Aa
8 month injury ruining my life
hey everybody, im not new to this site, but i hang around in the brain tumor forum a lot. anyways, i do a lot of weightlifting. 8 months ago i was doing weighted dips with 110 pounds of extra weight, and my sternum popped reaaaaaly loud, and ever since that day it has hurt reallllly badly. ive toughed it out, but ive decided to finally get it looked at . im not even sure if its my sternum? the injury is the upper middle part of the chest(when i say middle i say the line seeperating each pec, and the upper part of that line about 2 inches from my collar bone)
it hurts when i sneeze especially. its a deep pain.
i also have developed another injury. this happened 8 months ago as well. when doing standing overhead press my neck started hurting. ever since then i have had weird nerve damage from my neck area all the way down tto my lats. im worried.
ive tried calling orthopediosts but most of them said they dont deal with chest, however i found one willing to see me. this doctor got all 1 star ratings from healthgrades.com though so im concerned. i have had horrible doctors in the past(and they got 4 stars!!) so i manxious. i just hope if iget the x rays done hell be able to help.
is their anyway to fix me with no surgery? if i get surgery on my sternum will my bench press go down??
here is a video of what iwas doing when my chest got injured. i will also include a video of what i was doing when my neck injured!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Z3BWHwwZQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giQUuciBL7s
it hurts when i sneeze especially. its a deep pain.
i also have developed another injury. this happened 8 months ago as well. when doing standing overhead press my neck started hurting. ever since then i have had weird nerve damage from my neck area all the way down tto my lats. im worried.
ive tried calling orthopediosts but most of them said they dont deal with chest, however i found one willing to see me. this doctor got all 1 star ratings from healthgrades.com though so im concerned. i have had horrible doctors in the past(and they got 4 stars!!) so i manxious. i just hope if iget the x rays done hell be able to help.
is their anyway to fix me with no surgery? if i get surgery on my sternum will my bench press go down??
here is a video of what iwas doing when my chest got injured. i will also include a video of what i was doing when my neck injured!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Z3BWHwwZQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giQUuciBL7s
Hi, the same thing happened to me a month ago, exact same dip with the two benches and the bump in my sternum is still there and I still have pain. My doctor gave me an xray and the results were 'no abnormalities'. Have you healed since this post?
clt you are scaring me. what if it doesnt heal? there is nothing they can do?
??????
bump.
clt you are scaring me. what if it doesnt heal? there is nothing they can do?
Correct, I don't think surgery is an option. I would rest any chest routines for a month and see how it feels. Then start back up slowly with some dips unweighted and go from there. You will lose some strength, but once you are pain free you will regain that strength pretty quickly. Need to let that ligament heal.
Hello,
I too just recently had the same thing happen to me. I was doing weighted dips, a little different than you. I was using 2 benchs, one for my legs to be up on and one behind me for the dips. I had 90 lbs sitting on my lap. When I went down on my 18th rep, i heard/felt a pop in my chest, almost as if a bone had popped out of socket. My friend removed the weight, and i got up and checked/felt my chest. I had thought i busted open my chest. Everything felt normal to the touch, but im experiencing pain in my sternum. The pain is worse when i take deep breaths. i have been taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3X daily the pain seems to subside significantly throughout the day, but after sleeping when i wake up, i am in excrutiating pain. Oh yeah the injury happened on the 30th of January.
M. Henderson
I too just recently had the same thing happen to me. I was doing weighted dips, a little different than you. I was using 2 benchs, one for my legs to be up on and one behind me for the dips. I had 90 lbs sitting on my lap. When I went down on my 18th rep, i heard/felt a pop in my chest, almost as if a bone had popped out of socket. My friend removed the weight, and i got up and checked/felt my chest. I had thought i busted open my chest. Everything felt normal to the touch, but im experiencing pain in my sternum. The pain is worse when i take deep breaths. i have been taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3X daily the pain seems to subside significantly throughout the day, but after sleeping when i wake up, i am in excrutiating pain. Oh yeah the injury happened on the 30th of January.
M. Henderson
wait so am i hearing you correctly that surgery wont help me? ot did ir ead this wrong?
thanks for the response i hope i get help for this.
and yes i havent stopped lifting at all. i took two weeks off when it first happened but it didnt recover and ididnt want to get weak. it happened a little bit higher than the bottom og the dip and alittle lower than midpoints so you are right.
the ortho i went to did a physical exam and couldnt find anything wrong so he sent me for the xrays which i insisted on, and they came back normal.
thanks for the response i hope i get help for this.
and yes i havent stopped lifting at all. i took two weeks off when it first happened but it didnt recover and ididnt want to get weak. it happened a little bit higher than the bottom og the dip and alittle lower than midpoints so you are right.
the ortho i went to did a physical exam and couldnt find anything wrong so he sent me for the xrays which i insisted on, and they came back normal.
