Personal thank you North Coast Miller for introducing me to Dr. Mandell. Stuck out here in the Philippines with a new C7 injury and his videos have really helped me to not only self-diagnose my injury but also helped me lay out a recovery plan that I feel confident with. Thank you!
Off-Topic Anyone dealt with loss of strength due to pinched nerve (cervical radiculopathy)
- Thread starter Tirofijo
- Start date
Personal thank you North Coast Miller for introducing me to Dr. Mandell. Stuck out here in the Philippines with a new C7 injury and his videos have really helped me to not only self-diagnose my injury but also helped me lay out a recovery plan that I feel confident with. Thank you!
Contingency
Level 2 Valued Member
UPDATE:
It's 3-4 months now since the beginning of my symptoms.
My pain was replaced by numbness in thumb and index finger and tingling shortly after I wrote that first post. The weakness prevailed and my chest, triceps and lat muscles have atrophied. I've done MRI and it showed disc extrusion c6-c7 and disc bulge c5-c6. Waiting for the appointment with a neurosurgeon to see my options. Most of the doctors I showed my MRI to said that I will probably need surgery. I'm not in pain but one of the doctors said that it could be a bad sign because my nerve is severely compressed. I don't know the right way to deal with this....
It's 3-4 months now since the beginning of my symptoms.
My pain was replaced by numbness in thumb and index finger and tingling shortly after I wrote that first post. The weakness prevailed and my chest, triceps and lat muscles have atrophied. I've done MRI and it showed disc extrusion c6-c7 and disc bulge c5-c6. Waiting for the appointment with a neurosurgeon to see my options. Most of the doctors I showed my MRI to said that I will probably need surgery. I'm not in pain but one of the doctors said that it could be a bad sign because my nerve is severely compressed. I don't know the right way to deal with this....
Pete Henry
Level 3 Valued Member
I just thought it worth returning to the thread to give an update on my progress - many tests by different doctors couldn't give me much info apart from the nerves weren't firing (something I could guess at) and they advised physio. I rested most of the latter part of 2019 and into 2020 and started press ups from lockdown in the UK around March. That was slow, but I gradually improved as time went on. I managed to build a bit of a home gym as well and am benching about 50kg now (previously around 65kg) and my dips (my favourite exercise) are back to 3 sets of 15 although I am conscious that I am relying on my right hand side which I'm working on.
The muscle loss from my left pec and tricep were drastic - the tricep virtually disappeared (medial head seems to have taken the biggest loss) or so it seemed but are returning slowly. There is still a marked difference between the right and left arms but it is coming back.
Like has been said the canary in the mine is the tingling in my left hand fingers so watch out for that. I'm 52 now and building muscle seems harder but i can offer hope that it will get better without surgery for some of us.
One thing that crossed my mind - how many of the people on here have broken a collar bone, my left one was broken in my 20s and I was wondering that did that shortening of the bone have any impact on this as there is less room for the nerve to squeeze through and is compressed further by building muscle. Just a thought.
The muscle loss from my left pec and tricep were drastic - the tricep virtually disappeared (medial head seems to have taken the biggest loss) or so it seemed but are returning slowly. There is still a marked difference between the right and left arms but it is coming back.
Like has been said the canary in the mine is the tingling in my left hand fingers so watch out for that. I'm 52 now and building muscle seems harder but i can offer hope that it will get better without surgery for some of us.
One thing that crossed my mind - how many of the people on here have broken a collar bone, my left one was broken in my 20s and I was wondering that did that shortening of the bone have any impact on this as there is less room for the nerve to squeeze through and is compressed further by building muscle. Just a thought.
eirwin71
Level 1 Valued Member
Any updates ?
Pete Henry
Level 3 Valued Member
Yeah, as above (Pete Henry)
No surgery and lots of rest. Basically starting from a low base but up to 3 sets of dips and 3 sets of 110lb bench (not sets of 10 though yet). Can feel some tingling in my fingers after training but stretch out my left arm and it seems ok. Lots of atrophy on my left tricep and pec but very little else.
strange one - I did wonder if it was anything to do with me breaking my left collarbone in my 20s but nothing really to go on.
