Lat Strain- How to Work Around it

[Joy]

A few weeks ago I thought I just tweaked my back. It was weird b/c the pain was on the left and in the middle of my back and fanned out diagonally. It went away with nsaids, so I figured it wasn’t serious. Last night coming out of the hole on one of my last squats I felt that pain again. I had a dr’s appt this morning and I told him about it. He checked and said I have a moderate lat strain to my left side. Anyone have any suggestions how to work around this until it heals- specifically lifting. The lats seem to contribute to so much.

 

[ketsugo]

A few weeks ago I thought I just tweaked my back. It was weird b/c the pain was on the left and in the middle of my back and fanned out diagonally. It went away with nsaids, so I figured it wasn’t serious. Last night coming out of the hole on one of my last squats I felt that pain again. I had a dr’s appt this morning and I told him about it. He checked and said I have a moderate lat strain to my left side. Anyone have any suggestions how to work around this until it heals- specifically lifting. The lats seem to contribute to so much.

Your talking to the 30 year injury King. When injured thats when you need to be creative- Use benches and supports to take pressure off the injury. Use nautilus or machines that isolate other muscle groups. I shattered my spine in 1995 and still worked out 90% of my body- by finding a gym that had a ton of machines that I could isolate other body parts and avoid using my core. Its like the opposite of funcionality training. Machines, cables, dumbells, single limb exercises. In some cases you may have to lighten the reps to take pressure off the support muscles where your lats are involved- like many chest exercises the lats support you- so find one that you can do standing with cables or machine maybe light reps. Standing exercises may in some cses utilize your lats for some support so dont do them- sit or lay if you can. Normally, I always use machines nautilus types to work out when injured. They even have machines to work yourself without using your arms if you injure a wrist or bicep- Just remember when you do go back just dotn jump right into the same intensity as you may re-injure. Patience is everything

 

[ketsugo]

Ive actually strained my lat before where I could not do chins or pull ups, but I could do light rowing with no pain at all, so my whole routine consited of rowing with different grips and angles- just experiment a bit and you will find that you can adjust and it will actually help you heal quicker- since you wont lose too much strghtn or flexibility- when you can move it without pain in the day- do light stretch or beter still if you have insurance see a sports therapist- I say that because you dont want PT from someone that doesnt train athletes- your body has been trained so 2pound weigths are not your goal LOL. Investigate the places in your area

 

[Joy]

Your talking to the 30 year injury King. When injured thats when you need to be creative- Use benches and supports to take pressure off the injury. Use nautilus or machines that isolate other muscle groups. I shattered my spine in 1995 and still worked out 90% of my body- by finding a gym that had a ton of machines that I could isolate other body parts and avoid using my core. Its like the opposite of funcionality training. Machines, cables, dumbells, single limb exercises. In some cases you may have to lighten the reps to take pressure off the support muscles where your lats are involved- like many chest exercises the lats support you- so find one that you can do standing with cables or machine maybe light reps. Standing exercises may in some cses utilize your lats for some support so dont do them- sit or lay if you can. Normally, I always use machines nautilus types to work out when injured. They even have machines to work yourself without using your arms if you injure a wrist or bicep- Just remember when you do go back just dotn jump right into the same intensity as you may re-injure. Patience is everything

Yes! Machines!! I never thought of that. Shows you where i spend my time in the gym- lol. I can do quite well on the machines. I was bulking, but maybe I will take this time to retool and actually commit to the cut I failed to commit to 3 months ago.

Thanks for the excellent advice!

 

[ketsugo]

At least you can maintain, but hey you may even make some progress - never get caught up in having only one approach . Variety really is the key to all . Machines while aren't conducive to total power or functionality - are just what you need to be able to remove the pressure of any particular injury .

I remember after my spine reconstructive surgery - I was able to work my entire body. Even do presses laying on decline to decompress any pressure on my spine- for months I actually had to join different gyms to find equipment that I could create my routine. That of course is overboard for most,

When I had my elbow tendons mended and reattached that was two years of creativity- initially I could only do legs with this huge bulky arm cast- all the wise asses mocked and ridiculed saying -" ok he's a bit too serious" lmao yeah that's why I was bigger n stronger than pretty much every dude in my gym BEFORE I discovered aas ! Creativity , discipline and determination ! Strong mind needed to build strong body !!

 

[uphillclimb]

Your talking to the 30 year injury King. When injured thats when you need to be creative- Use benches and supports to take pressure off the injury. Use nautilus or machines that isolate other muscle groups. I shattered my spine in 1995 and still worked out 90% of my body- by finding a gym that had a ton of machines that I could isolate other body parts and avoid using my core. Its like the opposite of funcionality training. Machines, cables, dumbells, single limb exercises. In some cases you may have to lighten the reps to take pressure off the support muscles where your lats are involved- like many chest exercises the lats support you- so find one that you can do standing with cables or machine maybe light reps. Standing exercises may in some cses utilize your lats for some support so dont do them- sit or lay if you can. Normally, I always use machines nautilus types to work out when injured. They even have machines to work yourself without using your arms if you injure a wrist or bicep- Just remember when you do go back just dotn jump right into the same intensity as you may re-injure. Patience is everything

Ive actually strained my lat before where I could not do chins or pull ups, but I could do light rowing with no pain at all, so my whole routine consited of rowing with different grips and angles- just experiment a bit and you will find that you can adjust and it will actually help you heal quicker- since you wont lose too much strghtn or flexibility- when you can move it without pain in the day- do light stretch or beter still if you have insurance see a sports therapist- I say that because you dont want PT from someone that doesnt train athletes- your body has been trained so 2pound weigths are not your goal LOL. Investigate the places in your area

At least you can maintain, but hey you may even make some progress - never get caught up in having only one approach . Variety really is the key to all . Machines while aren't conducive to total power or functionality - are just what you need to be able to remove the pressure of any particular injury .

I remember after my spine reconstructive surgery - I was able to work my entire body. Even do presses laying on decline to decompress any pressure on my spine- for months I actually had to join different gyms to find equipment that I could create my routine. That of course is overboard for most,

When I had my elbow tendons mended and reattached that was two years of creativity- initially I could only do legs with this huge bulky arm cast- all the wise asses mocked and ridiculed saying -" ok he's a bit too serious" lmao yeah that's why I was bigger n stronger than pretty much every dude in my gym BEFORE I discovered aas ! Creativity , discipline and determination ! Strong mind needed to build strong body !!

Good to have you back buddy. You're an asset to this place.

Joy, don't listen to anyone else....this man gave you the best advice possible. where have you been lately? Update your log when you can!

 

[Joy]

Hey Uphill. I read some of Ketsugo's replies when I was researching the archives about this strain. You are right- his advice is the best. I haven't updated my log lately because this strain isn't giving me much to write about.

 

[uphillclimb]

Hey Uphill. I read some of Ketsugo's replies when I was researching the archives about this strain. You are right- his advice is the best. I haven't updated my log lately because this strain isn't giving me much to write about.

well hope you feel better. It may hold you accountable and help others that may have the same issue and what you did to work around it.

Either way, safe training!