[Week 23's Topic] - Injuries.... AHHH!!!! How to overcome them?

**Trick D** · 10-11-2005, 02:11 PM

If you have been lifting for sometime, you are destined to become hurt. What are some injuries did you overcome and how did you stay motivated while you were recooperating?

datruodb · 10-11-2005, 04:44 PM

Left lumbar (deadlifts)....Went too heavy for the amount of reps last year and injured my lumbar...could not do deads for about a year. Whenever I would do pull-ups I could feel it but I worked through it..I did no lower back exercises....

Shoulder....Last year I went too heavy for d-bell overhead presses 90's for reps of 8...Well few weeks later I felt it. Now I have to do my overhead presses last after laterals, front, and rear delts but I go light like maybe 55's I can still feel it a little bit in my right shoulder

Injury sucks!!!

**EME** · 10-11-2005, 05:52 PM

I'm currently dealing with nagging injuries in both my pecs.

On both sides, where the pec muscle ties into the shoulder area in the arm pit, I have a recurring pull or tear... not really sure what it is.

I never had this problem until 2003 when I started benching heavy again after doing only dumbbells for about 4 months while training for a competition.

I was going for one last rep on bench and felt what can only be described as getting stabbed in the arm pit, HARD. It literally felt like my right pec was going to separate from my body.

However, it didn't hurt after my set, and it didn't hurt any further when not pressing.

I layed off chest for a couple weeks, and was later able to resume normal benching.

This year, I specifially took it very easy after my comp, but I had the same thing happen with my left pec... exact same location.

I layed off for a few weeks and resumed barbell chest work last week, but it still feels tight whenever I do chest.

I believe I'm going switch over to light dumbbells for a while and hopefully work it out.

Argh... I miss going really heavy on flat bench, and incline bench.. but I just can't do it right now... I can't risk a full tear and being out of commission for an extended period of time.

Dumbbells will just have to do for chest for a while.

- EME

**bigDman** · 10-11-2005, 11:45 PM

i hurt my lower back wrestling and ive been resting streching and heating it. it was better tehn i re hurt it today

~~2Ripped4U~~ · 10-12-2005, 12:48 AM

Punched a wall,hit a screw,split skin over knuckle,got stiches. I had to quit training so I focused on my diet more,and also to help stay motovated I looked at bbing pics,not really the best time I ever had,but I could close my fist or anything so I was very limited to my bodybuilding.....Screwed my wrist lifting,coulden't lift for about 3 weeks.Same thing again focussed on my diet more and bodybuilding pics,also I did alot of cardio over this time.I coulden't lift heavy weights or my wrist started bothering me so I did cardio instead and lost some bf

fredpo · 10-12-2005, 05:24 PM

Sprained my wrist and decided I wasn't going to stop lifting over it (even though skull crushers/dips/bench presses were painful). I used a wrist wrap which helped a bit with the pain and after about 2-3 months, pain is completely gone. I thought it would never go away.

Fred

**Trick D** · 10-14-2005, 03:55 PM

Lets get some more things listed...

I have had countless injuries, but within the last year, the major injury has been my shoulder. I apparently threw out my shoulder when I played baseball in my teen years. Anyway, anytime I throw baseball hard, or throw football hard it gets sore. Well within a 2 week span, I throw baseball, football, go do a test of strength bell ringer hammer thing, and do shoulders. Apparently doing all of those at the same time, I started getting some serious pain where it hurt to even let my arm dangle to the side. I took about a month off from shoulders, heavy bench, and other exercises that cause straight to the shoulders. It really killed my bench press max, but I feel 100% better now.

**BobThePotato** · 10-15-2005, 05:16 AM

Injury: Bilateral ACL ruptures/Torn Miniscus
Fix: Surgerey

Well it was realy hard to stay motivated, considering i lost about a year of leg work becuase of all this bullshit. Just kept thinking about how far i came and that i shouldnt give up. Still not fully recovered. My hamstrings wont be recovered for about another 6-10 months.

pammiejoe6 · 10-15-2005, 04:30 PM

i havent had any SERIOUS injuries yet....and i hope i dont have to deal with anything in the future....but i have had various pains that lasted a few weeks etc...esp my shoulders...they are easily pained so i started doing rotator cuff prehab on them for awhile.
i also get this annoying back lat pain sometimes that i have to take a few days off for... on and off....
when i am injured i usually ice and slather myself in icy hot...hahaha...once i feel better, i basically watch the weight on the shoulder exercises and listen to my body for any pain anywhere else....watch my form...
sometimes its hard to stay motivated when you are off training for an injury...its a difficult thing...but i usually just try to enjoy the rest time off and plan out my next routine.
i usually end up realizing how much i miss lifting after about 3 or 4 days!! i am ALWAYS itching to get back to it, so theres never any problem remotivating myself....LOL

i did read a good article on injury not too long ago...

check it out

dnyc99 · 10-16-2005, 12:55 AM

Right shoulder pain. Been a year already and still haven't gone to get it checked out by a Dr.

