For those who would like to read an article on pectoralis major rupture and
its surgical repair, go to the following Medscape web page (if you are not a
member of Medscape, you may join at http://www.medscape.com):
<http://www.medscape.com/Medscape/OrthoSportsMed/journal/2001/v05.n01/mos0215.
01.john/pnt-mos0215.01.john.html>
Here are a few extracts from this article - do read the rest for yourselves
and appreciate why anyone really does not wish to damage the pectorals
seriously by doing something unwise:
<Mark trains with weights regularly (3-4 times each week) and has done this
for 10 years. Six months ago, while doing the bench press, he sustained a
painful injury in his left shoulder that prevented him from completing the
training session. He iced his shoulder to reduce pain, thinking that perhaps
he had overdone it while working out and everything would be better the
following day. But the next morning his left anterior chest wall was markedly
swollen and bruised. His family physician diagnosed his injury as a muscle
strain that would resolve in a month.......
On physical examination of Mark's shoulder, there is a loss of the anterior
axillary fold (Figure 2). Functional testing reveals a partial loss of
shoulder adduction and forward flexion strength (graded 3 out of a possible
5). Mark's signs and symptoms are typical of a ruptured muscle -- the
pectoralis major. Rupture of the pectoralis major is an uncommon event, with
fewer than 100 cases documented in the English-language literature over the
past 25 years. This pathology is seen, almost exclusively, in young, athletic
males. In the majority of reported cases, patients were performing weight
lifting activities, specifically the bench press......
The swelling and bruising has since disappeared and there is minimal
improvement in shoulder function, but he still cannot bench press and has
trouble carrying his briefcase in that arm. He asks "Why am I still having
this weakness and problem with my shoulder?" ..........
The pectoralis major is a powerful shoulder adductor that also functions to
assist with internal rotation and forward flexion of the shoulder. In order
to perform all of these functions adequately, it spans a large portion of the
anterior chest wall and has several laminae (heads) (Table 1).
Of particular interest is that the abdominal head is almost always involved
in ruptures of the pectoralis major. The fibers of this portion of the
pectoralis major undergo 30% to 45% lengthening when the shoulder is placed
in 30° of extension. In this position, the fibers are unable to generate
any tension and they fail. However, the remaining fibers of the other
portions of the muscle are subjected to only approximately 20% lengthening,
regardless of the position of the shoulder. This allows these additional
fibers to be primed for a contraction without being subjected to undue
tension. ..... >
----------------------------
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/
|