising.
It’ll clear up in a couple days, after a month or two your body will get accustomed to the exercise and they’ll appear much less frequently.