Klunfky's picture
Klunfky
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Pec strain. Suggestions?

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Hey everyone, looking for some help/advice here on the topic of a pec strain/possible minor tear.
About a year ago exactly I had the same issue that I believe was a minor pec tear. Never saw a doctor, just rested at home. Took months to heal and get back to heavy weight training and didn’t feel 100% until a few months ago
Today, was flat benching and worked up to 315 for sets of 5. Backed down and was doing 225 for 20’s for a burn out. On my second set, about half way through I felt a pop followed by immediate pain and barely got the bar re racked by myself. Keep in mind I was being stupid and not doing slow controlled reps, it was more explosive training. I currently still have range of motion with my arm, but any stretching back/attempt to flex the muscle causes about 7/10 pain. Not unbearably severe but more than moderate. Currently no bruising yet, and the injury happened ~2 hours ago.
Also currently on week 6 of my 600mg test 400mg deca cycle. Stats are 6’3 260lbs, unknown BF% but visible abs and vascularity
So here I am looking for advice/suggestions. Should I drop all the gear and go to my prescribed TRT dose? Consider supplements like BPC157/MK677 to help the healing process? Go see a doctor for confirmation of what’s actually going on? And any time estimates of what my recovery is looking like. Any feedback is appreciated, thanks guys. Sad day for me… was bulking for 275 this winter going for a 405 bench PR this year

Klunfky's picture

Update for anyone that cares:
Confirmed tear that is 5.1cm in my pec major muscle.
MRI has shown that insertions are intact and there is no damage to the tendons. According to the doc, I simply have a partial tear isolated in the pec major muscle itself. No surgery required just rehab. I have a pic of the MRI but can’t upload it here without making a new post.
It’s been 7 weeks since the injury. Doctor said 6-8 weeks from initial injury I can start doing light upper body exercises.
I’ve been doing cable weight stack machine presses with like 20lbs on, and still start feeling an aching/tearing sensation when I start getting in the 10-20 rep range.
Been using BPC 157 daily since about 1 week from the injury.
Any other suggestions aside from stretching/pumping the muscle full of blood with light weight?

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press1's picture

Does the Tear run vertically downwards or horizontal mate? I'd be interested to see the MRI scan if you could it up on a separate post? Great news that there is no tendon damage - have you still been running any gear in the meantime or have you come off out of interest to healing times?

I was wondering just the other night how this was all going for you.

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press1's picture

In terms of training again, this is the way that I did it. I am not advising to do it this way but I found it worked well for me even if it sounds a bit risky lol. I waited about 3 to 4 weeks after I had the injury, then at first I would simply have my empty barbell in the catches and lean 45 degrees into the barbell so I was effectively pressing down onto it at an angle. I would simply start off narrow with my hand spacing then gradually space them apart to a bench press spacing the more I got warmed up and the less tight my chest felt as I went down. I did these for 1 or 2 sessions then progressed to pressing the bar laid on the bench as per usual bench press set up. You will notice there is a distinct tight feeling as you get closer down to your chest with the bar. As it start to get tight I would then go no lower than this height and simply press it back up. Over the coming weeks I would begin putting weight onto the bar and building that up, setting the safety racks at the side so the bar could not lower past a certain point in case the worst happened and it tore again. You can feel where the point is that you should be stopping it at. Each session after I would then lower the safety racks at the side and bring the bar down lower to my chest around an inch each time till eventually I was hitting my chest again and was back to normal. This is very much a go by feeling exercise though and you must make sure you never have any painkillers in you before doing this as you need to be fully aware of where it starts to get tight again. There is no doubt in my mind that it heals up a LOT faster when you train the area and drink a protein shake afterwards rather than just sitting back and waiting for it to heal again. All the time scar tissue is forming also and by training (not excessively) you are keeping it supple and elasticated and not allowing it to form hard tissue that is more prone to tearing again. Just like if you have ever torn a hamstring the idea is to keep stretching and exercising it so it does not form back tightly again.

