Pectoral and Pec Minor Muscle-Related

[Larry]

44 years of violin playing and practice have resulted in repeated motion injury to a point where I have very little strength, and cannot sustain a ride of any length. My left pectoral and other chest muscles cannot carry the forward position of the muscles over the bars. Seat is only 2 cm. above bar height.
Anybody have any magical exercises or long term therapy. I have time to do exercises at home.
It hurts all the time. Discouraging!

Atenolol calms the pain down, but there still is no strength. Cycling future does not look good.
Painful here in Dallas.

[M.Sommers]

I doubt it's the pecs' fault. That shoulder is prolly the deeper cause. For 44 years of having your shoulders rolled forward...I'd see a great ortho Dr, receive a firm diagnosis via MRI...is is rotator cuff, impingement, frozen shoulder, labral tear...here:

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/shouldersurgery/a/shoulderpain.htm

[Ginger]

Yep. Get yourself to a ortho and a physical therapist for a looksee. Explain the cycling issue and the physical therapist will look at more than just your shoulder because...really... How's your core strength?

[Larry]

Core strength is low, because most anything I try aggravates the pectoral/shoulder area. Everything is out of balance.

[M.Sommers]

Core strength is low, because most anything I try aggravates the pectoral/shoulder area. Everything is out of balance.

I had a super nasty, pinpoint pain in the rear of my shoulder. It was an 11 on a scale of 1-10. Met a Chiropractor at a party, he adjusted my neck, the room shook. He adjusted my neck the next three days in a row and I was CURED (and in shock).

Having a bad knee problem, but complaining of calf pain, it seems that's what you're offering? It's just that your saying your pec muscles are hurting enough to be on a drug that is prescribed/used for hypertension/cardiac issues (it's a beta blocker). I'm lost :confused: ....

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:Hit1-ATlEtUJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atenolol+Atenolol&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

[Larry]

Atenolol (50 mg.), in this case, is used to calm down the pain in this area.
It relaxes the pec/shoulder pain. It really works!!
Also lowers pulse rate. Before starting Atenolol, when I tried cycling, the pain became severe enough that it would make the pulse spike. However, there are no cardio issues that I know of. I had a complete work-up a few years ago. Heart cath., etc.

Anxiety attacks are an issue at times (it's in the family history), because of course it temporarily elevates BP, and I can tend to have a racing heart beat.
Low dose Klonopin calms down the anxiety, but ..... it also creates dizziness,
which makes you lose security in your sense of balance.

I hope this all makes sense, because it has been a difficult road to travel for the past several years. At this point, cycling has come to a standstill.
Pec/shoulder pain and anxiety are aggravating each other. This is how I understand this situation. Working out, except for walking, cannot be done with the current problems. Or..... is age 54 supposed to be like this?
I think not.

[Ginger]

Well. If you aren't going to see a physical therapist (and push to get balanced. If you are steadfast in that, they will work with you to that end) the best thing you can start to do is yoga or pilates. Yoga is not a traditional "workout" and you should be able to adjust the postures to work with your issues.

The gentle stretching of yoga and the base work of pilates shouldn't aggravate your shoulder if you have a good instructor and do it right.
I've been through a lot of physical therapy and have seen a lot of people in far worse shape than I am doing work to get themselves back to a semblance of normal. While a traditional "workout" may not be in your future, that doesn't mean you can't improve your situation. You just have to look at muscle manipulation a bit differently.

Weak pecs really shouldn't be an issue as you shouldn't be leaning on your arms on your bike. Besides...that seems like your rhomboids would be more of an issue (and perhaps they are.) Do your shoulder blades "wing out" when you're standing upright???


Oh...and with your other meds, I'm not sure I'd suggest fish oil, but you should check with your doc about it. It's a natural way to block pain. Works for me. But it does interfere with a few meds...so check on that.

[Larry]

Well. If you aren't going to see a physical therapist (and push to get balanced. If you are steadfast in that, they will work with you to that end) the best thing you can start to do is yoga or pilates. Yoga is not a traditional "workout" and you should be able to adjust the postures to work with your issues.

