What do you guys think, please help?

[Nitro32]

I've been reading this board for a little over a year, and thought I would finally post.

My problem is, I am pretty sure that I tore or at least had a partial tear of my minor pectoral muscle on my right side. I did it March '03 and took a week off and then carried on for about 7 months working out with it. It caused me no pain whatsoever in my workouts but it was hard to sleep at night on my left side. I also got a hell of a lot stronger during those 7 months, I finally did a 1 rep max. of 300 lbs. on the bench in Oct., the day after I decided to take some time off and let the **** heal. I took 4 months off not doing jack****, not even cardio, and lost 20 lbs. I've seen about 4 different doctors, the only thing they came up with was after reviewing my MRI, my chest was fine, but they could not rule out a tear or partial tear of the minor pectoral muscle on my right side. It is feeling better, but the pain is still there every now and again such as lying in bed or watching tv, but working out I feel fine. This sucks, I am depressed as hell because i just started working out again and I am weak as hell, barely benching what I did in high school, and i lost all my gains over the last year. After that 1 rep. max in Oct. I knew i was on the verge of breaking thru a plateau too. Anyway, I just want to see what you guys think. I was thinking about taking more time off for my chest, even though i started up again, and just concentrating mostly on legs. Thinking about waiting until May to do chest again, or just keep training very light? I'm not a bench freak, but i've never been a real good bencher, and i was finally getting good gains. Anybody's reply would be greatly appreciated.

-Nitro

[Psycoswole]

Well i wouldnt get too down bro because of a blessing called muscle memory. Its a lot easier to rebuild muscle that was once there. I also wouldnt fret much about the strength thing it will come back in due time. Unless your in it for powerlifting its about how you look and feel dont judge your w/os by the weight you push, thats an ego thing. Anyway if i were in your shoes id keep up a solid routine focus more on perfect form and concentrating on the movement so you can rebuild those reinforcement muscles. Try some light weight stretching exercises and take note where you begin to feel pain so you comment to your doc about it. Look up some good rotator cuff exercises and other commonly injured bps in the upper chest region and incorporate those in to the routine. Anyway let us know how its progressing

[Nitro32]

Hey thanks, for the reply Psyco, my doctor showed me a few stretches to do before working out. I think I'll take your advice and concentrate more on my form with lighter weight and do more dbs for my bench right now instead of as much barbell that I was doing. I know it is going to be awhile before i can get back to where I was before, but I will get there, till then I'm all Legzzz.

[animal-inside]

Nitro- anatomically the pectoralis minor is a small muscle that plays a SMALL role in a chest exercise.. the major function of the PM is too elavate your ribs cage allowing more air in during forcefull hard breathing..
To me I think it has become a mental thing not a physical set back.. anatomically ur PM should not hold you back at all if you can tolerate the pain..

holy turd my university anatomy and physiology course finally paid off

[joevette]

I've been in your shoes before, and depending on where in the chest you are hurting it might not be a tear at all. I would think that after that much time without aggrivating or reinjuring it it should have healed. It could be inflamation, like mine was, if the pain is towards the outside of the pec. Here's what worked for me: anti-inflamitories (prescription strength ibuprofen or even vioxx), very light chest work 1-2 times per week (like 5 lb flies for 5 sets of 20) then ice the area for 20 minutes 2-3 times a day. A little massage after the light work helps to break up adheasions in the muscle fibers. Then slowly work into benching again when you feel comfortable. Also, make sure you're not overworking your chest, that always inflames mine.
Hope this helps.

[joevette]

Oh yeah,
All that stuff is also good for actual pec tears too, not just inflamation.