I just try to work around the pain as much as I can. Switching exercises. Doing less sets. Depends on how much the pain bothers me.
Friends have recommended doing rotator cuff exercises but, I haven't done any due to laziness. LoL

I use to get hip/glute pain on one side. Sometimes that pain would be so bad I couldn't walk or sit w/o pain. I just gave myself time to heal..lots of painkillers and massage in that area. I'm glad it went away and I haven't had probs. to this day. *knocking on wood*

**DarkFalcon** · 10-16-2005, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EME

I'm currently dealing with nagging injuries in both my pecs.

On both sides, where the pec muscle ties into the shoulder area in the arm pit, I have a recurring pull or tear... not really sure what it is.

I've had that myself for years, the tie in's kill me sometimes. The only thing that has helped is really warming up well prior to hitting chest. I always do the hand bike 3-5mins then stretch well and then do a lot of bench warmups. Seems like a hassel but it's made a huge difference.

I've had quite a few bad injuries including sprained wrist, hyper extended elbow, torn rotator cuff. The worst 2 were the torn RC and wrist. The RC screwed me for about 6 months and took a good year and physio to be 100% again. The wrist I could still press and pull but any stress on the back of my wrist was hell. To get around it I just switched to exercises that avoided hitting it and used very light weight to slowly rehab it. The elbow just needed pure rest cause nothing would improve it as long as it was getting used. I've been lucky to avoid most injuries lately by really warming up and stretching which was something I neglected prior. The only problem I keep having is lumbar from deads. I keep having to drop my DL's because my back can't handle it.

dnyc99 · 10-16-2005, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkFalcon

The only problem I keep having is lumbar from deads. I keep having to drop my DL's because my back can't handle it.

Awwww...

Bottom line is to 'listen' to your body. Can't keep pushing at an exercise that's going to worsen the symptoms.

**DarkFalcon** · 10-16-2005, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dnyc99

Awwww...

Bottom line is to 'listen' to your body. Can't keep pushing at an exercise that's going to worsen the symptoms.

True but it feels OK until I do them again. Then it's

**bubba g** · 10-16-2005, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkFalcon

I've had that myself for years, the tie in's kill me sometimes. The only thing that has helped is really warming up well prior to hitting chest. I always do the hand bike 3-5mins then stretch well and then do a lot of bench warmups. Seems like a hassel but it's made a huge difference.

I've had quite a few bad injuries including sprained wrist, hyper extended elbow, torn rotator cuff. The worst 2 were the torn RC and wrist. The RC screwed me for about 6 months and took a good year and physio to be 100% again. The wrist I could still press and pull but any stress on the back of my wrist was hell. To get around it I just switched to exercises that avoided hitting it and used very light weight to slowly rehab it. The elbow just needed pure rest cause nothing would improve it as long as it was getting used. I've been lucky to avoid most injuries lately by really warming up and stretching which was something I neglected prior. The only problem I keep having is lumbar from deads. I keep having to drop my DL's because my back can't handle it.

Wow you got me beat.... I ruptured my bicep last year.. but I didn't do it lifting weights... I did it breaking up ice with a shovel.. I was ramming the shovel under it to lift it up.. I got to a really thick piece so I really wound up to slam the shovel under it and mid way to the ice the shovel hit a crack in the driveway and stopped dead... The pain was not too bad but it took like 8 months to heal to where I could lift upper body again... I can still feel a little something but I can tell it it almost completely healed.. I did some nice slow curls the other day with 115lbs and it felt fine... 35lbs behind where I was...

It is amazing how fast your strength comes back.. I went from doing 80 for 12 to 90 for 12 then 115 for 10.. Next week I will probably put 125 on...

If you have a nagging injury than a visit to a good sports doc might not be a bad idea. They are so much better than regular doctors at lifting related injuries...

The Doc · 10-16-2005, 08:24 AM

I've done all sorts of fun stuff to my body in the last 5 years, most of them work related. Here's a few of the ones that stand out:
1) I was drilling a hole for a 3" PVC pipe while standing on the top of a 12' ladder that was on stones in a garage, the ladder buckled, the drill slipped and pretty much ripped my thumb off. I had to have it reattatched and couldn't use my thumb for 12 weeks. Here's a picture of the offending drill bit, as you can see it's a mean looking little bugger:

2) I was working in a house with no stairs and about 1 1/2 feet of snow in it and walked over the hole for the basement stairs that was covered with a piece of plywood. I fell 14' onto the concrete floor in the basement and landed on my kneecap pretty hard. I ended up fracturing the kneecap and getting cellulitus and was unable to walk on it for 8 weeks.