Don’t think I’ll ever get it back fully with age against me but glad to be training again
Last edited:
eirwin71
Level 1 Valued Member
Great to hear!! I’m two weeks in. Right tricep is at 25% right now. Pain is better. Started PT yesterday.
Kyussmanchu
First Post
well, here's my story.
I had a really nasty flareup of stiffness in my neck in the summer of 2019. It was REALLY painful and intense. Having suffered with stiff neck issues for most of my adult life, I just chalked it up to it being another episode (though none of the previous ones were ever this bad).
After dealing with the pain for a few days with no relief in sight, I decided to get a deep tissue massage. It was at the moment the massage therapist asked me to roll over on to my stomach that I realized something was wrong. As I tried to roll over, my right side crumbled under my own weight and I did a face plant on to the table. I decided then to go see a doctor, who told I was having or had a stroke. despite not having any of the symptoms aside from the weakness on my right side. I refuted his diagnosis and decided to see a PT. GP's are basically useless unless unless you have a cold.
Within a few mins of seeing the PT, he was able to confirm my own diagnosis of a pinched nerve in my neck (C6-C7).
By that time (about 2 weeks later) My right triceps had all but dissolved.
The PT put me on a regimen of workouts and stretches and I've been at it for about a year now.
I would say that I am at 70% of where I used to be and I'm happy to still be progressing.
all I can say is stay positive and keep at it and make sure you have good posture. Also keep doing some stretches for your neck. I found that chin tucks did wonders to relieve the numbness and pain.
I know it can be depressing. trust me, I used to bench like 400lbs and here I was struggling with a 5lb weight.
It was a huge hit to my ego, but I used it as motivation to fight through and regain my right arm, shoulder and pec.
Good luck with the recoveries.
I had a really nasty flareup of stiffness in my neck in the summer of 2019. It was REALLY painful and intense. Having suffered with stiff neck issues for most of my adult life, I just chalked it up to it being another episode (though none of the previous ones were ever this bad).
After dealing with the pain for a few days with no relief in sight, I decided to get a deep tissue massage. It was at the moment the massage therapist asked me to roll over on to my stomach that I realized something was wrong. As I tried to roll over, my right side crumbled under my own weight and I did a face plant on to the table. I decided then to go see a doctor, who told I was having or had a stroke. despite not having any of the symptoms aside from the weakness on my right side. I refuted his diagnosis and decided to see a PT. GP's are basically useless unless unless you have a cold.
Within a few mins of seeing the PT, he was able to confirm my own diagnosis of a pinched nerve in my neck (C6-C7).
By that time (about 2 weeks later) My right triceps had all but dissolved.
The PT put me on a regimen of workouts and stretches and I've been at it for about a year now.
I would say that I am at 70% of where I used to be and I'm happy to still be progressing.
all I can say is stay positive and keep at it and make sure you have good posture. Also keep doing some stretches for your neck. I found that chin tucks did wonders to relieve the numbness and pain.
I know it can be depressing. trust me, I used to bench like 400lbs and here I was struggling with a 5lb weight.
It was a huge hit to my ego, but I used it as motivation to fight through and regain my right arm, shoulder and pec.
Good luck with the recoveries.
Contingency
Level 2 Valued Member
UPDATE:
- About six months since first symptoms occurred.
- Had c6/c7 ACDF surgery almost a month ago.
- It's been 2 and a half month without training.
Numbness went away before surgery. Surgery got rid of tingling down my arm. Triceps, pec and lat on the right side are still weak. If I press these muscles I feel dull pain. There shouldn't be any more nerve root compression but the damage has been done and I have to wait and see will the nerves regenerate.