The gentle stretching of yoga and the base work of pilates shouldn't aggravate your shoulder if you have a good instructor and do it right.
I've been through a lot of physical therapy and have seen a lot of people in far worse shape than I am doing work to get themselves back to a semblance of normal. While a traditional "workout" may not be in your future, that doesn't mean you can't improve your situation. You just have to look at muscle manipulation a bit differently.

Weak pecs really shouldn't be an issue as you shouldn't be leaning on your arms on your bike. Besides...that seems like your rhomboids would be more of an issue (and perhaps they are.) Do your shoulder blades "wing out" when you're standing upright???


Oh...and with your other meds, I'm not sure I'd suggest fish oil, but you should check with your doc about it. It's a natural way to block pain. Works for me. But it does interfere with a few meds...so check on that.

Ginger,

I am not sure if the shoulder blades "wing out", but the right shoulder is noticeably higher than the left. Again, this is directly related to the position of the violin and bowing with the right arm. (44 years later.) It's out of balance. Which muscles are the rhomboids? Location? I do stretch on the fitness ball periodically.

I do take fish oils. This sounds weird!!!!..... but they tend to raise the libido level significantly. Sounds like it creates a rush in adrenalin, but I have always felt that excessive adrenalin rush has been both a good and bad
thing to have.

Yoga and Pilates. Never considered this before. I will check this out.
Thanks.

Larry

[Larry]

Well. If you aren't going to see a physical therapist (and push to get balanced. If you are steadfast in that, they will work with you to that end) the best thing you can start to do is yoga or pilates. Yoga is not a traditional "workout" and you should be able to adjust the postures to work with your issues.

The gentle stretching of yoga and the base work of pilates shouldn't aggravate your shoulder if you have a good instructor and do it right.
I've been through a lot of physical therapy and have seen a lot of people in far worse shape than I am doing work to get themselves back to a semblance of normal. While a traditional "workout" may not be in your future, that doesn't mean you can't improve your situation. You just have to look at muscle manipulation a bit differently.

Weak pecs really shouldn't be an issue as you shouldn't be leaning on your arms on your bike. Besides...that seems like your rhomboids would be more of an issue (and perhaps they are.) Do your shoulder blades "wing out" when you're standing upright???


Oh...and with your other meds, I'm not sure I'd suggest fish oil, but you should check with your doc about it. It's a natural way to block pain. Works for me. But it does interfere with a few meds...so check on that.

Ginger,

Is there any special formula with respect to how much fish oil you should take on a daily basis?
Thanks.

Larry

[jspa]

You could always get a recumbent and ride that until you get things sorted out. Its probably better than not riding at all.

[Larry]

I doubt it's the pecs' fault. That shoulder is prolly the deeper cause. For 44 years of having your shoulders rolled forward...I'd see a great ortho Dr, receive a firm diagnosis via MRI...is is rotator cuff, impingement, frozen shoulder, labral tear...here:

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/shouldersurgery/a/shoulderpain.htm

Yes..... shoulders are rolled forward. Sitting at the computer does not help a bit.

LL

[BUTCH RIDES]

Hello I am very sorry to hear of your pain ,when we get older we have to change our exercise to deal with it sometimes.
If you can still walk without pain i would do that, work up to an hour if you can ,..and go to the doc.
bye

[Larry]

Hello I am very sorry to hear of your pain ,when we get older we have to change our exercise to deal with it sometimes.
If you can still walk without pain i would do that, work up to an hour if you can ,..and go to the doc.
bye

Walking seems to be the logical alternative.
Even this can be painful, if I go beyond 25 minutes.

I cannot stop playing violin until mid-May.
So for now..... I will just hang in there tough.

[thejen12]

Have you tried lying lengthwise on a foam roller (butt at one end, head at the other end) and letting your arms flop out to the side? Ideally, your forearms should both touch the ground in the "W" position. Eventually I was taught the WITY positions - arms out with elbows bent, like a W, arms straight over my head (hands on the floor) like an I, arms straight out to the side like a T and arms straight out at an angle to my head, like a Y.

This was the first exercise the PTs gave me when I started seeking therapy again. I was very "rolled forward" in the shoulder area and my pecs were extremely tight. My arms didn't come close to the floor! The prescription was to lie like this for 4 minutes continuously per day. It wound up helping a lot, but was just the very beginning....

Jenn