Injury Q & A with Dr. Joe

**Baldiewonkanobi** · 10-26-2010, 06:57 AM

Woke up with no increase in pain. Its more localized. Brusing is still a pale blue. Like a painful garbanzo bean. I can almost get two finger tips round it.
Strange....

Baldie

**joedemarco** · 10-26-2010, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by Baldiewonkanobi

Woke up with no increase in pain. Its more localized. Brusing is still a pale blue. Like a painful garbanzo bean. I can almost get two finger tips round it.
Strange....

Baldie

Sounds like a small tear/herniation. It's a good sign you had no further pain or swelling this morning. Probably not much you can do for it besides continue to ice until the pain and discoloration goes away. I still have a couple of little bumps on my calf muscles from past minor herniations.

**Baldiewonkanobi** · 10-26-2010, 08:48 AM

Thanx...I posted this rather than phone you should the injury/healing be info for our brothers.

Baldie

**Baldiewonkanobi** · 10-28-2010, 08:15 AM

The bruise is now 3" in diam. and spreading.

Baldie

**joedemarco** · 10-28-2010, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by Baldiewonkanobi

The bruise is now 3" in diam. and spreading.

Baldie

You may have a blood vessel that has ruptured, even if only slightly. I had a major tear of my left gastroc that I sustained in a judo match. After the match, I only noticed a moderate "bump" on my calf. However, I had ruptured a blood vessel and within 5 minutes my entire calf was swollen to double it's normal size. Obviously, you didn't sustain that same type of blood vessel rupture, however you may have some type of tear of the muscle with a small tear in a vessel. I would have your doc take a look at it. Probably not much they will do with it because these things will just heal on their own. However, always better to be safe then sorry. Keep me posted.

**Baldiewonkanobi** · 10-28-2010, 01:37 PM

I see Doc in a week or so when I get back from L.A. Until then no calf work.

Baldie

**Baldiewonkanobi** · 11-08-2010, 04:11 PM

Bingo. Ruptured blood vessel. Saw the Doc this morning. Said wrapped knees and big poundages and 70 year old vascular system...."Guess which gives out first?".

Baldie

**freebirdmac** · 11-08-2010, 08:44 PM

I have had periodic pain just above my elbow on the outside of my arm since March or so. Sometimes when I bend my arms I feel it, sometimes I don't. I recently attributed it to tight forearms, and had the massage therapist really work it Friday. It's hurting again tonight. So I started remembering how I thought clean and press back in March started it off. But I haven't done them since late April. Tonight the lightbulb came on. Dumbbells! Back in March I also did heavy farmers' walks! Since then I've been doing db lunges, not as heavy, but still the same strain. Probably other exercises were straining the same area.

If this is the case then I need to figure out what's damaged and what to do/avoid. I can switch to bb lunges. I don't know what else I should alter. No exercise has ever invoked the pain while I'm in the gym to any great extent. It's far more noticeable later on. Right now it's kind of a stinging pain.

Any thoughts?

**joedemarco** · 11-08-2010, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by freebirdmac

I have had periodic pain just above my elbow on the outside of my arm since March or so. Sometimes when I bend my arms I feel it, sometimes I don't. I recently attributed it to tight forearms, and had the massage therapist really work it Friday. It's hurting again tonight. So I started remembering how I thought clean and press back in March started it off. But I haven't done them since late April. Tonight the lightbulb came on. Dumbbells! Back in March I also did heavy farmers' walks! Since then I've been doing db lunges, not as heavy, but still the same strain. Probably other exercises were straining the same area.

If this is the case then I need to figure out what's damaged and what to do/avoid. I can switch to bb lunges. I don't know what else I should alter. No exercise has ever invoked the pain while I'm in the gym to any great extent. It's far more noticeable later on. Right now it's kind of a stinging pain.

Any thoughts?

Usually if the pain is more noticeable after training, it is tendonitis. Once warmed-up, you can usually train without much discomfort (on most movements). It has been my experience, that there are usually certain exercises that aggravate the area while training. Most, you won't feel anything. Therefore, the ones that blatantly aggravate, you need to skip until the inflammation goes away. In regards to treatment, ice down after every workout for 20 minutes (it really works so do it!). Also I find ultrasound therapy effective on the area, as well as certain Active Release Techniques. (I cleared up my training partners elbow pain in 5 minutes last week with some Active Release.

These types of problems are nagging and there is no exact answer. Just let pain be your guide while training. It will do you no good to perform any exercises that aggravate it even slightly. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

**freebirdmac** · 11-09-2010, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by joedemarco

Usually if the pain is more noticeable after training, it is tendonitis. Once warmed-up, you can usually train without much discomfort (on most movements). It has been my experience, that there are usually certain exercises that aggravate the area while training. Most, you won't feel anything. Therefore, the ones that blatantly aggravate, you need to skip until the inflammation goes away. In regards to treatment, ice down after every workout for 20 minutes (it really works so do it!). Also I find ultrasound therapy effective on the area, as well as certain Active Release Techniques. (I cleared up my training partners elbow pain in 5 minutes last week with some Active Release.

These types of problems are nagging and there is no exact answer. Just let pain be your guide while training. It will do you no good to perform any exercises that aggravate it even slightly. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

Thanks Joe. Pullups tonight didn't seem to aggravate it so I think I may be on to something with farmers' walk and lunges. I'm kind of surprised db shrugs didn't bother it either but I do those with my arms slightly bent.

Tendonitis eh? Had enough of that in my shoulders. Blech.

**joedemarco** · 11-10-2010, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by freebirdmac

Thanks Joe. Pullups tonight didn't seem to aggravate it so I think I may be on to something with farmers' walk and lunges. I'm kind of surprised db shrugs didn't bother it either but I do those with my arms slightly bent.

Tendonitis eh? Had enough of that in my shoulders. Blech.

You may want to give one of those forearm straps a try that they sell for tennis elbow. It applies pressure to the area while working out. Sometimes they don't help at all but other times they can make a big difference. It's worth a shot. They are pretty cheap and you can pick it up at any drug store.

**Baldiewonkanobi** · 11-15-2010, 08:26 AM

OK Joe here is a good one to ponder. My 'ruptured blood vessel' is 90% gone. What is left is a visable detachment of the calf away from the shin bone as seen from the front. Something more tramatic than anyone of us imagined happened. Not a bad thing visualy mind you. If both calf muscles had this 'cut' it would be better.

Baldie

**joedemarco** · 11-15-2010, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by Baldiewonkanobi

OK Joe here is a good one to ponder. My 'ruptured blood vessel' is 90% gone. What is left is a visable detachment of the calf away from the shin bone as seen from the front. Something more tramatic than anyone of us imagined happened. Not a bad thing visualy mind you. If both calf muscles had this 'cut' it would be better.

Baldie

Does the detachment look like a small bubble or is it more of a line running down the shin? The little bubble type detachments are pretty common, especially in the shin region.