I recently went to the doctors because i was experiencing alot of pain. I pulled my trapezius muscle and just decided it was time to go to go. Well for the trap the cure to it was obviously resting. The others reasons of going was Ive been having pain in my deltoid and my elbow. He thinks if i dont stop lifting that ill end up pulling the deltoid off of the bone. For my elbow i have something called Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. Its pretty much the nerve that goes through my elbow and is experiencing aggravation and they want to go in and cut it and sow it back up i guess and let it heal. im gonna rest another week its been 3 weeks and then im gonna go back to lifting. Im gonna do the surgery some other time but for now i can deal with the pain. I want to get back into lifting because i got hit by a semi when i was 13 and it messed up my back. i dont want to stop for another month for my elbow to heal because my back muscles will get weak and the pain will get worse. Well since im off of lifting i have a few questions such as.

Should i continue on my high protein diet?

When i go back to lifting should i use 50% less weight? 25%? 75% less?

Should i do the same exercises or

are there certain exercises just to get the muscles back into motion and then go back to my normal routine?

Off topic question-

Because of my lower back pain i cant really do abs and right now im in the phase of trying to bulk so the abs arent important to me atm but when i try to cut i wanna start doing my abs. Are there exercises that are completely for beginners that wont specifically cause too much pain for my lower back? And will i even get abs if i dont push through the pain and do exercises that are more difficult?

i just wanna know some general information on getting back into the gym after an injury

Matt,

Sounds like you have a lot going on physically. I would send an e-mail to Daniel Meyer - a Super Hermanite - as he is more of an expert on injuries and things like this.

I can give you my perspective. For your diet, I would keep your protein high since all bodily repairs require protein and digesting it will keep your metabolism high. I would watch my carbs and fats as you are not working out right now and you don't need as many calories above maintenance level.

When you go back to lifting, you have to ease back into it. If that means cutting the weights in half, so be it. I would gradually work up to your peak levels. I would avoid all exercises that cause you any pain or discomfort. Some you may have to avoid forever and/or some you will never be able to go really heavy with again based on your current physical situations (back, elbow, etc). You may try changing your routine because sometimes injuries are due to overuse of the same movements.

A pulled muscle is a muscle tear. I wrote an article on muscle tears and how to treat them and rehab them. You most likely just have a Type 1 muscle strain. I tore my bicep deadlifting and got a Type 2 strain. I am still re-habing it (4 months post injury) and will need another 2 months or so to get back to 100%. Definitely rest the trap and your shoulder. A Type 3 muscle strain - tearing the muscle in half or off the bone needs surgery and can take up to 1 year to heal. The muscle will never be the same and you will have permanent strength loss. I would take more time off if after you return you are still experiencing pain in your trap or shoulder.

As for the nerve in your elbow, this is a tough one. Back in 2003, I severely strained my right brachial plexus doing heavy squats. The brachial plexus is a grouping of nerves from your neck that sits just under your shoulder blade. It controls your arms, shoulders, and all the muscles of your upper back around the rotator cuff. I compressed mine from the weight while squatting pushing the shoulder blade onto the nerves and stretching them. I did not need surgery but I was paralyzed in the shoulder and upper back for 3 months and it took 5 years to get back to 100% - muscle strength and muscle size as the muscles atrophied from the paralysis. Nerves heal extremely slow. I don't know what the doctor is telling you for recovery time but anything to do with nerves will take at least a year or more to get back to normal.

As for abs, a strong core helps a weak or damaged back so ab training is ciritical. Ab crunches put no strain on your back. You need to stay away from traditional angled sit-ups as these kill your back and hip flexors. I would check ab routine on SHF as Scott has many different types of ab exercises and shows one that are least stressful on the back.

Hope that helps some........

John

Matt,

Sounds like you have a lot going on physically. I would send an e-mail to Daniel Meyer - a Super Hermanite - as he is more of an expert on injuries and things like this.

I can give you my perspective. For your diet, I would keep your protein high since all bodily repairs require protein and digesting it will keep your metabolism high. I would watch my carbs and fats as you are not working out right now and you don't need as many calories above maintenance level.