Today I did 3x10 push ups to see if the pec and tricep will activate but to no avail. Still no progress. Still no activation. The muscle-mind connection seems to be lost. Hoping it will get better in the next several months. Will keep you posted.
- About six months since first symptoms occurred.
- Had c6/c7 ACDF surgery almost a month ago.
- It's been 2 and a half month without training.
Numbness went away before surgery. Surgery got rid of tingling down my arm. Triceps, pec and lat on the right side are still weak. If I press these muscles I feel dull pain. There shouldn't be any more nerve root compression but the damage has been done and I have to wait and see will the nerves regenerate.
Today I did 3x10 push ups to see if the pec and tricep will activate but to no avail. Still no progress. Still no activation. The muscle-mind connection seems to be lost. Hoping it will get better in the next several months. Will keep you posted.
eirwin71
Level 1 Valued Member
Thanks for sharing just curious why you elected you have elected to have surgery versus waiting as I’ve seen multiple people in this thread wait six months to a year but eventually the strength comes back for the most part. Reason I ask, I am about seven weeks into my pinched nerve in my pain at all but gone but my tricep is taking a lot of time to come back and is very weak. Been doing physical therapy, chiropractic work, and supplements and pain is all that gone. Strength is taking its sweet time to come back and I can tell my tricep has atrophied but I am working every day to keep it moving.
Contingency
Level 2 Valued Member
Well, I did wait 5-6 months before surgery. I didn't notice much improvement in strength and muscle atrophy was too scary for me. When I lifted my arms and put elbows in front of me I could see a hole where a part of my pec used to be. Lateral and medial head of tricep and lat all showed severe signs of atrophy.
MRI showed compression of the c7 nerve root due to c6-c7 disc extrusion. EMG showed indications of chronic c7 radiculopathy as if the compression lasted for years and but I didn't notice it. I was too afraid of permanent nerve damage. The surgery was the only thing that guaranteed that the nerve compression will be removed. PT doesn't help in those situations and chiropractor said that he will try decompression therapy and some manual adjustment but he couldn't make any promises.
At this point I can't tell if it was right decision but I hope it was. Only time will tell. Every case is different. Trust your doctors and your instincts and follow the treatment you believe is the best.
North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
You def met the criteria for a surgical intervention. Best of luck bringing the hardware back on line. Hopefully it is no more atrophied than it would have been from being immobilized and will come back on a similar curve.
Highmileage
Level 1 Valued Member
Hope y'all don't mind a new guy jumping in on the thread. I'm a 56 year old that has endured a huge loss in muscle strength in the left arm over the past 3 years. I went to see a occupational health therapist at my employer; the injury isn't work related, but there's a practice on site at my employer. After going through 12 weeks of stretching and light band exercises, I had no improvement.
Decided to go to a dedicated physical therapy practice that has 2 physical therapy docs, 2 massage therapists, a chiropractor, etc. all under one roof.
Cervical MRI indicated the issue was @ C5 and C6 and a nerve conduction study showed nerve damage. When my nerves should be electrically "silent", there's a lot of electrical activity indicating myelin sheath damage.
Of course, a lifetime of working with my hands and lifting on and off for decades also contributes to some carpal tunnel syndrome, but my main concern at this point is the loss of strength in my left biceps, forearm, and left deltoid.
I think a good bit of the deltoid problem is from the left biceps and forearm atrophy and not being able to handle weight. However, my posterior deltoid has atrophied as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused interruptions to my PT, although have almost a full gym setup in my shop ( squat rack, 45°leg press, Smith machine, plates, d'bells etc and do as much as I can as far as lifting, but I'm having problems loafing plates just to squat. I literally have problems curling a 5# d'bell with my bad arm.....it's bizzare. The best way I can describe it is imagine your brain calling your arm on the telephone, but your arm never answers the phone.
There has been talk of seeing a neurosurgeon w/ the preferences being artificial disk replacement or posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy according to a quick conversation with the neurosurgeon's practice but they stressed that is strictly based on the imaging of my neck and shoulder, and the nerve conduction studies. Again, COVID-19 has my consultation with the neurosurgeon behind schedule.
