Latissimus dorsi muscle strain

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Does anyone know of a good treatment for this. It is an injury I got about 7 years ago whilst doing sport.

About twice a year it rears up and I am in complete agony and unable to function for about a week, or sometimes more.

I can feel it coming on today.

Any advice appreciated.

ice or heat for 20 min. at a time, which ever feels best. nsaids. rest.

^^Thank you.

The lats are big strong muscles that are very difficult to injure. A strain recovers by itself, even a serious muscle belly tear will recover from nothing more that keeping the muscle working post injury, which will stop scar tissue build up.

Lets say you had a serious tear (almost impossible unless you had a very serious traumatic accident) and you never rehabbed appropriately afterwards. What you would end up with is some stiff scar tissue somewhere on one of your lats. This will not stop the muscle functioning as it is so large and strong, you may notice a slight imbalance from left to right and some tightness etc.. but no big deal.

If it was merely a strain which was years ago it would have recovered by itself.

Thanks for that. I did it whilst I was doing pull-ups, when I was training. It gets so bad that I can't move to even turn my head from side to side.

I've been to see the doctor with it, but they just give me pain killers and they don't even touch the pain.

I usually have to let it take it's course but that can take up to two weeks.

I've even had to give up running because that can even cause it to happen.

Wow man sounds bad! I'm a doctor and my brother is a physiotherapist (works with muscles, joints and bones).

When injured, do not apply heat. Apply cold (ice is okay, just not straight on skin) for 20 mins per hour for 48 hours, and rest the area as much as is comfortable and reasonable. Normally we apply "compression and elevation" (look up RICE for first aid) but that's not exactly possible for the lats.

After the first 48 hrs, you may benefit from heat.

Your injury is severe and chronic (chronic meaning it has occurred for a longer time than acute, a shorter time). You must go to a physiotherapist to sort you out. There probably are several factors contributing to the re-injury. You don't have to go when you are newly re-injured. DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAY like a religion. So many people go to the physio and don't heed the advice, so they don't get results.

Your local doctor will not have any idea how to treat this long-term. Take the anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen (aka paracetamol) and other pain killers, apply the ice, and book into the physio. They will analyse everything in your lats, shoulder, neck, back etc and sort it out! Remember, most of the rehab is on YOU. Do all the things they tell you!

Oh yeah I forgot to say - don't expect a quick fix for something so longstanding. You might be going there for 6-12 visits over 2-4 months! Sounds like it would be worth the money though. Ask them for ways to exercise with less chance of re-injury, until they say you're ready to exercise fully again.