Its been over 3 weeks now ffs.

[jack5r]

Over three weeks ago i injured my upper back doing lying DB rows.

I was on my 10th back set (after warmup/stretching) when the muscle went. On the 5th rep i felt a nasty stabbing feeling in my back, i did another two reps and it didnt go away so i stopped lifting for the day. The muscle is at my lower shoulder blade, between the blade and my spine.

Its been over three weeks now and i can still feel it! I was thinking it would take no more than two weeks to heal! I cant take this anymore. I am still very early into my weight lifting carea (5 months) and am looking at potentialy loosing all gains if this muscle will not heal anytime soon and going back to square one!

What should i be doing to help it heal? (dont advise me unless you are sure what to do, mabie you have recovered from a similar problem or have some edjucationg on the subject) I am going to see a GP and i will demand an appointment with a physio but will they actualy do anything other than tell me to rest?

THANKS

[musclesntx]

I'm just trying to figure out wtf a lying db row is...

The area you speak of sounds like the area where the traps, rhomboids, lats and a few other groups meet up (without seeing a graph of where you hurt) and is VERY vulnerable to strains and knotting up. I've had problems with that area in the past, and I use deep tissue massage for it and would recommend the same, but in the meantime, you may want to heat it to loosen it up (only ice it within 6 or so hours of the injury) and take an anti-inflammatory. It may take a few weeks of massage and rest to get it back to normal, but don't rush it because the pain in that area can be absolutely excruciating. I tightened mine up so bad once I had to take about 5 weeks off...

On a related note - press on the front side of your body in the lower chest/mid ribcage area (in the same area where your back hurts) and see if you have any soreness. The body is symmetrical, and a lot of times, injuries in that region are caused by sh!t going on in the front.

[jack5r]

By the lying DB row i mean, Lying on a 30 degree bench which is higher than your arms reach. Grab a pair of DB's of the ground and do rows.

Ok i will get some deep heat cream and get my mum massaging the area regularly.

The pressing ony my chest doesnt seem to be painfull really. What about stretching? Will this aggrovate the injury more or help?

Thanks for the advice mate

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by jack5r

By the lying DB row i mean, Lying on a 30 degree bench which is higher than your arms reach. Grab a pair of DB's of the ground and do rows.

Ok i will get some deep heat cream and get my mum massaging the area regularly.

The pressing ony my chest doesnt seem to be painfull really. What about stretching? Will this aggrovate the injury more or help?

Thanks for the advice mate

I use this stuff called "Ice" or BioFreeze. Theragesic and Icy Hot should do the trick as well. But by deep tissue massage, I meant actually going to a registered massage therapist. You probably need a little bit of work done all over the back/shoulders.

I don't think I'd really stretch it if it's hurting. I mean, when it subsides, some gentle stretching (once it's been heated) may be ok, but of course, talk with your doc. I'm only going by what you've said, so of course, it's not a full diagnosis or anything.

[vassille]

usualy when I get hurt I let it heal but I still work all other body parts that do not cause any strain. That way you will be able to mantain most of your gains.
Just work around the injury, a pulled muscle will heal up that's not a big deal....broken bones and joint problems are a diferent story

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by vassille

usualy when I get hurt I let it heal but I still work all other body parts that do not cause any strain. That way you will be able to mantain most of your gains.
Just work around the injury, a pulled muscle will heal up that's not a big deal....broken bones and joint problems are a diferent story

I agree, but the place where he's hurting (trust me, I messed mine up once) makes it hurt to stand up straight. When I FIRST hurt that area, I thought my kidney had collapsed or something.

[BigMikeD]

i had the exact same problem a couple of months ago, also did it doing db rows.

I tried the Deep tissue massage but all i got out of it was an oily back and a $120 bill... it really didn't do anything for it.

Time and stretching is really all i can suggest. Mine hung around for 4-5 weeks and made standing/walking a huge pain in the ASS! but like everyone else said i just sort of lifted around that area.

Good luck

[ambientdeath]

Any idea why this happened? Poor form or maybe overuse? I really like DB rows and now two people have injured themselves doing them.

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by ambientdeath

Any idea why this happened? Poor form or maybe overuse? I really like DB rows and now two people have injured themselves doing them.

Weak rhomboids. Not warming up properly. And yeah, mtl, poor form.

[ambientdeath]

Originally Posted by musclesntx

Weak rhomboids. Not warming up properly. And yeah, mtl, poor form.

Re: Rhom's, those should be strong enough if you're doing basic back work on a regular basis like pulldowns, bentover rows, seated rows right?

As long as he wasn't neglecting his back over time, poor form may be it, especially for its 10th set.

[Mrbobcat]

I had a similar injury about 10 years ago right after I returned to lifting after a long layoff. It was'nt real bad, but hung around for a long time. Seemed like it was a year or so. I think it was the rhomboids. I probably should have taken a break from back work to speed the healing up, but it eventually went away.

[jack5r]

Well its still here about a week after this post. The only lift i feel i can do without straining it at all is lightweight concentration curls and lying tricep exstensions.

I warmed up well as this was my 10th back set. I stretch fine aswell. I think it was bad form. My reps were not slow and controlled. More fast and powerfull.

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by jack5r

Well its still here about a week after this post. The only lift i feel i can do without straining it at all is lightweight concentration curls and lying tricep exstensions.

I warmed up well as this was my 10th back set. I stretch fine aswell. I think it was bad form. My reps were not slow and controlled. More fast and powerfull.

Fast and powerful doesn't mean ballistic and out of control. Keep your core tight and your back firm - chest forward/shoulders back - on every row.

Let it rest man. You're not getting anything from tri exts and curls. Recover.