I can say the hormone-wise I'm at the upper third of the range in regards to my free testosterone and my IGF-1 levels have always naturally been at the upper end of the reference range or slightly over the upper end of the range ( all of this based on labwork that either my Drs. have ordered or that I ordered myself online).
So, sorry for the long post, but wanted to throw all if the information out there:
Have any of y'all encountered this? If so, have you any improvement and what did you do to get that improvement?
I've just skimmed the forum on this subject and still have more searching to do, but do you know of any threads regarding similar experiences.?
I still lift when I can, but miss having my rewarding lifts and of course the benefits of lifting regularly/ as regular as work allows. This has gotten to the point it affects my ability at work and I need to get a hang on this and reverse the direction it is taking.
Thanks for reading through all the information I posted. Even if you don't have any suggestions, I appreciate the time you spent reading this.
Decided to go to a dedicated physical therapy practice that has 2 physical therapy docs, 2 massage therapists, a chiropractor, etc. all under one roof.
Cervical MRI indicated the issue was @ C5 and C6 and a nerve conduction study showed nerve damage. When my nerves should be electrically "silent", there's a lot of electrical activity indicating myelin sheath damage.
Of course, a lifetime of working with my hands and lifting on and off for decades also contributes to some carpal tunnel syndrome, but my main concern at this point is the loss of strength in my left biceps, forearm, and left deltoid.
I think a good bit of the deltoid problem is from the left biceps and forearm atrophy and not being able to handle weight. However, my posterior deltoid has atrophied as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused interruptions to my PT, although have almost a full gym setup in my shop ( squat rack, 45°leg press, Smith machine, plates, d'bells etc and do as much as I can as far as lifting, but I'm having problems loafing plates just to squat. I literally have problems curling a 5# d'bell with my bad arm.....it's bizzare. The best way I can describe it is imagine your brain calling your arm on the telephone, but your arm never answers the phone.
There has been talk of seeing a neurosurgeon w/ the preferences being artificial disk replacement or posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy according to a quick conversation with the neurosurgeon's practice but they stressed that is strictly based on the imaging of my neck and shoulder, and the nerve conduction studies. Again, COVID-19 has my consultation with the neurosurgeon behind schedule.
I can say the hormone-wise I'm at the upper third of the range in regards to my free testosterone and my IGF-1 levels have always naturally been at the upper end of the reference range or slightly over the upper end of the range ( all of this based on labwork that either my Drs. have ordered or that I ordered myself online).
So, sorry for the long post, but wanted to throw all if the information out there:
Have any of y'all encountered this? If so, have you any improvement and what did you do to get that improvement?
I've just skimmed the forum on this subject and still have more searching to do, but do you know of any threads regarding similar experiences.?
I still lift when I can, but miss having my rewarding lifts and of course the benefits of lifting regularly/ as regular as work allows. This has gotten to the point it affects my ability at work and I need to get a hang on this and reverse the direction it is taking.
Thanks for reading through all the information I posted. Even if you don't have any suggestions, I appreciate the time you spent reading this.
Highmileage
Level 1 Valued Member
Bump for any advice.
Thanks!
Thanks!
North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
Your situation sounds quite a bit different from my own w/ exception of the disks involved. The atrophy and loss of strength are a result of signals not making it to the muscle - in effect is the same as immobilizing the muscle.
How much can be recovered or whether surgery is the best route would be a decision for you and your Dr. In the meantime a lot of people get some relief using cervical traction devices. It didn't do much for me, but my diagnosis was not the same as yours, and there are no real downsides to trying it.
I would keep training it as long as that is OK'd by Dr and/or you notice no negative effects - you have to approach it like rehabbing an injured limb - it won't be fun and your goal is to regain as much function as possible or slow/halt the loss.