3) I was loading a Rigid pipe threading machine on the truck in the winter and I slipped on some ice and landed flat on my back. Then the machine fell back out of the truck and landed on my chest, breaking the first 3 ribs on my right side and my collar bone. I couldn't lift my arm at all for 8 weeks.

4) The grand daddy of them all was the last day I worked 18 months ago. I was carrying a 380 lb cast iron tub up a flight of stairs and I slipped. I almost lost it but managed to yank to the top where I couldn't move because I ruptured 5 discs and somehow managed to jolt my spine forward on my pelvis. Long story short they had to take out all 5 discs, replace them with donor bone and screw the whole mess together with rods, pins, and plates. Needless to say it has put a slight damper on my ability to lift anything at all, probably for the rest of my life. But at least they give me really good drugs for the constant pain

.

But hey it could be worse, at least I'm still able to walk, well sorta, and with any luck maybe someday I'll be able to have normal sex again. The kind where you don't have to stand while you're doing it

.

**DarkFalcon** · 10-17-2005, 02:17 AM

Well I'd have to say you win the injury war Doc. You and Murph have some of the worst injuries I've seen.

10-11-2005, 05:52 PM	#3
EME Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,651 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 55	I'm currently dealing with nagging injuries in both my pecs. On both sides, where the pec muscle ties into the shoulder area in the arm pit, I have a recurring pull or tear... not really sure what it is. I never had this problem until 2003 when I started benching heavy again after doing only dumbbells for about 4 months while training for a competition. I was going for one last rep on bench and felt what can only be described as getting stabbed in the arm pit, HARD. It literally felt like my right pec was going to separate from my body. However, it didn't hurt after my set, and it didn't hurt any further when not pressing. I layed off chest for a couple weeks, and was later able to resume normal benching. This year, I specifially took it very easy after my comp, but I had the same thing happen with my left pec... exact same location. I layed off for a few weeks and resumed barbell chest work last week, but it still feels tight whenever I do chest. I believe I'm going switch over to light dumbbells for a while and hopefully work it out. Argh... I miss going really heavy on flat bench, and incline bench.. but I just can't do it right now... I can't risk a full tear and being out of commission for an extended period of time. Dumbbells will just have to do for chest for a while. - EME __________________ PhysiqueFXonline - Online Nutrition and Training with Michael and Kendra Elias: www.PhysiqueFXonline.com www.MichaelandKendra.com My wife, and IFBB Fitness Pro Kendra Elias' personal site: www.KendraElias.com Proud member of Team ALR: www.ALRIndustries.com

10-11-2005, 11:45 PM	#4
bigDman is missing heavy pulls Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 4,547 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 182	i hurt my lower back wrestling and ive been resting streching and heating it. it was better tehn i re hurt it today __________________ COME CHECK OUT MY JOURNAL

10-12-2005, 05:24 PM	#6
fredpo Amateur Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 93 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 3	Sprained my wrist and decided I wasn't going to stop lifting over it (even though skull crushers/dips/bench presses were painful). I used a wrist wrap which helped a bit with the pain and after about 2-3 months, pain is completely gone. I thought it would never go away. Fred __________________ "Obessesed is a word the lasy use to describe the dedicated." Stats: height= 5'10'' weight= 220 bf= 11-12% (currently bulking) PR= bench-270x9 or 285x6 squat-365 x12 (parallel, good form) deadlift=460x4 **No, I am not an AX rep, I just like their products!!!

10-15-2005, 05:16 AM	#8
BobThePotato Nublarsaurusrex Join Date: May 2005 Location: Calgary//Alberta Posts: 519 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 20	Injury: Bilateral ACL ruptures/Torn Miniscus Fix: Surgerey Well it was realy hard to stay motivated, considering i lost about a year of leg work becuase of all this bullshit. Just kept thinking about how far i came and that i shouldnt give up. Still not fully recovered. My hamstrings wont be recovered for about another 6-10 months. __________________ "Geadelt ist wer Schmerzen kennt vom Feuer das in Lust verbrennt."

