Torn/Strained Pec - Treatment??

[AirWolf]

Hey - was benching today and about halfway through my 2nd to last set (5x5 week 4) something bad happened in my left pec. As I was pushing the weight up I just felt a ripple from my chest up thru my shoulder that hurt like hell - luckily I had a spotter to pull the bar off of me, although he claims he didn't do much - guess my survival instinct kicked in...so now that the damage is done, how do I minimize it?

Does this sound like a tear or a strain? Whats the best treatment to get me back to lifting again?

 

[musketeer]

Almost 100% sure it's a strain bro, but if it's of little financial concequences, I'd get a professional to check it out. Ice the area and DO NOT TRAIN ANY PART OF YOUR BODY - you will want your whole energy on immediate healing of the area. Use ice for 5 mins every few hours for the next two days. Let us know how it feels tomorrow or what your doc/physio/etc says and we will see if we agree with their recuperation routine or if we can offer something else.

Good luck.

 

[AirWolf]

Thanks for the info...unfortunately I'm between jobs atm so no dr for me unless this gets ugly. I've been icing it since 10 min after it happened (20 on 20 off...I'll drop to 5/10 every few hours and add some compression).

How long should I stay off the weights? A few days for my legs and a week or 2 for my upper body? And what about cardio - can I still do that?

 

[NorgePrecision]

At this point I'd say get a whole lot of sleep. My friend went through a torn pec muscle. It was at the point where it was twice the size of the other one. It lasted like that for a couple weeks. I'm not sure if your incident is as severe, but I would defienitely stay off the weights for a while. Ice it, drink water, and keep those vitamins going.

 

[AirWolf]

Well - at this point my arm - just south of my armpit is bright purple, but overall it isn't bothering me too much. I think its just a strain. Went to the gym today and did squats and ran for a bit this afternoon.

My question is can I start stretching it and lifting light weights as pain allows? Or do I need to wait for a while?