Specifically I don't think there is an established protocol - exercise/resistance training is encouraged. Anything you can do to increase firing rate or size/strength of the remaining motor units, and presumably some cross potentiation (?) from intact nerve signals to neighboring motor units that have been cut off.
Best of luck, please update your progress. There aren't many resources like this thread on the internet for people in your (our) situation.
thekwongshow
First Post
Came across this forum while researching my problem.
48 yr old male. I have been working out for over 20 years. Recently had sharp pain near rhomboid on right side. It happened without trauma. I work a job where I'm bending forward a lot. After work it felt like a sharp defined area of pain. I have had ribs out of place so I chalked it up to that. Next few days it got worse. Generalized deep deep achy on my right scap that spread into my triceps. My triceps started to twitch involuntarily. The pain was quite severe. I saw MD and he gave me Lyrica and pain meds. After 2 weeks it settled down and a month later i am fully pain free. I went to gym and went to warm up with 35lb dumbells press and my right side during the press felt like spaghetti. I usually work up to 110lb dumbells for sets. I was scared as hell because when I grabbed the dumbbells from the rack everything was fine all the till the concentric push. My right pec and triceps strength decreased by like 75 percent. I'm so depressed. If it is a disc herniation ( I am scheduled for an MRI soon), what chance of recovery of strength do I have? I have zero neck discomfort, it's all scap and tricep. It has been just over 1 month, do I still have hope?
48 yr old male. I have been working out for over 20 years. Recently had sharp pain near rhomboid on right side. It happened without trauma. I work a job where I'm bending forward a lot. After work it felt like a sharp defined area of pain. I have had ribs out of place so I chalked it up to that. Next few days it got worse. Generalized deep deep achy on my right scap that spread into my triceps. My triceps started to twitch involuntarily. The pain was quite severe. I saw MD and he gave me Lyrica and pain meds. After 2 weeks it settled down and a month later i am fully pain free. I went to gym and went to warm up with 35lb dumbells press and my right side during the press felt like spaghetti. I usually work up to 110lb dumbells for sets. I was scared as hell because when I grabbed the dumbbells from the rack everything was fine all the till the concentric push. My right pec and triceps strength decreased by like 75 percent. I'm so depressed. If it is a disc herniation ( I am scheduled for an MRI soon), what chance of recovery of strength do I have? I have zero neck discomfort, it's all scap and tricep. It has been just over 1 month, do I still have hope?
aphil02
First Post
This page helped me two years ago when I herniated and disc and lost a lot of strength. Because I wanted to keep track of my symptoms and progress for my doctor's benefit, and mine, I kept some detailed notes. Looking back at the time I injured myself, the one thing I wanted to hear was other people's long-term experiences. I struggled with the decision to get, or not get, surgery and in the end didn't get it. For me, that ended up being the right choice. Others will have different outcomes and paths to recovery, but here's my daily story and timeline. Once the notes stop about a year ago, I had basically stopped caring about it as an injruy, which meant it wasn't really an issue anymore. FWIW, I don't anticipate I'll check this forum much to reply to people, but I hope these notes help.
August/September 2019: pain in the sides of both arms after heavy bench press (250lb max) or heavy deadlift (365 max), but pain fades after an hour or two usually. Didn’t think much of it, thought maybe it was a tendon thing.
10/9 – had a massage, and there was some focus on the knot under my right scapula. This was the first time it hurt, and until that massage, I didn’t realize it was a problem
10/18 – throbbing pain under shoulder blade starts
10/20- did a workout with cleans and overhead presses and some chainsaw rows and a ton of pull ups, which aggravated my back soreness. No weakness yet but have a weird cramp under my right scap.
10/21—still strong - after a day of overexertion, the pain was bad enough I got dry needling on that sore spot on my back, plus my levator scapulae, and nearby muscles. Very sore afterward. But arm does not hurt yet. However At some point around this time, I noticed the veins on my right arm are getting smaller than my left arm. Coincidence?
