Nagging injury holding me back. need advice

[Amorphic]

So long story short i was doing heavy barbell shrugs and heavy chest day about 2 months ago. everything felt good at the time but a few days later i started to feel a large amount of pain where my left trap connects to my shoulder and along my collarbone/shoulder.

Ive been taking it easy on my chest for about 2 months now as well as my traps, avoiding any heavy movements to let whatever i did heal. Oddly enough i can do incline bench with no problems but if i do decline or flat the pain in my trap/shoulder flares up and im down for the count again.

What did i do? Tear my trap or pull something in my shoulder?

Ive been thinking about getting on some gh to help speed up the recovery but im running low on options here. Every time i feel like its healed up i do some light flat bench or decline and it flares up again.

so frustrating.

[Amorphic]

bump

[Big]

That sucks, I'd see a doc and get it checked out.

[bass]

i had a similar problem, but only limited my shoulder and traps workout, i still have minor pain when i flex my traps but its almost gone. what i did is i go to my chiropractor, he almost made me cry as he dug into my muscles using his elbow, damn that was painful! but its worth it, now i can workout with no problem. so like Big said, see a doc...good luck bro.

[TheSentinal]

Same thing going on with me. Mine happened doing lat pull downs. Pain was so bad i could barely hold my head up. Advil helped. I have been doing light weights on back days and it drives me crazy. Pain has moved more into my side neck so I think it is healing. Lesson learned - warm up well. I was a dumb ass and sat down and went heavy. I think I also jerked the bar due to the weight.

[lovbyts]

I have a chiropractor like that. I like him even though he hurts me. Also a GOOD massage therapist works. I mostly like massage from good looking Asian girls but they just dont have the strength for what i need sometime. lol

You need someone who really knows how to get in DEEP. Also take it easy. Mine still hurts after 1 year but stretching before doing any lifting is helping.

[NVR2BIG1]

yes, exact same injury happened to me a year ago, thought I broke my damn collar bone. Right where the collar bone connects to the trap/upper pec area. It happened from doing heavy barbell shrugs. And I could do incline but not flat or decline, just like you. It took a bout a good 6-8 wks for that thing to heal, God I remember how bad it sucked too. I came back about 6-8 months later with bigger traps than I ever had before. You know how I got them? Holding 45 lb plates and doing full range of motion shrugs and holding them and squeezing at the top. No more 4-500 lb barbell shrugs, its retarded. That shit if for show, the traps are not huge muscles like the pecs or legs, no need for crazy weight. Mine respond better to squeeze and range of motion. I use the 45's you can grab(the ones w/ the holes in them) I feel them better than dumbbells, I think because the plates ride closer to my body and more in line with the trap muscles themselves. But your collar bone is actually suspended in place by cartilidge if I'm not mistaken. You sound like you tore some cartilidge and it will heal. Just take it easy and train a little lighter for the next few months. And dont ignore shrugs, but do them super light and work on that ROM.

[over812]

I just got done rehabbing the same injury. I could do incline but not flat bench or decline without pain. Thought for sure it was my rotator cuff. Saw an ortho and had a hi res MRI which showed a fray to the end of my labrum, (Shoulder) and my bursa had been compressed from years of micro injuries.

No surgery needed, just 6 months of rehab with cables and very light dumbells. I feel back to normal now but I stay away from the flat bench. I was big on the cryo therapy. I bought one of those monster ice pads and slapped it on my shoulder for 25 minutes after every workout for 8 weeks. Stretching is also a must to keep your range of motion.

Good luck!

[Amorphic]

I just got done rehabbing the same injury. I could do incline but not flat bench or decline without pain. Thought for sure it was my rotator cuff. Saw an ortho and had a hi res MRI which showed a fray to the end of my labrum, (Shoulder) and my bursa had been compressed from years of micro injuries.

No surgery needed, just 6 months of rehab with cables and very light dumbells. I feel back to normal now but I stay away from the flat bench. I was big on the cryo therapy. I bought one of those monster ice pads and slapped it on my shoulder for 25 minutes after every workout for 8 weeks. Stretching is also a must to keep your range of motion.

Good luck!

interesting, thanks for the input, when i am less busy i am going to get an MRI done to see what the issue is. since i originally posted this i still have mild problems with the injury. i still cant do flat or decline but almost all my strength is back on incline and basically every other exercise and range of motion is fine. overall its been a very bad injury thats set my chest back at least half a year if not more compared to where i should be.

thus is the nature of the beast though