Abdominal Strain

[Rad83]

Any tips/advice for a strained abdominal muscle…? Think I injured it this time bending into my car to grab a 3 pack of gallon jugs of water….


Thanks!

 

[botk1161]

Not knowing what area of the abdominal feels strained. First thing that comes to mind is bridge work. Side plank and Side plank clambshell specifically.

 

[Smont]

Any tips/advice for a strained abdominal muscle…? Think I injured it this time bending into my car to grab a 3 pack of gallon jugs of water….


Thanks!

Im in for info. I dont have a answer tho. I did something to injure mine a long time ago and i cant do more then like 15 crunches without a Spasm so bad I drop the floor. Ive had to build my core strength with zero actual ab work the past year. Il occosionally Do sets of hanging leg raises or crunches but it almost always happens, sometimes on the firsr set. So i do planks, farmers walks some other stuff instead

 

[Smont]

Im gonna guess if its a minor sprain then rest, ice, heat repeat.

 

[botk1161]

Imo traditional ab work is the worst thing you can do to fk your core and back. Big 3 with an extra big dose of side planks, one arm carries, bottoms up carries, marches with one arm carries and really engaging the abs (bracing) during all workout type movements like rope work has kept me lifting heavy - I am turning 57 in September. I never use a belt for squats or deadlifts anymore either no matter if it’s a max or reps.

 

[Rad83]

Not knowing what area of the abdominal feels strained. First thing that comes to mind is bridge work. Side plank and Side plank clambshell specifically.

Thanks for the replies all!

And to answer this it’s the top right and a little underneath and to the side. I see it mimics the way you’d bend over and grab something with right arm.

Is there anyone with good examples of these stretches/core work on YouTube ?

I’m taking cissus, turmeric, fish oil and glucosamine, chondroitin, msm….Will these help in the ab region? Also trying Voltaren on it.

(Is there any reason to think transdermal 4andro, lgd, dmz, hexadrone…would provide healing benefits? I’m depressed and just throwing all my ideas out in this reply..)

 

[botk1161]

Thanks for the replies all!

And to answer this it’s the top right and a little underneath and to the side. I see it mimics the way you’d bend over and grab something with right arm.

Is there anyone with good examples of these stretches/core work on YouTube ?

I’m taking cissus, turmeric, fish oil and glucosamine, chondroitin, msm….Will these help in the ab region? Also trying Voltaren on it.

(Is there any reason to think transdermal 4andro, lgd, dmz, hexadrone…would provide healing benefits? I’m depressed and just throwing all my ideas out in this reply..)

I think certain movement is the key.
I highly doubt supplements are gonna do anything.
Is the area that hurts on top of the ribs, at the rib crease or a bit further down than the rib cage?

 

[Rad83]

 

[botk1161]

Ok you did say “it’s the top right and a little underneath and to the side.”.
I assume nearly everything you do in the gym bothers it? What movements bother it most? And what movements have you been doing to try and fix this?

 

[Rad83]

Ok you did say “it’s the top right and a little underneath and to the side.”.
I assume nearly everything you do in the gym bothers it? What movements bother it most? And what movements have you been doing to try and fix this?

I appreciate your help! Your pec advice with the palms up band raise is GOLD.

What I think is, I re-injured it on May 1st from something a couple months prior.

I was already taking the week off, due to an upper respiratory infection and being on methylprednisolone. I had no idea I even caused this injury and my anxiety had me thinking it was liver stress from being on the oral

I was feeling better and trained upper body, on Monday the 6th….pulldowns, low incline db’s, cable flies, a machine row. Side and rear delts, db curls, cable push downs …A mild, workout, to ease back into training.

Tuesday evening I was feeling this strain comeback again. I’m just giving it rest.
Last time I trained to “train around it” and I prolonged the healing.

 

[Rad83]

Hey @Hyde Mah man…ever dealt with an ab strain?

 

[botk1161]

I appreciate your help! Your pec advice with the palms up band raise is GOLD.

