Post: #1

I had been going to the gym pretty regularly, when I tweaked my neck. I couldn't really turn it without pain or tilt it back without pain. Kinda my neck into my traps on one side.

I took a little time off to let it heal, but it didn't. Went back to the gym and was doing free weight shoulder press, and on that side, the weight was too much, and my arm fell out away from my body, hurting my shoulder. The injuries sorta morphed into one, now through my traps, shoulder, and neck, I had this terrible pain that wouldn't go away. It hurt to lift anything near the weight I was used to, so I just stopped going to the gym for a while.

The pain didn't get better. I got lazy and didn't hit the gym or really exercise at all for a few months.

Then I just sorta snapped out of it. I went to yoga and started hitting the gym last week. Lifted 4 times and did 1 yoga sesh. Weights were all much lighter because I'm still in pain and don't want to re-aggrivate.

But even after only a few gym sessions, I feel MUCH better. Not 100%, probably 80% now. But that's after just 1 week back in the gym.

Just a good lesson for me, keeping all your muscles strong helps everything stay aligned and can really help naturally resolve lingering pain.

Post: #2

Yoga, stretching, hot tub, sauna, massage, and sleep to heal the damage done by lifting heavy.

Always get a great warm up.

Take a few days off when you need it.

Post: #3

I'll bet you had massive knots that you could feel. It's very common to have pain when turning your neck due to a huge knot that forms in the traps.

Foam roll regularly. I foam roll almost every day. Get yourself a copy of the Trigger Point Workout and rub a lacrosse ball over your hot spots:

http://dangerandplay.com/2013/02/18/a-cu...endonitis/

THat will help break up the existing scar tissue as well as help prevent new knots from forming.

Post: #4

(01-08-2014 02:30 PM)MikeCF Wrote:  I'll bet you had massive knots that you could feel. It's very common to have pain when turning your neck due to a huge knot that forms in the traps.

Foam roll regularly. I foam roll almost every day. Get yourself a copy of the Trigger Point Workout and rub a lacrosse ball over your hot spots:

http://dangerandplay.com/2013/02/18/a-cu...endonitis/

THat will help break up the existing scar tissue as well as help prevent new knots from forming.

*2

I foam roll every day and it helps massively with pain. I actually use a PVC pipe I found outside. The stiffness feels better and works out the knots more effectively.

It's like a self deep tissue massage.

Post: #5

Add me to the foam rollers. I roll every day, sometimes twice. Once when I wake up and before I go to sleep. Lower back, upper back, shoulders, quads, hips. Drink some tea beforehand to relax mentally. The more you can "let go" and relax your muscles, the deeper the roller can go and more you'll work your muscle deeper. Sometimes I'm actually a little sore from rolling, but it's the same soreness you get after a deep massage.

I've posted this in other threads but I've had chronic sciatica most of my life due to subluxation at L3, L4, L5, and also in my mid back. I did years of yoga which helped somewhat but also would lead to injuries. I've seen several chiropractors and gone to them regularly. I've tried so many goddamn things, spent so much money, and nothing has been a long-term fix.

2013 was a transformative year. I went to the chiro maybe a handful of times and those were early on due to bad lifting form that would tweak something. My last appointment was around April and I went the rest of the year without a single visit or adjustment. That is a huge milestone for me.

I had some nagging sciatica a few days ago and got an adjustment. Even before my chiropractor appointment I hit the gym and deadlifted 345 for 14 reps (not consecutive haha). Got to the chiro, I had a few kinks here and there (including a weird knot in my ribs from doing rows), but absolutely nothing like what I had before. 2 years ago I'd have back spasms and have to lay flat for a full day, unable to turn my head, that sort of debilitating nonsense.

I consider lifting as much more than just gaining muscle, confidence, size, posture. It really saved me from massive amount of pain that I experienced all through my 20s. Probably the single greatest change I've ever made in my life.

Don't stop. If you hurt yourself, check your form. Drop the weight and work on form. Once the pain subsides, start bringing the weight up incrementally. Knees hurt from squats? Stick your ass out more and try to keep your shins vertical. Groin hurts? Don't bow your knees out so much. Lower back hurts? Make sure it's neither curling nor arching excessively. Shoulders hurt? Hang from your arms between sets and do shoulder dislocations with a band twice a day for a couple weeks. Drink hot herbal tea. Keep your mind and body relaxed outside of the gym. Watch your caffeine intake (it fucks up my back)

Lifting is medicine.

