I have been hindered for the past 3 years by an issue with my chest during bench press. I have not been able to hit a new max during this time because I getting a pulled pec about every 6 months. It occurs in the upper corner of the pec where it goes under the front delt. Almost in the armpit. It feels like a slight pull each time and if I leave it alone it will feel better in about 2-3 weeks.
If I push it the sharp pain gets worse with every movement. No tear or brusing occurs but it feels tender to the touch. I am not sure how to stop this from happening. I do static stretching after my bench workout and at night after a hot shower. I do a dynamic upper body workout and at least 6 sets of bench before I get to a work set. I’m real frustrated by this and it keeps happening.
I am looking for any advice on how to rehab this injury better and also how to keep it from occuring in the future.
Aqua Therapy, like contrast showers and hot cold pack contrasts
Those both consistantly for a few weeks and some time off from heavy pressing should help. Thats what helped me with pretty much the exact same thing it sounds like.
Aqua Therapy, like contrast showers and hot cold pack contrasts
Those both consistantly for a few weeks and some time off from heavy pressing should help. Thats what helped me with pretty much the exact same thing it sounds like.[/quote]
Thanks for the help. I will research both methods and incorporate them into my recovery program. I am willing to try anything so that I can find something or several things that help.
Aqua Therapy, like contrast showers and hot cold pack contrasts
Those both consistantly for a few weeks and some time off from heavy pressing should help. Thats what helped me with pretty much the exact same thing it sounds like.[/quote]
OK, so I know that the contrast showers should be post workout but when do you recommend that I do the band shoulder traction, pre or post?
Definitely post. Thats what worked best for me anyways. I still do it even though my pec is fine now. The cool down on pretty much every upper body session or recovery workout will have a few mins of traction in every direction.
With the contrast showers, I dont really know what the recommendation is, but twice a day worked well for me along with hot cold pack contrasts twice a day.
After about a week of doing those recovery methods exclusively, I added in high rep, reverse band bench presses. When I could get 100 with 135 and green bands I started slowly using real weight again.
I’ve had problems with recurring pec strains exactly as you are describing. Here’s what I have done to help solve the problem.
Improve shoulder flexibility, specifically stretching to an externally rotated position. I was really tight in this area and it tended to cause the pec to take more of the load. Stretch this everyday.
Stretch your pecs daily.
Decreased my benching frequency from twice a week to once a week.
Indian clubs. I got the 2.5 lb. version and use them a few times a week. They really mobilize the shoulders and are great to warm-up the shoulders and pecs before benching.
Deload every 3-4 weeks, even if everything feels fine.
No grinding out reps in training. Go heavy, but make sure you don’t overextend yourself.
For rehab, I did isometric push-up holds in various positions in the ROM, daily pec stretching, and very light DB flyes to stretch the pec. I also use the contrast showers.
I’ve had this exact problem quite a few times, but not in the last two years, and that involves a lot of heavy benching. Besides the pre-hab/post-hab stuff everyone else has mentioned, what I’ve done to help has been to bring my grip in a little and turn my flat bench into a bit more of a close-grip, with more elbow tucking. It’s when my elbows are out at the bottom that it really loads up that spot. Besides that, I’ve had to cut down the volume I do down to the chest, working in more 1 and 2 board benching. Or bands/chains. Good luck, it’s an aggravating injury.
Good feedback from all you guys. I have kinda started some of these things already after this injury came about last year. I bench 1 time a week and have a narrow grip compared to most benchers. I am training with 5/3/1 so I automatically have a deload every 4 weeks. I think that my recovery and flexability are the main issues here. My warmup could probably use some more work as well.
SRS - what are indian clubs, I am not familar with these.
I will keep with the contrast showers and shoulder traction ( which felt really good today). Less volume and no grinding on reps are going to be good changes as well. I think that when I start to grind my form gives out and the elbows come untucked.