pec tear recovery - how long did it take you to get back into BJJ

[GFG]

I tore my pec rolling while injured a few months, and i was just curious if any one else had to deal with this issue i'm 10weeks post op now and i'm seriously entertaining the idea of drilling and doing some light rolling now that i got the ok to start light strength PT, have no issues posting on my hand if i need to.

when i tore my achilles i got back in to full out rolling in a hand made brace i made from a shin guard and a handwrap by week 5 (when i noticed most people that had that injury way the full 6months), so i'm kinda of an jitz addict and being away from rolling if kind of hard for me.

gorilla mike

 

[fizbo]

I tore my pec rolling while injured a few months

seems like you didn't learn your lesson. i say you go for it!

 

[ShanghaiBJJ]

Check this out Mike:

 

[GFG]

seems like you didn't learn your lesson. i say you go for it!

i think i hurt it benching the day before i remember my shoulder pec area was sore that day, but i didn't think nothing of it as i'm always sore somewhere

 

[GFG]

Check this out Mike:

i was cringing when i was watching him working on the rings and when he tore i literally jumped out of my chair.

that dude is insain, his pec looks good for being torn. but that guy is an inspiration thanks for sharing.

compared to that dude my pec looked gross as fuck it looked like my armpit was trying to expand into the front of my chest, i still had full range of motion, and no pain, but the tendon had fully ripped off my arm bone so i zero functional strenght. i had to get surgery and after surgery it was like don't take any chances otherwise it could easily rip again. however i was back to work shipping gis and boxing gloves etc. out by day 5 as i'm a one man show over here at gorilla and i can't let me injuries affect my shipments.

 

[Guiness]

It took me about 9 months to start light rolling after torn pec. I bypassed surgery after getting a second opinion. First Ortho was not confident he could fix it and second thought I could recover most of my strength with physical therapy. The tendon is still partially intact but I'm limited in many areas. My strength and overall jiu-jitsu game was greatly stunted by this injury. Not sure if surgery would have helped or not.

 

[Badger67]

Where did you tear it? Just a tear or completely off?

My teammate tore off his humeral tendon aspect completely and was out over a year from comp and out 8-9 months from any serious training; everything was low body and abs/back that didn't put stress on pec/shoulder. He required surgery to reattach it and since then has dropped a weight class after atrophy of muscle groups.

I strongly suggest finding out the functional range of the pec you tore.
The following pictures can be used as a guide for your PT if they are unfamiliar to help test range of Pec major.

Taken from: Muscles, Testing and Function with Posture and Pain 5th edition.
Florence Peterson Kendall et al.

 

[GFG]

it was a full tear between the tendon and the humerus for me they i had surgery within the week.

i've already started adding weights to my workouts with my bad arm but just 50% or less then what i do on my good arm and nothing to failure. however when doing pressing movements i'm only doing 25% of what i normally would do. i'll have to go to PT and see what kind of new program they will set up for me. i'm not looking forward to the ideal of 9 months i was planning of texting my training partners that train at various local gyms to swing by my office this week and i can get back to doing some light training. but now i'm a bit hesitant.

thanks for the info so far guys i appreciate it.

gorilla mike

 

[Fandango]

Rafael Lovato just tore his pec and had surgery like 6 weeks ago, check out his Instagram or Facebook to see how a super athlete recovers

 

[GFG]

looks like he's on week 7 i'm totally going to follow his recovery.

 

[GFG]

well went to private physio place by my house yesterday and had an hour session of ultra sound, message etc. but the strength training protocol they gave me was BS just wall pushups, and some other rotator cuff movements...... i just checked if i could do a full floor push up and i could so i'll have to go to a different place that is a bit more aggressive with their rehab protocols for some reason private places seem to promote less aggressive protocols and i think it's because they want to force you to come more often so they make more money over the long haul.

 

[Gungir]

well went to private physio place by my house yesterday and had an hour session of ultra sound, message etc. but the strength training protocol they gave me was BS just wall pushups, and some other rotator cuff movements...... i just checked if i could do a full floor push up and i could so i'll have to go to a different place that is a bit more aggressive with their rehab protocols for some reason private places seem to promote less aggressive protocols and i think it's because they want to force you to come more often so they make more money over the long haul.

Not particularly. Therapy places are using proven methods for the majority of people, and the majority of people will quit if pushed too hard. Have a discussion with them, tell them your goals and athletic history, and ask them if they are the proper facility to help get you up and running. If they say no, they can probably recommend a sports rehab facility.

 

[Badger67]

As much as i agree with the above Gungir post, a good PT should inquire about that history prior as well as their/your goals. It's meant to be a collaboration.

An example of some things myself and other PT's have used are:
How/why/when/where did you injure?
Name your top 3-5 goals.
Top 3 activities you do that are being limited by your injury?
Expectations of therapy?
We can't keep you here forever so within 5-10 sessions we need to see improvement or discharge/transfer will be needed.

There's a very good chance as Gungir said they are sticking to the text book version of protocol. They need a baseline to establish what you're capable of. Yes, you can do a full push up, but how many? How slow and controlled? Can you do an anterior capsule stretch without being limited by the pec? What angles of stretch hurt?

Contrary to some popular belief, many aspects of rehab/restrengthening are not focused on what they should. There are instances where focusing on the eccentric phases are better suited than the concentric. So while you can concentrically do the push up, you might not be able to stabilize in the negative portion (i don't know as that hasn't been stated by you).
Ultrasound and massage/cross friction massage is good for eliminating scar tissue.

Rotator cuff movements are good for your injury as the pec is at times considered a partial rotator (it does have some internal rotation) and the other rotators can help with stabilization of the shoulder joint, as well as the girdle as a whole, taking some of the stress off the pec to allow it to heal properly. Since it aids in inferior and anterior scapular movement, having strong rotator cuff/scapular muscles will help keep the entire girdle in its proper position as opposed to developing a muscle imbalance caused by scar tissue/atrophy that shortens the muscle.

My suggestion is go in again and discuss some of these things suggested about your goals and history if it hasn't been already and show them your capabilities, you may need to skip phase 1 of pec tear rehab and move on to a more challenging portion of the program, as this isn't too uncommon or athletes.

 

[GFG]

yeah i'm pretty sure they are sticking to the text book as when i talked to them regarding doing a bit more their default answer was wait till you talk to your surgeon.

i'm going to check out a different place next week.

on a side note yesterday i did a light rolled for the first time for about 30mins. It felt great, however im not comfortable playing top game yet as i noticed when i transitioned once i instinctively did a one arm push up type movement with my bad arm to make the transition work, so i mainly just played guard. It felt good being back that is for sure.

Mike @ Gorilla

 

[Badger67]

Talking to your surgeon isn't a bad idea actually as they tend to have a better idea of how the reattachment or scar tissue clearing went after an mri.

If you do roll...i don't suggest going harder than 25% at this point, just flow it.