10/22 – workout - still strong – benching 185 for 8 reps or so.
10/23 – no workout, but pain is bad. Air travel today. I almost cried during a presentation because of the pain.
10/24-25 – All of a sudden, weakness is obvious on the right triceps. I could barely do pushups because of my right arm. Cannot do bench press at all now. By now, the pain has spread to the side of my right upper arm and shoulder, but the initial pain spot was mostly resolved. Pain does not vary with activity. It’s always there, and actually feels better while I’m working out and just afterward.
10/26-10/27 – Pain bad in back, shoulder, and arm. Right pec and trap started twitching. Can't do a single pushup.
10/29-10/30 – pain is getting better but right arm is still weak. Lat- pec twitching is mostly gone.
10/31 - pain is almost gone. Still weak. Triceps is starting to twitch and also starting to notice a little twitching in my right glute.
11/1 - could do pec flys just fine, can do pushups again, but not that many. had electro needle stim- muscles twitch fine. Started doing 3 sets of 25 reps scullcrushers w 5lb weights w right arm on advice of PT. Sometimes hard to get to 25 reps even with only 5lb. Right triceps still twitching.
11/2. Feeling weak on deadlift by a little on that side, hard to keep bar oriented properly.
11/3 -Discover some other muscles which are weak – pec minor, serratus anterior. I’m very worried.
11/4-11/9. Pain is minimal, infrequent. Stopped taking advil. Still weak, but maybe 10% better. Go to a orthopedic doctor, who wants to do a disc implant. MRI shows herniated disc at C6-C7. Surgery is scheduled for a week later.
11/11 – I get a second opinion from Johns Hopkins specialist, who says not to get surgery yet. Wait it out. So I postpone surgery and start twice weekly PT.
11/12 – Pain is pretty much gone. But tingling starts in hand infrequently.
11/15 – tingling is more constant, but not strong.
11/16-11/20 – still some tingling, but still not too bad. Longer muscle twitches in right triceps, and some in pec and back. Progressed to 3x25 skullcrushers at 10lb. Bench press is at 95 for 8 reps. Pain is really only present when I’m at office or sitting for too long. Worst when I’m sitting talking with someone because I can’t move around a lot and practice posture. Feel like any remaining pain is moving back toward my spine/neck now. At this point, I’m feeling sort of depressed and nervous that it’s not going to get better.
11/25-11/27 –Infrequent tingling in mid-arm. Other symptoms stable.
11/27 – left mid-scapular pain. Got dry needling for this pain.
11/28-11/30 – new relatively mild pain under LEFT (other side!) shoulder. Feels like original injury 2 weeks before it got bad. Left triceps is also twitching now. Also, new tingling sensation on right shoulder – feels like it’s cold/being blown by wind through a hole in my shirt.
12/1 – skull-crushers up to 12.5lbs. noticed material atrophy of right pec muscle. Right triceps atrophy improved a little.
12/2 – no pain today, no tingling, no nothing…
12/3 – did incline bench press with 45lb dumbells – 4 sets of 6 reps with a 4 second eccentric. This was a solid performance, considering.
12/9-12/13 –Still some twitching here and there, not just on right side – minor twitching is all over including both arms and quads, glutes.
12/15 - Low rep dumbbell bench press is up to 70lbs per side. Decline bench is up to 135lb for 8-10 reps, with some pronation of the bad side. Pull-ups are still slightly uneven, but not awful. Right triceps seems like it’s getting bigger again, but still noticeable difference from the other arm. 15lb skullcrushers are easy-ish for 25 reps, 3 sets. But right side still weaker. Stopped doing high rep single-side skullcrushers on advice of PT. Back to moderate weight exercises that use both sides, dropping weight to the level that the weaker side can handle.
12/20-12/25 – Can do bench press at 155lb for maybe 6-7 reps.