The pop was not a fracture of a bony structure. Typical weight lifting injuries are ligamentous, not bony. You ruptured a ligamentous structure. My guess is that the pop occurred at the bottom of your dip. Ligament injuries will not show up on x-ray per se, but may demonstrate an abnormal separation of the bony structures. It may be worthwhile for a second look at the x-ray to see if there is any rib separation from the sternum. That is my best guess as you describe the pain with sneezing, that is very typical of these types of injuries. I would also guess that you would feel pain with a really deep breath? Did you continue to work out after the injury? If so this will delay the healing. If this is what occurred, surgery I don't think would benefit.. I don't think you had a muscle ligament rupture as that would be more obvious with marked loss of strength and the muscle involved will "bunch up". (If you see an achilles or bicep tendon rupture you will know what I am talking about). Surgery is required to fix those. MRI will show ligament and muscle structure so that may not be a bad idea, but I would think that a good history and physical exam would pinpoint the problem. I don't see why they can't MRI your chest and head at one sitting. Getting insurance to pay is a roll of the dice though!!
The neck problem sounds like a disc issue. Compression of the disc causing nerve pain. Lots of options, but I would talk to an orthopedic or neurosurgeon for that advice.
The neck problem sounds like a disc issue. Compression of the disc causing nerve pain. Lots of options, but I would talk to an orthopedic or neurosurgeon for that advice.
well he said nothinfs wrong. i know when i have an injury im tired of doctors telling me im crazy. the chest popped really loud and ever since that day 8 months ago ive had nothing but pain.
i think i will request the mri. i also need an mri of my brain for something else lol., can i do it all in one shot so i dont need to fight with insurance for both mris. can they do both mris at the same time?
i think i will request the mri. i also need an mri of my brain for something else lol., can i do it all in one shot so i dont need to fight with insurance for both mris. can they do both mris at the same time?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello!
If you are not convinced with this doctor then take a second opinion near an orthopedician. Chest X-rays will detect fractures of your collar bone and breast bone. You can also ask a radiologist for his expert comments on the reports, if you doubt any hairline fractures are getting missed out. Also follow up with a chest specialist to rule out other problems. You can also go for a CT scan to detect any other problem.
The treatment is based on diagnosis and for the pain you would need anti inflammatory medications and ice packs.
Take care!
If you are not convinced with this doctor then take a second opinion near an orthopedician. Chest X-rays will detect fractures of your collar bone and breast bone. You can also ask a radiologist for his expert comments on the reports, if you doubt any hairline fractures are getting missed out. Also follow up with a chest specialist to rule out other problems. You can also go for a CT scan to detect any other problem.
The treatment is based on diagnosis and for the pain you would need anti inflammatory medications and ice packs.
Take care!
ok i am ANGRY. the doctor says all my xrays are normal? where do i go from here...
i know my sternum popped, and i dont care what the xrays have to say.
i know my sternum popped, and i dont care what the xrays have to say.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello!
I should have conveyed to you that collar bone and clavicle (medical terminology) are one and the same.
A fracture of the sternum is usually a comminuted fracture. Sternum is also called the breast bone. The most common site of sternal fractures is at the sternal angle called the manubrium.
Even for this you would need an X-ray of the chest and if required a CT scan.
If this is a non displaced fracture the fracture can heal by itself and surgery is an option only for chronic unhealed fractures or displaced comminuted fractures. It is difficult to comment without seeing your reports and I would suggest you to follow up with an orthopedician.
Take care!
I should have conveyed to you that collar bone and clavicle (medical terminology) are one and the same.
A fracture of the sternum is usually a comminuted fracture. Sternum is also called the breast bone. The most common site of sternal fractures is at the sternal angle called the manubrium.
Even for this you would need an X-ray of the chest and if required a CT scan.
If this is a non displaced fracture the fracture can heal by itself and surgery is an option only for chronic unhealed fractures or displaced comminuted fractures. It is difficult to comment without seeing your reports and I would suggest you to follow up with an orthopedician.
Take care!
hey Dr V THANKS FOR THE REPLY!!! i actually just looked at some pics of sternums, and it is in fact a sternum injury, and not a collar bone injury. sorry for the confusion. im guessing this still might be healable with bandages s opposed to surgery?
are clavicle and collar bone the same things?
i will definately lay off of the weightlifting, until i get diagnosis! 8 months is long enough to be playing around with my injuries. if i did have to get surgery would my bench decrease possibly?
thanks for the reply!
are clavicle and collar bone the same things?
i will definately lay off of the weightlifting, until i get diagnosis! 8 months is long enough to be playing around with my injuries. if i did have to get surgery would my bench decrease possibly?
thanks for the reply!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello!
Get an X-ray done and only then you can diagnose your problem.
Collar bone or clavicle fractures and fractures of chest bones normally do not require a surgery. Collar bone fractures just heal with a sling bandage or a figure of 8 bandages mostly. Rest and breathe normally and do not hyperventilate yourself which will cause pain.
Take pain killers and do not do these workouts till properly diagnosed and given a go ahead from the orthopedician.
Take care!
Get an X-ray done and only then you can diagnose your problem.
Collar bone or clavicle fractures and fractures of chest bones normally do not require a surgery. Collar bone fractures just heal with a sling bandage or a figure of 8 bandages mostly. Rest and breathe normally and do not hyperventilate yourself which will cause pain.
Take pain killers and do not do these workouts till properly diagnosed and given a go ahead from the orthopedician.
Take care!
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