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Klunfky's picture

I agree, much better to actually work the muscle rather than let it heal all right with scar tissue. I’ll try this technique you mentioned along with hammering the machines with little to no weight high reps, thanks brotha

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press1's picture

Yeh just go slow and steady, you will know when its healing as you can bring your arms further back without it hurting and feeling tight over time till eventually it becomes non existent. Get a spiky massage ball too that you can lean against the wall on through out the day to roll over on your chest - the spikes help loosen scar tissue and bring blood to the area. I would often do it in the kitchen when I was waiting for food to cook! lol

Here's a pack with some good sizes - the mediums are best to use as they can get deeper into the muscle tissue:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ResultSport%C2%AE-Pack-Reflexology-Myofasical-E...

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Klunfky's picture

Interesting question. Although never confirmed I’m gonna say horizontally? Based on the pictures and feeling. Never thought to ask that haha. Came off all the gear aside from TRT, mk677 and bpc157 for healing benefits. Considering adding low dose npp/deca. Tough mental game considering I was approaching peak physique and strength of my life and now I’m a sloppy 265. I’ll post up the picture for ya right now

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press1's picture

Bud when I did my tear I was 1 kg off surpassing my all time PR on bench, I had been hammering Tren and Adrol for months feeling like shit constantly for it all just to be wiped away in an instant because I had not left it another day to heal. All the 'If only's come into your head for the rest of the year, its just the way it goes mate. Somethings are unexplained as to why they happen but you just have to accept that they have. TB 500 is another one that is supposed to be good run alongside BPC 157 too.

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Caeser's picture

Stop training the muscle with heavy weight; perhaps no weight at all just body weight. Work range of motion & mobility of the area. Massage therapy + fascial release + scraping. Strengthen the other surrounding muscles. Make sure your getting your proper micronutrients & electrolytes. TB500 + BPC157 are effective in my experience..as is low dose HGH.

press1's picture

Hi Mate - Do you have any further news on this from the doctor or scans?

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Klunfky's picture

Started with an x ray (stupid Ofcourse because doesn’t show what’s really going on but guess that’s “typical procedure”
X ray showed “acromioclavicular joint space widening”
Met with an orthopedic who reviewed the X-rays and did a physical exam. Claims the widening can be due to a partial tendon tear and after a physical exam claimed there seems to be asymmetry, but unknown to what extent.
MRI is ordered to be done in 9 days to see what’s actually going on and to what extent. Also supposed to start physical therapy but have held off on that for now.
Still in pain, haven’t done any lifting aside from cardio/light legs. I personally believe it’s a partial tendon tear, as my pec is still intact and I can flex it again, but there is pain “deep” behind the tissue right in the front armpit region where it connects to the shoulder.
That’s all I got so far,
oh and some depression

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press1's picture

Sorry to hear this man, I guess its a waiting game then unless you begin the therapy. I think it would be worth pursuing the healing peptides in the meantime as suggested below, anything to get the ball rolling in the healing department. When I have had injuries I have pre occupied myself with trying to get rid of a little of the pain each day just in consuming more collagen peptides, protein, stretching exercises once they give a list to you etc When I did my pec in the first exercise I did was where you lean forward at an angle onto a barbell on a bench rack and push yourself back from it then progress from there. I guess you can only really do this if you have a bench at home tho. Just these little things help blood flow again in the area and really do speed up healing time. Get a spiky massage ball too to roll against the wall on. If you aren't friends with him add T-Raww18 to your contacts as he is going through the same kind of thing too, I think his full tear was in the same area.

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Klunfky's picture

Appreciate all the advice man I’ll keep it all in mind. Been hand massaging in the sauna to get some blood flow going, and light stretches so far. Already ordered BPC 157 so, hoping it lives up to the hype.

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eighty7's picture

REDACTED

If it's a problem mainly with your pec and not a tendon then you need TB500.