When you go back to lifting, you have to ease back into it. If that means cutting the weights in half, so be it. I would gradually work up to your peak levels. I would avoid all exercises that cause you any pain or discomfort. Some you may have to avoid forever and/or some you will never be able to go really heavy with again based on your current physical situations (back, elbow, etc). You may try changing your routine because sometimes injuries are due to overuse of the same movements.

A pulled muscle is a muscle tear. I wrote an article on muscle tears and how to treat them and rehab them. You most likely just have a Type 1 muscle strain. I tore my bicep deadlifting and got a Type 2 strain. I am still re-habing it (4 months post injury) and will need another 2 months or so to get back to 100%. Definitely rest the trap and your shoulder. A Type 3 muscle strain - tearing the muscle in half or off the bone needs surgery and can take up to 1 year to heal. The muscle will never be the same and you will have permanent strength loss. I would take more time off if after you return you are still experiencing pain in your trap or shoulder.

As for the nerve in your elbow, this is a tough one. Back in 2003, I severely strained my right brachial plexus doing heavy squats. The brachial plexus is a grouping of nerves from your neck that sits just under your shoulder blade. It controls your arms, shoulders, and all the muscles of your upper back around the rotator cuff. I compressed mine from the weight while squatting pushing the shoulder blade onto the nerves and stretching them. I did not need surgery but I was paralyzed in the shoulder and upper back for 3 months and it took 5 years to get back to 100% - muscle strength and muscle size as the muscles atrophied from the paralysis. Nerves heal extremely slow. I don't know what the doctor is telling you for recovery time but anything to do with nerves will take at least a year or more to get back to normal.

As for abs, a strong core helps a weak or damaged back so ab training is ciritical. Ab crunches put no strain on your back. You need to stay away from traditional angled sit-ups as these kill your back and hip flexors. I would check ab routine on SHF as Scott has many different types of ab exercises and shows one that are least stressful on the back.

Hope that helps some........

John

Thanks for the response. Great information. I have one more question though. Since ive stopped lifting i still get sore? its been 3 weeks and my muscles are sore. i wake up with my biceps/forearms/abs/triceps etc etc sore. Why am i waking up sore? i dont do anything physical due to the injuries

Hey mate,

John has given you some great advice already!

I'll just give my perspective from an injury point of view. From the symptoms of all your injuries I think your doctor may have misdiagnosed you. I think primarily your pain is coming from a nerve issue originating from your spine. I can't be anymore specific than that unfortunately as its very hard to diagnose over the internet. This would be causing the pain in your upper traps, shoulder and explain the soreness you feel into your arms. I guarantee you will not have strained your upper traps and you will not tear the deltoid from the bone! If I was you I would go see a physiotherapist as they will assess your neurological state more efficiently than a doctor unless they are a neuro specialist.

With my back pain from the accident i got in a couple years ago ive had pain blocks "Steroid injections" physical therapy, a back brace, full body scan and a mri scan and a few other stuff i think. They couldnt find anything specifically wrong with my lower back. they thought i ruptured a disc in the l4 area but they never found anything. they were going to burn the nerve and let it heal and hopefully it would grow back without the pain but i never did it because its very unlikely and the process of burning the nerve is extremely painful. With that all being said in my opinion i feel like i pulled my trap because my shoulder blade is uneven. I fractured the scapula and it healed back uneven. ive went to many doctors and they all have different opinions on what it is. Some think im faking it but i can guarantee you that im not faking it lol but $14,000 went into all the medical bills and as for now i was pretty much told that im just gonna have to deal with it

I was also given a tens unit but it seemed to cause more pain than good. i couldnt have it in specific places and it just didnt seem to help at all. I could see how the nerves in my back could be the problem. I use a heating pad all the time and ill walk around without a shirt on afterwards and my dad or girlfriend will notice a "burnt" spot i guess but to me it feels fine it doesnt feel too hot at all so i guess some of the feeling is gone in my back

Yeah this nerve issue wouldn't be the lower spine it would be more like low cervical/ high thoracic spine. I'm afraid I can't be of any more use over the internet and judging by all the symptoms and past medical history it wouldn't even be professional to attempt to help you. I wish you all the best anyway and hope you get it resolved eventually!