Just wanted to give you an update on my Pec rupture and how I am doing since I decided to go natural treatment and let it heal without surgery.
Pectoralis Rupture post injury
Now, a quick background for those of you who are not familiar with what happened. On September 21st, 2014, I was showing friends how to do “Skin The Cat” on gymnastic rings. When I was coming down from the back rollover I felt a tear while I heard a loud ‘Pop’ come from my shoulder and chest.
https://youtu.be/U3rAinTuoCM
I knew exactly what happened as the pain ensued. What upset me the most, at that moment, was the fact that I have had zero injuries throughout my bench press career. Thirty-three years of benching and – at varying points – at contest levels, and I do a goofy thing on the rings and have a monster injury.
My arm swelled to twice its’ size and was black and blue as the blood made its way to my wrist.
Full rupture from the humerus and almost complete tear from the clavicle.
My right side of my chest is half the size it was when flexed.
Now on to why I chose conservative treatment.
I was 46 years old and on the backside of strength gains and was no longer going to compete in bench press competitions. I also was not going to be a pro bodybuilder. My only concern was could I have a successful life as a personal trainer and reflexologist without my right pec?
Also, would I still be able to train, golf, play with family without the surgery?
Some asked why I opted for natural treatment vs. surgery. Well, I am a Reflexologist who has had thousands of people sit before me over the last 16 years. My clients told me too many stories of infections from surgery that left them permanently damaged. I also, have seen it for myself. Surgery is not guaranteed, without any chance of failure.
I have people who I work on that actually work in Wound Care Centers for a living and let me tell you, unless you really need the surgery, you may want to think about what could happen.
Now if I was 28 years old and in the prime of my life, its a no-brainer that I would risk the surgery. The benefits at that age are worth the risks. But I was 46 and I took that into consideration.
Anyways, as I go through the time-line of my pain and healing, there is a lot of positive for you to gather, so hang with me.
Now I ain’t going to lie. The first two nights were extremely painful. I used a rope to tie my arm to my body and I could only sleep on my left side. I also massaged the torn muscle every two hours to break up the scar tissue. That was crazy painful. The second night I had to take pain meds otherwise I would not sleep.
By the third night all the pain was gone as long as I did not move my arm too much. I continued to massage the scar tissue for six weeks.
Three weeks later and I could wash my hair and brush my teeth for short bursts.
One month in and I could hold a coffee cup full of coffee for about 2 minutes.
Two months in I could hold a coffee pot full of water for 10 seconds.
Four months in I did my first pushup and it was ugly.
Six months in I could do 10 pushups and play golf again.
As the months progressed, I just got stronger and stronger.
However, my bench days are over. The only way to bench press and not strain the chest is to use your triceps and biceps tendons only. That means my grip is not very wide. The wider I would go with my grip the more I would tear my medial triceps tendon and risk rupturing it as well as the bicep tendon.
I knew going conservative would end any chance at top performance with the bench press. So, dummy-me tries to see just how much strength I could gain in my bench press post injury. With six months of benching twice a week, my bench went up to 275 pounds, down from about 415 pounds at age 45. That’s when I felt the tricep tear. I immediately stopped benching because of the huge risk of further damage.
So, I made up my mind to never bench again
One more negative is how deformed my chest looks when flexed.
But let’s get on to the positive.
I can still strict stand press 245 pounds with a barbell. There is no limitation to my overhead work.
Deadlifts are unaffected as well as squats.
Throwing a ball is out. Tennis is out. But bowling and golf is in.
But a real blessing came from my injury. I kept thinking that there was nothing left to challenge me with weight resistance. Then one day I stumble across a class that was being offered to new people. It was competition Kettlebell class.
Looking at the exercises that the sport demands looked like it would not cause further injury and might even improve my strength and health.
Well, that’s exactly what it has done. My shoulders have never felt better and I am getting fitter by the day.
So let’s wrap this up.
Each person must weigh the risk vs. reward for surgery. Remember, whatever decision you make, you own. Don’t let anyone pressure you one way or the other. My story is just that, a story. And I am not influencing you one way or the other.
If you have a torn pec I don’t envy the decision you must make. But remember this, you have a 72-hour window to make up your mind for the greatest results if you so choose surgery. Each day you wait past that lessens the degree of success.
If you go conservative treatment, understand you will never be the same, but that isn’t the end of the world. It’s just a new way to challenge yourself.
Either way, keep training and staying fit!