1/1/2020 – Upper body workout feeling closer to normal again – to the point that I have to try to remember what I did before I had this issue. Weight is still down on bench and triceps isolation movements, but on other movements I can generally compensate for right triceps weakness by using left side and stabilizing with right side, or by using other muscles.
2/1-2/15 – feeling pretty much back to normal. A little lingering weakness one that side. Hard to get to 175/185 on bench for more than a few reps.
3/15 – basically no difference now between sides in terms of strength. Right arm is still a bit smaller, though.
4/1 – more noticeable twitching now. Almost like certain fibers are finally turned back on fully. Can do 185 for 8 reps or so for a few sets. This is probably as much as I ever really did.
COVID happened!! But I kept working out…
Summer 2020 – working my way back to my prior maxes, that arm is still a touch smaller
Winter 2020 – I almost never think about it anymore. In some ways the “weak” arm is now stronger from all those skullcrushers I did
February 2021. I’ve definitely passed my old 1 rep max, but am not going to test it and risk messing myself up again
August/September 2019: pain in the sides of both arms after heavy bench press (250lb max) or heavy deadlift (365 max), but pain fades after an hour or two usually. Didn’t think much of it, thought maybe it was a tendon thing.
10/9 – had a massage, and there was some focus on the knot under my right scapula. This was the first time it hurt, and until that massage, I didn’t realize it was a problem
10/18 – throbbing pain under shoulder blade starts
10/20- did a workout with cleans and overhead presses and some chainsaw rows and a ton of pull ups, which aggravated my back soreness. No weakness yet but have a weird cramp under my right scap.
10/21—still strong - after a day of overexertion, the pain was bad enough I got dry needling on that sore spot on my back, plus my levator scapulae, and nearby muscles. Very sore afterward. But arm does not hurt yet. However At some point around this time, I noticed the veins on my right arm are getting smaller than my left arm. Coincidence?
10/22 – workout - still strong – benching 185 for 8 reps or so.
10/23 – no workout, but pain is bad. Air travel today. I almost cried during a presentation because of the pain.
10/24-25 – All of a sudden, weakness is obvious on the right triceps. I could barely do pushups because of my right arm. Cannot do bench press at all now. By now, the pain has spread to the side of my right upper arm and shoulder, but the initial pain spot was mostly resolved. Pain does not vary with activity. It’s always there, and actually feels better while I’m working out and just afterward.
10/26-10/27 – Pain bad in back, shoulder, and arm. Right pec and trap started twitching. Can't do a single pushup.
10/29-10/30 – pain is getting better but right arm is still weak. Lat- pec twitching is mostly gone.
10/31 - pain is almost gone. Still weak. Triceps is starting to twitch and also starting to notice a little twitching in my right glute.
11/1 - could do pec flys just fine, can do pushups again, but not that many. had electro needle stim- muscles twitch fine. Started doing 3 sets of 25 reps scullcrushers w 5lb weights w right arm on advice of PT. Sometimes hard to get to 25 reps even with only 5lb. Right triceps still twitching.
11/2. Feeling weak on deadlift by a little on that side, hard to keep bar oriented properly.
11/3 -Discover some other muscles which are weak – pec minor, serratus anterior. I’m very worried.
11/4-11/9. Pain is minimal, infrequent. Stopped taking advil. Still weak, but maybe 10% better. Go to a orthopedic doctor, who wants to do a disc implant. MRI shows herniated disc at C6-C7. Surgery is scheduled for a week later.
11/11 – I get a second opinion from Johns Hopkins specialist, who says not to get surgery yet. Wait it out. So I postpone surgery and start twice weekly PT.
11/12 – Pain is pretty much gone. But tingling starts in hand infrequently.
11/15 – tingling is more constant, but not strong.
11/16-11/20 – still some tingling, but still not too bad. Longer muscle twitches in right triceps, and some in pec and back. Progressed to 3x25 skullcrushers at 10lb. Bench press is at 95 for 8 reps. Pain is really only present when I’m at office or sitting for too long. Worst when I’m sitting talking with someone because I can’t move around a lot and practice posture. Feel like any remaining pain is moving back toward my spine/neck now. At this point, I’m feeling sort of depressed and nervous that it’s not going to get better.
