Torn Muscle??

Usually on Easter I am with my family at my mother-in-laws at this time but I am here at home because of a freak injury and a kidney stone.
I was having a kidney stone attack 2 days ago and as I was tossing around in bed I felt what I can only describe as a tear in my back right above my left shoulder blade. The pain was intense and actually made me yell out loud. As if the kidney stone pain was not bad enough on its own this new pain was nearly as intense. It has been very, very sore ever since. The pain shoots up the back left side of my neck and down to right below my shoulder blade. I cannot get comfortable no matter how I lay at night. If I lay on my right side I can still feel the pain on left. Laying on my back is out of the question as the pain is too much. I have had nearly no sleep in the last couple of nights because of it. I cannot hardly move at all in fact whether I am standing or sitting or laying without pain.
I am pretty sure that I have torn a muscle but am having a hard time finding anything much about treatments on the net.
Has anyone else experienced something similar and do you have any tips on how to treat it? Right now the pain is something awful.
Thanks,
Jeff

I tore a muscle in my back many years ago and it felt pretty much as you're describing it. At that time all I could do for it was to limit my mobility for awhile, combined with hot baths and heat packs applied to the area. Not much help I know, but I truly feel your pain.

PhotonWrangler said:

I tore a muscle in my back many years ago and it felt pretty much as you're describing it. At that time all I could do for it was to limit my mobility for awhile, combined with hot baths and heat packs applied to the area. Not much help I know, but I truly feel your pain.

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Thank you Photon. That is probably pretty much all I could do at this point.

Oh, one more thing, LifeNRA. I had to remove the cause of the injury, which was sleeping upright in a chair!
:laughing:

PhotonWrangler said:

Oh, one more thing, LifeNRA. I had to remove the cause of the injury, which was sleeping upright in a chair!
:laughing:

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My wife has found me asleep in my chair while surfing CPF before. :lolsign:

I'm sorry to hear that. I've never had either of those ailments, at least if I've torn a muscle I was unaware or it was slight. When my brother had kidney stones, he curled up into a fetal postion in the back of the car while we took him to the doctor. Doc said it's the closest a man can come to feeling the pain of labor (birth). Hope you feel and get better soon!

There is a ton of information on torn muscles on the web. How you would damage a muscle in the area you describe is a bit of a problem, however if the pain was near the intensity of a kidney stone you will probably need medical attention.

A muscle tear may be partial or complete and caused either by a direct blow or by overexertion. There are three degrees of muscle ruptures. A first-degree strain involves less than 5 percent of the muscle. You may notice only mild pain and not lose much strength or range of motion. We sometimes refer to these mild tears as pulled muscles.

A second-degree tear is a greater rupture that stops short of a complete tear. Any contraction of the torn muscle will cause pain. With either a first- or second-degree tear, you may feel a defect of the muscle - a bump or an indentation - at the site of the most pain. You should be able to partially contract the muscle, but you may not be able to walk or stand without pain or a limp.

A third-degree rupture is a complete tear across the width of the muscle. You will be unable to contract the muscle. This is what happens when someone suddenly drops while sprinting. The torn end of the muscle may ball up and form a large lump under the skin, and a great deal of internal bleeding occurs. Severely torn muscles may require surgery to heal properly.

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Tendonitis is also quite painful but mine does not hurt unless I am actually moving the affected area under load.

You don't mention how much the pain increases with motion of the affected area. If moving does *NOT* cause any increase in pain then you should dial 911 right now.

I'm really sorry to hear about your added pain. When my back hurts, I use heat to relax the muscles. If you have a sewing machine and some spare cloth (an old t-shirt would do, but flannel works best), have your wife sew a pouch and fill it with rice. She might have to sew a couple of lines in between the patch to keep the rice spread out in the bag. Heat that in the microwave (2-4 minutes) and use it on your back. The rice will can get really hot, so be careful. The nice thing about the rice bags is that you can use them over and over and over again.

Another thing you may try is to rub the sore area lightly with BenGay or any one of those muscle "warmers".