Post: #6

Quote:Lifting is medicine.

This.

Post: #7

Find some resources on mobility and integrate them into your workouts. I like doing bar hangs in between my deadlifting sessions (takes stress off the back) and shoulder dislocations when I rest between sets of presses.

Hot baths, cold showers, and a broomstick to work out knots help a lot too.

Post: #8

The same type of injury happened to me and I had trouble deadlifting. But like thedude said, don't stop lifting, just drop the weights and work on form. For me, it only lasted a few weeks instead of 4 months.

Post: #9

For your neck, get a tennis ball or massage ball (the latter is harder). It gets into your neck and traps more easily than foam rolling.

Post: #10

I would go straight to the lacrosse ball and skip the tennis ball, which has too much give.

Golf ball or nalgene bottle for the legs, or all over for those of you who are cock diesel

Post: #11

I couldn't foam roll or massage-ball my upper traps/shoulder region. I even tried using the round 5-lb dumbellls. Dificult to apply pressure effectively in those areas. The ball and 5-lb dumbbell slides out, the foam roller is too big,

For me, a better option for upper-shoulder meets neck- sternoclediomastoid to upper trapezisus- a percussion massager.

I use this one

Post: #12

(01-13-2014 12:14 PM)DVY Wrote:  I couldn't foam roll or massage-ball my upper traps/shoulder region. I even tried using the round 5-lb dumbellls. Dificult to apply pressure effectively in those areas. The ball and 5-lb dumbbell slides out, the foam roller is too big,

Get a lacrosse ball.
Stand up against the wall.
Place the lax ball between you and the wall, on your traps.
Lean up against the ball like you're a bear scratching your back against a tree.

I hit a knot the other day that made me stop in my tracks. The pain was a kind that I'd never felt before - it wasn't a sting or a burn, it was such some intense (say a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10) pain that felt unfamiliar and made me wish for death at that moment.

Post: #13

Foam rolling and mobility work is hugely important. I do one full session a week of rolling, and use a stiff medicine ball to roll out glutes and shoulders. You might say, "that's time you could be training!" but when I add up all the workouts I've lost because of preventable injuries, it's much more than 1/week.

In addition to rolling/lax ball/stretching you should also look for muscle weakness that contributes to injuries. A lot of guys have weak glutes and posterior chains, which not only makes your lifts suck, but also leaves you open to injury. To correct it, do kettlebell swings, reverse shoulder flyes, upright rows, bridges, and donkey kicks.

Has anyone checked out Become A Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett? (mWOD guy)

I just bought it, haven't received it yet but it is self-recommending.

Here's a 50-page preview: http://www.allthingsgym.com/50-page-samp...e-leopard/

Post: #14

One of my fav ways to massage the traps is to use the rolling barbell sleeve. Grab the empty barbell in the rack, get your traps under the sleeve, pull down on the bar and use the sleeve to roll your traps. Also great for triceps, biceps, rear delts, lats and forearms.

Post: #15

It really depends what type of injury it is. If you pull a muscle, tendon, or other robust tissue, you're still good. If you fuck up cartilage on the other hand lifting is only going to accelerate the degenerative process. Moral of the story: don't fuck up your joints.

Post: #16

If you have dense musculature are have become accustomed to a foam roller, get a PVC pipe (at least 4 inch diameter, but bigger is better in my opinion) and wrap it in athletic tape. It will last forever, won't get soft spots, and is tremendously more effective especially for the larger muscles, but also gets into smaller areas better too. Probably not for the neck though, use the lax ball for that. I've never used a rumble roller (elitefts has them), but I've heard good things.

Also, I get trap/neck issues much more frequently when I notice my posture starting to sag. Head leaning forward and shoulders hunching forward are good ways to get some serious knots. That's just posture. If you have internally rotated shoulders and imbalances it can be worse. I think K Starett (sp?) said that every inch you lean your head forward is basically adding 10lbs of weight on your neck. That can be serious chronic stress.