How Common are Pec Tears?

[quote]Crow wrote:
I hate to ask the question, but are you drug-assisted or not? Unfortunately this changes everything about the occurance obviously.[/quote]

You know, I’ve heard that before. But here’s what I’ve seen. Weaker lifters are less likely to tear stuff. Stronger lifters are more likely to tear stuff. Makes sense- the more you push the limits of anatomy, the more likely the structures are to fail. I can think of pretty weak juiced lifters I’ve known that stay injury free. And I’ve known several strong drug-free lifters that have had their share of tears (pec, biceps, lats, etc). As for whether someone got stronger through drugs, I have not seen much difference in terms of injury. Are you seeing something different among friends/training partners?

I think both these posts make a lot of sense however I would argue that drug assisted lifters who practice two or three week blitz cycles could be particularly at risk. These protocols usually involve heavy use of androgens which give a lifter rapid strength gains mostly as a result of excess water and not actually any hypertrophy at least initially.

Crashball

[quote]crashball wrote:
I think both these posts make a lot of sense however I would argue that drug assisted lifters who practice two or three week blitz cycles could be particularly at risk. These protocols usually involve heavy use of androgens which give a lifter rapid strength gains mostly as a result of excess water and not actually any hypertrophy at least initially.

Crashball[/quote]

Is that what you’ve observed?

No, I’m just talking of the top of my head and from what I’ve heard.

[quote]Pinto wrote:
Crow wrote:
I hate to ask the question, but are you drug-assisted or not? Unfortunately this changes everything about the occurance obviously.

You know, I’ve heard that before. But here’s what I’ve seen. Weaker lifters are less likely to tear stuff. Stronger lifters are more likely to tear stuff. Makes sense- the more you push the limits of anatomy, the more likely the structures are to fail. I can think of pretty weak juiced lifters I’ve known that stay injury free. And I’ve known several strong drug-free lifters that have had their share of tears (pec, biceps, lats, etc). As for whether someone got stronger through drugs, I have not seen much difference in terms of injury. Are you seeing something different among friends/training partners?[/quote]

I thought it was fairly well established that drug assisted lifters will often have rapid increases in muscular strength while their tendons lag behind and this creates a greater risk of injury? I think Mel Siff has written some stuff about how he modified training if he knew a lifter was drug assisted?

Wait up a second, who here that has suffered from a pec tear actually stretches their pecs properly after they warm up? I know the only times I have torn something is when I have warmed up (partially) and haven’t got around to stretching, then jump straight in to my first exercise.

Yes, the stronger you are, the more chance you have of tearing: that’s because you are able to put more force through the same volume of muscle from a ‘cold start’ than someone weaker. This is my theory anyways.

When I started adding in light flies with a long, stretchy range of of motion before a raw bench session, I felt like I had less tightness/soreness. I suspect a good warm-up might help prevent pec tears

I can say honestly if your slacking on your stretching and soft tissue work, it is very likely to have a pec injury. The main thing otherwise is to warmup gradually, get away from the straight bar once in awhile for benching, and not overdoing it(easier said than done for 90% of the population).

what would soft tissue work on the pecs be like?
i’ve seen foam rollers on pecs but they’re very difficult to pull off.

Has anyone had a Major Pectoral tear fixed by a surgeon in NJ? I am in desperate need of one quick!

Any help I will love you forever nohomo

m4gs,

Check NJ magazine top docs issue (it came out over the summer). It should give listings for the top ortho’s in NJ. Off the top of my head, Tri County orthopedics in morristown is a good group of docs. Not sure where you live but you may want to consult with them if you live somewhere in Northern NJ.