A physical therapist I visited actually recommended cold packs, but I've found that warmth relaxes my muscles more than cold (which I guess is meant to reduce the inflamation in the 24 hours after the injury anyway - so I might have misunderstood what the guy was saying).

Anyway, I don't know much about torn muscles, but my the hot rice bags do help alliviate my back pain. I'm guessing resting the muscle for a couple of days and resuming gentle activity later might help. Hope it works for you.

Let us know if we can do anything else for you.

I alternated Hot and Cold back when that was not uncommon for me and tried to not move. Not really sure if alternating really helped. It just seemed like the thing to do.
Get better fast Jeff :bow: :bow:
Topper

Thank you all for the advice. It is very helpful.

Mike,
PM sent

I'm thinking that it would be difficult, if not impossible to tear your muscle the way that you did. From the description of your symptoms, I would hazard a guess that you have a pinched nerve rather than a torn muscle.. Suggestions on heating/cooling will work, as well as bed rest...

I had a pinched nerve in my back a long while back, and went to see a very good acupuncturist I know here. After a 3-4 daily sessions, it was cured. The pain was greatly reduced after only 1 session though, so it really worked..

Hope you feel better soon!

Thank you Greg.

Seeing that Exolion in your sig makes me feel better lol.

Jeff, to relay my experience, I had a pain that started in my back shoulder blade area and ran up and down my arm. I would swear that my arm was broken but the intensity moved around to different areas. I was first mis-diagnosed as a torn shoulder muscle but when muscle relaxants and pain relievers did not alleviate the problem, I then saw a specialist which correctly diagnosed the problem as a pinched nerve in my neck. Time and physical therapy exercises alleviated the problem.

So I would definitely see a doctor but if the pain moves around it might be more indicative of a pinched nerve then a muscle pull. I once pulled a muscle in my lower right backside and the pain was quite localized.

My pain does not move. It just hurts from below my ear down my neck to below my shoulder blade. When I press on the spot that I first felt the pain it hurts. The pain really does not hurt anymore by moving around but when I move my head back the pain in my neck hurts a great deal more.
I could have just pulled a muscle or it could be a pinched nerve. But the way it felt when it happened and the way it hurts in that one spot when pressed upon leads to believe that it must be a pulled or torn muscle. Of course I am no Doctor and I should have it seen about tomorrow by my family Doc to be sure. I try to avoid going to the Doctor because of my lack of insurance but he may just have to wait to be paid for a while. He should be OK with it since I have been going to him for many years.
I have to have chemo again Tuesday so if I do go to the Doc over this it will have to be tomorrow.
And in case anyone is wondering about my cancer treatments and how I am doing it without insurance I am just paying what I can when I can.
There may be some good news on the horizon though. I am expecting a decision on emergency medicaid any day now. If I am approved then it will reduce my medical bills considerably. I will still be responsible for a lot money but it will help a great deal. It will not pay for all of my medical bills but is meant to help out with the cost. Right now my medical bills are well over $50,000 so any help is welcomed.

Well my family Doctor is out of town for the rest of the week. I guess I will have to just live with it for a while and hope it gets to feeling better soon.

Thanks all for the advice and well wishes.

Best luck with the chemo round and medicaid.

Speaking of back muscles and stuff. I get a stiff neck from stress and too much computer time. Stretching my neck muscles help. It hurts when I do it, but it does help. What I do is stand upright and slowly tilt my head to one side (sort of trying to touch the ear to the shoulder kinda thing, but without lifting my shoulder). As I do this, I try to reach down with my opposite arm (so if I'm moving my head to the right, I try to reach down with my left arm). Hold for a few seconds and repeat with the other side. Then do the same type of stretching but first tilt your head forward before going sideways.

:thinking: That said... if you do have a torn muscle, this will probably not work, so feeel free to ignore my nonsensical advise.

I've had a pinched nerve with similar symptoms. Never believed in chiropractic medicine until my mom encouraged me to give it a try 20 years ago. Now I swear by the chiropractor. After 2 visits with 1st pinched nerve I was like a new man and this had went on for a couple of weeks or more. I don't go often but don't hesitate when I need to now.

Also Life NRA best of luck and thoughts and prayers on your treatments and emergency assistance. Hang in there!