Torn Pectorial now what?

[Vespa103]

Ok it tore about a week ago doing flat.

It took almost a week for bruising to show up about a 3 inch circle on the chest and small black and blue spot on the arm. Typical location of the pictures I have seen others post but not as bad bruising.

Swelling in the right pec its about twice the size of the left. Hurts to extend arm up but can do it.

Here is the issue. I am going to see an ortho in about 5 weeks(thats when I will have insurance)

Do I stretch the area before then? Do I train back and arms or will this put to much stress on the tie in?

If tear is partial am I better off not getting surgery and if its partial how long to heal and start lifting? How long until push ups are safe?

Thanks

 

[edge250]

do not stretch it, do not workout period. do nothing until you see a doc, i would put the arm in a sling to be safe. i have been thru it and its not fun

 

[simon birch]

definatly get a sling to put your arm in bro. Do Not workout! You will hurt yourself even more. late

 

[mikeheavypecs]

man, wish I could be more positive, but I just had a torn tricep tendon surgery this past Thursday. The entire ordeal has been a complete nightmare. My doctor said that tears must be repaired within 10 days for maximum regaining of full functionality. WHATEVER you do, wear a sling and do not even attempt to traumatize that area any more than it already is. I have one of the most renowned orthopedic surgeons in the Houston area and he said that it could take up to 9 months for a full recovery.

Mike

 

[Tman2002]

reply

I tore mine last year and I'm already back up to 405 on bench. Mine wasnt a complete tear but it was close and pretty bad/painfull. If you dont have surgery the first week the muscle will roll up a little and there's not much you can do about that.

 

[Ashop]

Ok it tore about a week ago doing flat.

It took almost a week for bruising to show up about a 3 inch circle on the chest and small black and blue spot on the arm. Typical location of the pictures I have seen others post but not as bad bruising.

Swelling in the right pec its about twice the size of the left. Hurts to extend arm up but can do it.

Here is the issue. I am going to see an ortho in about 5 weeks(thats when I will have insurance)

Do I stretch the area before then? Do I train back and arms or will this put to much stress on the tie in?

If tear is partial am I better off not getting surgery and if its partial how long to heal and start lifting? How long until push ups are safe?

Thanks

See a doctor.

 

[Strunk]

Vespa, I tore my chest last year. I did it while doing heavy bench near the bottom part of the lift coming down (about 5 inches from hitting the chest). I was able to get into the Dr within 3 days after doing it. He took X-rays as sometimes the chest muscle can pull off bone fragments from the arm bone. He then did an MRI. By this time I had bruising on my bicep/chest tie in area almost all the way to my waist. He said I had a partial tear and it was up to me if I wanted surgery as he thought it would be OK to let it heal on it's own. I asked him about how long I had to decide if I was going to do it. He said that he could do it anytime as he said he re-attaches the scar tissue back to the bone due to the muscle would just shred if he tried to connect with it. I gave a hypothetical of a year??? He said he could do it then if I wasn't happy with how it looked or how it felt. I chose to try to let it heal on it's own as he said I would be out for at least 6 months if surgery was done. By letting it heal on it's own...I couldn't do chest for 6 weeks and after that I could do dumbells starting with 5's and increase by 5 lbs every week if it felt fine. It feels fine now and it's been almost a year. My Dr is regarded as one of the best in the nation as all the Olympic athletes are flown in to see his with chest and knee problems and he's the team surgeon for a NFL team.
Hope this helps.

 

[Biggeezie]

I had a friend who tore his tendon right off the bone and he went to the hospital right away and they told him it was nothing and that the swelling would go down in a few days. Anyhow to make a long story short he ended up having the surgery, very painful btw, and the could not stretch the muscle fully back so they had to attached a donor tendon to a string kind of like a fishing rod one and attached it to the bone that way.

End result was that the muscle was once again attached but sat the exact same way it did when it was torn. If the surgery is not done within a 24 hr period (Doctors suggestion) then it will build up scar tissue and will not be flexible enough to strecth back to its normal position.

Some things to think about.

Good Luck Bro!!