knots in muscles

This sounds more serious than a knot your wife can massage out. I would see a specialist.

kingkam21 wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

It may be a strain. How about NOT working out your back for a week and see what happens.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I can try this. What do you think about shoulder workouts? Or other movements that I may want to avoid like military presses or squats???

I'd defer from any scapular contraction workouts for a week.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
[/quote]

Just throwing some ideas out here...

first of all, you have got to look at the way you've been training. You say that back day is your favorite, so i'm wondering if you are starting to experience problems from overuse and repetitive movements.

It's so incredibly important to have adequate rest periods when performing a split-routine. When you workout you have GOT to have enough time to allow healing.

Secondly, if you are working out on a routine, you have GOT to change up what you're doing over time. There is something called the general adaptation syndrome and it looks something like this-

• Alarm reaction phase- This is the bodies initial response to a stressor. Commonly called the fight or flight mechanism. During this phase the body will rapidly heal itself and make adaptations to avoid injury. A common symptom during this period would be Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.
• Resistance phase- In this phase the greatest number of adaptations are made to keep up with increased physiological demand.
• Exhaustion phase- In this phase the body has depleted it's resources and is no longer able to keep up with the demand placed on it. Injury, fatigue, and the inability to adapt begins.

This process takes between 4 and 6 weeks when performing the SAME movements/routine every single week. This is why it's generally recommended that training be periodized and be kept within the first two phases of adaptation. In other words, if you've been going in the gym doing the same routine for months, not resting enough, or overusing these muscles it was only a matter of time.

You also don't mention anywhere that you've been performing SMR. If you haven't i highly recommend it as this can help break up adhesions you may have and prevent injury. A tool or product i recommend would either be the rumble roller beastie or the theracane for this area. Combined with a periodized training protocol, and adequate rest, this should help the problem tremendously.

There's something called the cumulative injury cycle as well.



Look familiar? Can you see where you are on the cycle?

Give it a rest for a while, release any adhesions you may have, and try to change up your training regimen over time. As someone who has experienced a whole hell of a lot of injuries because i didn't do the above including shoulder impingement, bursitis, unstable shoulder, and finally torn labrum.... take it from me.

p.s. if doing the above doesn't help and you continue having issues... go to a sports medicine physician! Don't wait like i did. They may recommend you get an injection or see a physical therapist.

kingkam21 wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

Just throwing some ideas out here...

first of all, you have got to look at the way you've been training. You say that back day is your favorite, so i'm wondering if you are starting to experience problems from overuse and repetitive movements.

It's so incredibly important to have adequate rest periods when performing a split-routine. When you workout you have GOT to have enough time to allow healing.

Secondly, if you are working out on a routine, you have GOT to change up what you're doing over time. There is something called the general adaptation syndrome and it looks something like this-

• Alarm reaction phase- This is the bodies initial response to a stressor. Commonly called the fight or flight mechanism. During this phase the body will rapidly heal itself and make adaptations to avoid injury. A common symptom during this period would be Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.
• Resistance phase- In this phase the greatest number of adaptations are made to keep up with increased physiological demand.
• Exhaustion phase- In this phase the body has depleted it's resources and is no longer able to keep up with the demand placed on it. Injury, fatigue, and the inability to adapt begins.

This process takes between 4 and 6 weeks when performing the SAME movements/routine every single week. This is why it's generally recommended that training be periodized and be kept within the first two phases of adaptation. In other words, if you've been going in the gym doing the same routine for months, not resting enough, or overusing these muscles it was only a matter of time.

You also don't mention anywhere that you've been performing SMR. If you haven't i highly recommend it as this can help break up adhesions you may have and prevent injury. A tool or product i recommend would either be the rumble roller beastie or the theracane for this area. Combined with a periodized training protocol, and adequate rest, this should help the problem tremendously.

There's something called the cumulative injury cycle as well.



Look familiar? Can you see where you are on the cycle?

Give it a rest for a while, release any adhesions you may have, and try to change up your training regimen over time. As someone who has experienced a whole hell of a lot of injuries because i didn't do the above including shoulder impingement, bursitis, unstable shoulder, and finally torn labrum.... take it from me.

p.s. if doing the above doesn't help and you continue having issues... go to a sports medicine physician! Don't wait like i did. They may recommend you get an injection or see a physical therapist.

Wow, verry helpful information! The chart seams to connect the dots in my injury process. I had a muscle spasm a few weeks back. It was so bad I couldn't move my left side for at least an hour.
I do train back and legs twice a week because there such large muscle groups. Legs being on Mondays and Fridays and back on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So my back has received the most damage, aside from working construction for 3 years.
For an injury like this, how long can it take for my back to take its original musculer alignment? Any idea?

well, as stated by another user you will want to perform something called RICE.

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
+an anti-inflammatory

As niner said, i'd give it a week off completely (including any scapular contraction) and see how it goes. i'd also reduce the volume and weight when you hit it next. If you aren't feeling any better by then you may need to go to a PT.

It's hard to say how far along you've damaged it or if everything is a-okay. One thing i CAN say, is that the body will always go through movements on the path of least resistance. in other words, if you were in pain/had muscular adhesions and performed exercises/movements anyway it's very likely that it would be in an altered movement pattern. This can lead to muscular imbalances, postural problems, altered reciprocal inhibition, etc. Sometimes strengthening the antagonistic muscle and foam rolling/myofascial release on the tight muscle is necessary if this is the case.

As far as the comment someone made about NOT massaging, i would say i disagree. Applying static pressure for 30-ish seconds and breaking up any adhesions may be incredibly beneficial if it's a soft tissue problem.