10-16-2005, 08:24 AM	#15
The Doc Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lockport,NY Posts: 232 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6	I've done all sorts of fun stuff to my body in the last 5 years, most of them work related. Here's a few of the ones that stand out: 1) I was drilling a hole for a 3" PVC pipe while standing on the top of a 12' ladder that was on stones in a garage, the ladder buckled, the drill slipped and pretty much ripped my thumb off. I had to have it reattatched and couldn't use my thumb for 12 weeks. Here's a picture of the offending drill bit, as you can see it's a mean looking little bugger: 2) I was working in a house with no stairs and about 1 1/2 feet of snow in it and walked over the hole for the basement stairs that was covered with a piece of plywood. I fell 14' onto the concrete floor in the basement and landed on my kneecap pretty hard. I ended up fracturing the kneecap and getting cellulitus and was unable to walk on it for 8 weeks. 3) I was loading a Rigid pipe threading machine on the truck in the winter and I slipped on some ice and landed flat on my back. Then the machine fell back out of the truck and landed on my chest, breaking the first 3 ribs on my right side and my collar bone. I couldn't lift my arm at all for 8 weeks. 4) The grand daddy of them all was the last day I worked 18 months ago. I was carrying a 380 lb cast iron tub up a flight of stairs and I slipped. I almost lost it but managed to yank to the top where I couldn't move because I ruptured 5 discs and somehow managed to jolt my spine forward on my pelvis. Long story short they had to take out all 5 discs, replace them with donor bone and screw the whole mess together with rods, pins, and plates. Needless to say it has put a slight damper on my ability to lift anything at all, probably for the rest of my life. But at least they give me really good drugs for the constant pain . But hey it could be worse, at least I'm still able to walk, well sorta, and with any luck maybe someday I'll be able to have normal sex again. The kind where you don't have to stand while you're doing it . __________________ I do not have an M.D. or a Ph.D., Doc is a nickname, please don't ask me about your personal itching or psychological problems. A smart man learns from his own mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. IAmShaman Shop

10-11-2005, 04:44 PM	#2
datruodb Pro Stature Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Tulsa, Ok Posts: 326 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6	Left lumbar (deadlifts)....Went too heavy for the amount of reps last year and injured my lumbar...could not do deads for about a year. Whenever I would do pull-ups I could feel it but I worked through it..I did no lower back exercises.... Shoulder....Last year I went too heavy for d-bell overhead presses 90's for reps of 8...Well few weeks later I felt it. Now I have to do my overhead presses last after laterals, front, and rear delts but I go light like maybe 55's I can still feel it a little bit in my right shoulder Injury sucks!!!

10-12-2005, 12:48 AM	#5
~~2Ripped4U~~ Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NY Posts: 1,463 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 0	Punched a wall,hit a screw,split skin over knuckle,got stiches. I had to quit training so I focused on my diet more,and also to help stay motovated I looked at bbing pics,not really the best time I ever had,but I could close my fist or anything so I was very limited to my bodybuilding.....Screwed my wrist lifting,coulden't lift for about 3 weeks.Same thing again focussed on my diet more and bodybuilding pics,also I did alot of cardio over this time.I coulden't lift heavy weights or my wrist started bothering me so I did cardio instead and lost some bf

10-15-2005, 04:30 PM	#9
pammiejoe6 Pink Members Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: south texas Posts: 4,162 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 84	i havent had any SERIOUS injuries yet....and i hope i dont have to deal with anything in the future....but i have had various pains that lasted a few weeks etc...esp my shoulders...they are easily pained so i started doing rotator cuff prehab on them for awhile. i also get this annoying back lat pain sometimes that i have to take a few days off for... on and off.... when i am injured i usually ice and slather myself in icy hot...hahaha...once i feel better, i basically watch the weight on the shoulder exercises and listen to my body for any pain anywhere else....watch my form... sometimes its hard to stay motivated when you are off training for an injury...its a difficult thing...but i usually just try to enjoy the rest time off and plan out my next routine. i usually end up realizing how much i miss lifting after about 3 or 4 days!! i am ALWAYS itching to get back to it, so theres never any problem remotivating myself....LOL i did read a good article on injury not too long ago... check it out

10-16-2005, 12:55 AM	#10
dnyc99 IMPC Contestant Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,048 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 178	Right shoulder pain. Been a year already and still haven't gone to get it checked out by a Dr. I just try to work around the pain as much as I can. Switching exercises. Doing less sets. Depends on how much the pain bothers me. Friends have recommended doing rotator cuff exercises but, I haven't done any due to laziness. LoL I use to get hip/glute pain on one side. Sometimes that pain would be so bad I couldn't walk or sit w/o pain. I just gave myself time to heal..lots of painkillers and massage in that area. I'm glad it went away and I haven't had probs. to this day. knocking on wood

10-17-2005, 02:17 AM	#16
DarkFalcon I've got a RAGING clue! Join Date: May 2005 Location: dnyc99's cleaning staff Posts: 12,526 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 309	Well I'd have to say you win the injury war Doc. You and Murph have some of the worst injuries I've seen.

10-17-2005, 03:08 AM	#17
pammiejoe6 Pink Members Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: south texas Posts: 4,162 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 84