11/25-11/27 –Infrequent tingling in mid-arm. Other symptoms stable.
11/27 – left mid-scapular pain. Got dry needling for this pain.
11/28-11/30 – new relatively mild pain under LEFT (other side!) shoulder. Feels like original injury 2 weeks before it got bad. Left triceps is also twitching now. Also, new tingling sensation on right shoulder – feels like it’s cold/being blown by wind through a hole in my shirt.
12/1 – skull-crushers up to 12.5lbs. noticed material atrophy of right pec muscle. Right triceps atrophy improved a little.
12/2 – no pain today, no tingling, no nothing…
12/3 – did incline bench press with 45lb dumbells – 4 sets of 6 reps with a 4 second eccentric. This was a solid performance, considering.
12/9-12/13 –Still some twitching here and there, not just on right side – minor twitching is all over including both arms and quads, glutes.
12/15 - Low rep dumbbell bench press is up to 70lbs per side. Decline bench is up to 135lb for 8-10 reps, with some pronation of the bad side. Pull-ups are still slightly uneven, but not awful. Right triceps seems like it’s getting bigger again, but still noticeable difference from the other arm. 15lb skullcrushers are easy-ish for 25 reps, 3 sets. But right side still weaker. Stopped doing high rep single-side skullcrushers on advice of PT. Back to moderate weight exercises that use both sides, dropping weight to the level that the weaker side can handle.
12/20-12/25 – Can do bench press at 155lb for maybe 6-7 reps.
1/1/2020 – Upper body workout feeling closer to normal again – to the point that I have to try to remember what I did before I had this issue. Weight is still down on bench and triceps isolation movements, but on other movements I can generally compensate for right triceps weakness by using left side and stabilizing with right side, or by using other muscles.
2/1-2/15 – feeling pretty much back to normal. A little lingering weakness one that side. Hard to get to 175/185 on bench for more than a few reps.
3/15 – basically no difference now between sides in terms of strength. Right arm is still a bit smaller, though.
4/1 – more noticeable twitching now. Almost like certain fibers are finally turned back on fully. Can do 185 for 8 reps or so for a few sets. This is probably as much as I ever really did.
COVID happened!! But I kept working out…
Summer 2020 – working my way back to my prior maxes, that arm is still a touch smaller
Winter 2020 – I almost never think about it anymore. In some ways the “weak” arm is now stronger from all those skullcrushers I did
February 2021. I’ve definitely passed my old 1 rep max, but am not going to test it and risk messing myself up again
Highmileage
Level 1 Valued Member
Thanks for everyone that has posted up advice and/or shared their experience.
I just lost 3 weeks of time due to the dang COVID. I had the rapid test done and am sure I got a false negative. I had the test done that takes longer to get results and it came back positive.
Anyway, I'll be getting back at my band work and light weight lifts this week and will periodically post up my status....good, bad, or ugly.
This is my little sweatshop and I really miss my lifting!!!
I just lost 3 weeks of time due to the dang COVID. I had the rapid test done and am sure I got a false negative. I had the test done that takes longer to get results and it came back positive.
Anyway, I'll be getting back at my band work and light weight lifts this week and will periodically post up my status....good, bad, or ugly.
This is my little sweatshop and I really miss my lifting!!!
Highmileage
Level 1 Valued Member
Well, shucks. Post is awaiting approval. Of the picture doesn't post, I'll try again later.
Again, thanks guys for sharing. It honestly helps. I'm 56 and this one has really taken the wind out of my sails.
Also, I have another NCV study scheduled in around 8 weeks.
Again, thanks guys for sharing. It honestly helps. I'm 56 and this one has really taken the wind out of my sails.
Also, I have another NCV study scheduled in around 8 weeks.