What I think is, I re-injured it on May 1st from something a couple months prior.

I was already taking the week off, due to an upper respiratory infection and being on methylprednisolone. I had no idea I even caused this injury and my anxiety had me thinking it was liver stress from being on the oral

I was feeling better and trained upper body, on Monday the 6th….pulldowns, low incline db’s, cable flies, a machine row. Side and rear delts, db curls, cable push downs …A mild, workout, to ease back into training.

Tuesday evening I was feeling this strain comeback again. I’m just giving it rest.
Last time I trained to “train around it” and I prolonged the healing.

I have had some pretty bad ab strains and one pretty big tear over the years. They can be tough to come back from cause there are so many layers of tissue going every which way that get affected by pretty much every movement. "We" need to let it heal, but the more we rest, the more scar tissue / tightness can build up impeding ROM seemingly making it feel harder to come back from and making the area dis functional when we do. If I were you, I think I would still keep trying to do movements that keep the area from getting too tight. Maybe some hanging, some light duty side planks and planks to keep the deep fibers from seizing up (and keep the area challenged) too much for a couple of weeks. And I would try to introduce movements that mimic the movement that injured it with light weight and low volume (ie. maybe a light one arm dumbell row without assistance). It sounds like the second strain was kind of a surprise (like you were not expecting it happen in the least). This may have been from not waiting long enough to heal from the initial strain, but maybe (at least partly) from the initial strain not having ROM in "all directions" to be able to handle the movement (making the area not functional enough). I have found that the discomfort from these can hang on for a few months (some of what you felt 24 hours after you worked out) and its normal to feel this discomfort when rehabbing this area cause of the layering and cause its always "on" stabilizing our every movement. Its a bit of gross feeling unlike any other injured area of the body I think. I think its about finding a level of movement that produces a little bit of discomfort 24 hours later, but not too much and building on that. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Rad83]

@botk1161 …really great advice, much appreciated!

Thus far, I’ve been walking the park or indoor mall…ice and heat…and did a few days of advil. What do you think of using a 2 pad tens unit on the area and/or massage gun?

I do feel it getting better, and will try out some planks!

And yes, I did not expect it to come back at all. I had already been back training from the first time, for a 3.5 weeks. Took a week off for a medical issue…and it happened half way in to that week off…

 

[botk1161]

@botk1161 …really great advice, much appreciated!

Thus far, I’ve been walking the park or indoor mall…ice and heat…and did a few days of advil. What do you think of using a 2 pad tens unit on the area and/or massage gun?

I do feel it getting better, and will try out some planks!

And yes, I did not expect it to come back at all. I had already been back training from the first time, for a 3.5 weeks. Took a week off for a medical issue…and it happened half way in to that week off…

Tens unit may be a bit too much cause it will reach deep, but you could try! Massage gun for sure really helped me early on - my experience with these is that they appear as a harder tissue that need to be broken up and needed / pulled apart. I really think the planks will help - maybe a side plank for say 10 seconds and then switch to the other side and back etc. If this does not hurt to much during the transfer, it will really help challenge the area and get it functional. Nothing like something like this to derail us - but its only temporary.

 

[Rad83]

@botk1161 do you prefer ice, heat or both?

I seem to be getting some small benefit from Voltaren

 

[botk1161]

@botk1161 do you prefer ice, heat or both?

I seem to be getting some small benefit from Voltaren

I like ice for noticeable inflammation like on a knee or wrist. Not sure if it would help at the depth of an abdominal strain though. I have rarely used heat. Only when the area is so seized that warm up type movements are getting beyond uncomfortable. Like post shoulder or knee surgery at 6 weeks + to get the area primed for passive movement. I can see Voltaren helping in this situation as the strain is probably pretty deep. I had a really bad abdominal tear (there was an audible tearing of tissue under load that I thought may require surgery) that I thought would never go away, but low and behold after about 4 months I forgot I had it lol.