Ohyo2247's picture

I've done this same simular thing to both sides at different times and I can tell you bpc-157 will help but time and rehab will.be the only thing out side of a doctor visit you can do.What I did was start all.over once the pain went away with 25s on each side of the Smith Machine and just worked through the discomfort and got it to feel normal again just time and rehab unfortunately

Bearded_muscle's picture

Also, stop flat barbell benching heavy. It’s a bit dumb. Wanna go heavy? Hit the dumbbells. I was listening to an interview with hany rambod and he said the same, high rate of pec tears on that lift. Incline BB a couple inches shy of the chest, dumbbell presses any way you like, machines and smith to your hearts content.

Bill1976's picture

See a docotor before you end up out for a whole year from the gym. It takes years to build lots of muscle but onky takes a second to destroy it.

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press1's picture

First off does the pain emanate from the same area that you injured previously?
Secondly bruising can begin to develop as soon as 12hrs but can take up to 4 days to show I have found so do not be tempted to do anything in the meantime that will strain this area until you know whether bleeding has occurred or not, if there is no bleeding it is likely just a strain and not a tear. If you got away with it and it is just a strain then let it heal for at least 2 weeks.
If it were me I would stay on cycle for the meantime until you know what has happened, staying on gear will also allow the muscle to heal quicker than just running a TRT level test dose. You need to see what develops over the next several days. From my experience of pec tears if you visibly heard the 'Pop' sound followed by immediate sharp pain, and now pain when you pull your arm backwards I would say unfortunately it is a pec tear mate probably around Grade 1 to 2. Luckily it is not a tendon off the bone or big rupture. A sudden loss of strength is also a sign of a tear as you can no longer apply proper force to the bar no matter how hard you try.

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Klunfky's picture

Yes the pain is in the same pec and same area as previously injured. I was wearing headphones so I could not hear any “Pop” but it was definitely felt, along with instant pain and weakness. The pec does not currently look deformed like how you see on the videos online of bodybuilders tearing during a lift. With the suggestion of staying on gear, say I see a doctor and they diagnose it as a tear, would you still stay on cycle? Or only use the gear to aid in the healing of a strain. I’m considering lowering the dose to just 300 test 150 deca in the mean time

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press1's picture

It sounds like you could have re-torn the scar tissue that formed from the last injury, scar tissue is not as supple as normal muscle so is more likely to tear again as opposed to normal elasticated muscle. The reason you see these other guy's pecs suddenly shoot up in the videos is because the tendon that attaches the pectoral muscle to the bone has completed torn or ruptured meaning the pec is no longer attached at one side so it is now mainly anchored to the centre of the rib cage and 'pulls inwards. When I did mine all that happened was that it swelled up in the middle upper area which is where I tore it. I got my tear during a midway grind as it was coming back down to rest on the safety arms, I could literally hear the tears through the muscle fibres as it came to rest - sounded like a Zip lol. If the Doctor diagnoses it as a tear I would come off the gear mate and just go onto test. It will take about 8 weeks to heal fully and if you stay on gear it will just make you want to train all the time and raise your BP as you aren't working out. After a week of it happening I found I was still able to do deadlifts and also if you have a Safety Squat bar in your gym you will still be able to do those you should find - all depends on if you feel you can lay off the training for 2 months or if you are still desperate to train in the meantime Smile

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Klunfky's picture

Thanks a lot man. All the pain seems to be in my “pec minor” right where it connects with the armpit, rather than the middle. No swelling yet either, so hoping it was just a mean strain, although it was a clear “pop” I felt. Super weird feeling. Gonna see a doc soon and see what we got going on, thanks again for all ur words of advice man.

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press1's picture

Make sure you go see the Doctor buddy and if possible get a scan done - that area is right in the tendon area so definitely do not be tempted to do anything else in the meantime.

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Klunfky's picture

I agree. Once bases are covered, any other suggestions? Thoughts on considering things like BPC to speed up the recovery? What about my current cycle as well, just drop it all?

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