Pulled muscle???

kylies1219

I've been doing Jillian Michaels 30DS for just over a month now. I started over again and I'm on day 6 of level 1. I really REALLY wanted to do 30 days straight no breaks but I guess I pulled a muscle last night. I'm not sure when because it only bothered me a little last night but now when I move it certain ways I get a shooting pain from my shoulder to my elbow and I can't pinpoint exactly what muscle is hurt. Anyway, does anyone know what I should do about it because I can't really figure out where the pain is originating from? (I don't like to take pain relievers) Also, I really don't want to take a couple days off if I don't ABSOLUTELY have to so does anyone (preferably someone who knows the workout) know what I can do in place of certain exercises? Since it's the one arm I could still do a lot of the exercises and only work my left arm but when it comes to the push-ups well I'm not strong enough to do a one-armed push up lol. Unless, anyone has good reason why I shouldn't do the work out at all, my right arm should be able to heal if I don't use it while I do the workouts right?

neurochamp

Hey there, I have just a couple quick questions on your shoulder pain to see if I can help at all.

(1) Does it hurt kind of deep in your shoulder/arm if you stand with your hands at your sides, palms facing in towards your hips, and lift your arms straight out to the side more than 6-12 inches or so?

(2) If you lift your arms straight out to the side and bend your elbows 90 degrees (so your arm is straight out and elbow is bent so your forearm/hand are pointing up to the ceiling), does it hurt to rotate your arm so your forearm & hand point forward, while your upper arm stays int he same place?

If both of these motions are incredibly painful, you might not have a pulled muscle - it could be a tendon injury in your rotator cuff (shoulder joint). I'm not a doctor or PT, but I have rotator cuff issues on both sides, and I've been through extensive PT for them. I recently finished the 30DS and the planks and pushups really did a number on my shoulders.

Honestly, rest and NSAIDS (like ibuprofen/advil) are the only things that really help for me. Ice or a heating pad for 15 min at a time can help, too. IF this is your problem, you can also do a few exercises to loosen up the tendons. First, stand facing a corner and do VERY SLOW wall pushups into the corner (one hand on each wall and lower your nose into the corner maybe 10 reps at a time, make sure to take 4-5 seconds to move each direction). Second, put your fingers behind your ears and slowly bring your elbows forward to touch each other, then take your elbows back to the sides (keep fingers behind your ears), and repeat 15-20 times.

kylies1219

Hey there, I have just a couple quick questions on your shoulder pain to see if I can help at all.

(1) Does it hurt kind of deep in your shoulder/arm if you stand with your hands at your sides, palms facing in towards your hips, and lift your arms straight out to the side more than 6-12 inches or so?

(2) If you lift your arms straight out to the side and bend your elbows 90 degrees (so your arm is straight out and elbow is bent so your forearm/hand are pointing up to the ceiling), does it hurt to rotate your arm so your forearm & hand point forward, while your upper arm stays int he same place?

If both of these motions are incredibly painful, you might not have a pulled muscle - it could be a tendon injury in your rotator cuff (shoulder joint). I'm not a doctor or PT, but I have rotator cuff issues on both sides, and I've been through extensive PT for them. I recently finished the 30DS and the planks and pushups really did a number on my shoulders.

Honestly, rest and NSAIDS (like ibuprofen/advil) are the only things that really help for me. Ice or a heating pad for 15 min at a time can help, too. IF this is your problem, you can also do a few exercises to loosen up the tendons. First, stand facing a corner and do VERY SLOW wall pushups into the corner (one hand on each wall and lower your nose into the corner maybe 10 reps at a time, make sure to take 4-5 seconds to move each direction). Second, put your fingers behind your ears and slowly bring your elbows forward to touch each other, then take your elbows back to the sides (keep fingers behind your ears), and repeat 15-20 times.

I just did both of those moves, the second one was just a very slight pain. I feel it mostly when I don't expect it, like taking a glass out of the cabinet or swinging my arm while i'm walking.

neurochamp

Hmm. Could be a muscle or a tendon, but it sounds like it might not be too severe of an injury if rotating only causes slight pain (and you mostly feel it doing regular day-to-day movements).

I would say probably rest it, but try to do light exercise/stretching to keep it from getting too stiff. You might consider putting some Icy Hot (or BenGay, BioFreeze, or other menthol-type topical rub) on it and ease your way back into the 30DS. If it's painful on the pushups and planks, do the easier versions for a couple of days and see how that feels (ditto on the above-the-shoulder-type weights moves). Oh, and drink plenty of water - if it's just "normal" muscle swelling from exercise, extra hydration should help.

Good luck!