Hi all,
I am normally not active on these forums, but I thought I sign up to offer some information + hope to anyone in a similar situation.
I am a 36y/o recreational powerlifter (average level), and duly enjoy training. Last year in August I was very close to reaching a life-time PR on the bench. In mid training, I ruptured my pec major tendon doing weighted dips. This was after my regular bench sets. I experienced a sharp pain, which persisted for another 30 minutes or so (6.5/10 pain level). Subsequent visits to the doctor confirmed a full pec major tendon rupture.
I sustained the injury on 08Aug17 and had my surgery scheduled for 22Aug17. 4 Weeks in a sling + 9 physio/rehab sessions. Overall, my recovery has been going very well and I am quite happy with the result so far (knock on wood). I have not been doing any dips since, but I have made quite a few adjustments to my training since the start of the year. On the bench, I had 85% of my previous strength after 4-5 months and now have about 97% of my previous strength back. Things are progressing quite well and I hope to achieve my lifetime PR later in the year, but I obviously won’t push it if not ready.
My quick return of strength might just be lucky, but I have been trying to view the entire process with an optimistic view. I see this as having been given the “Gift of Injury”, as I was required to question/review my training methods, which had a lot of carryover to my other lifts (squat/deadlift).
In any case, above was really just a brief overview. I am happy to provide more details if anyone is interested or answer any questions
- Details on the actual tearing bruising, type of tear
- Details on the actual surgery: procedure, incision, scaring, costs (although here in the UK we have public health insurance)
- Recovery, ROM, Cosmesis
- Implications on training