I have back pain in a weird spot, I have included a pic of me pointing to it, can you give me more information?

July 2, 2011 11:05 AM

I have back pain in a weird spot, I have included a pic of me pointing to it. Can you give me more information?

I usually do squats, deadlifts, bench presses and military presses, but recently I have added curls and pull ups. While curling a fairly heavy weight (without swinging) the other day after some pull ups, I felt a big twinge of pain to where I am pointing (right side only) -- like I pulled a muscle or tore something.

Here's where it hurts:
http://i.imgur.com/zk96w.jpg

This was Sunday. It hurt for most of Sunday -- after waking up Monday I felt better and went to work. Then I attempted to lift something heavy and I got the pain all over again.

It's now Saturday, I wake up with some pain every morning, and if I sit in certain ways it's uncomfortable. I can feel some slight pain in the area as I type this. The pain is not unbearable, it's mostly just annoying. Can you tell me what I might have injured, and if it's the sort of thing that will heal itself if I wait? Is this a common injury? Should I be doing some sort of rehab exercise? I like weight lifting, but haven't because I am afraid that I will cause more problems.

(I realize a doctor is an option but I would appreciate it if you could help me debug myself, which is mostly what a doctor does anyway, right?)

posted by Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

It looks like some kind of muscle injury; I'd give it a week or two to go away on its own before seeing a doctor. Be careful with heavy lifting, but you don't have to baby it or anything, either, especially if the pain is more annoying than unbearable.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:09 AM on July 2, 2011

How are you curling? Seated, standing, or preacher? If standing, in what position are you standing? Are you using dumbbells, cables, or a bar?
posted by munchingzombie at 11:18 AM on July 2, 2011

Best answer: Yup, that's the lower attachment point of your lat, and you probably strained it - a week or two to heal completely sounds perfectly reasonable to me. (While lats aren't what you're focusing on when curling, if you were standing up, you'd have been using them to brace your back against the weight. If you'd just tired them out doing pullups, they might not have been up to the challenge - especially if both movements are new for you.)

No big deal, just take it easy on the pulling movements for another week, and maybe ramp up new exercises more slowly in general. There's no shame in doing light weights when you're grooving in a movement you are either new to or haven't done in a while.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:19 AM on July 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's hard to tell exactly what muscle is hurt, but pain in this area is often related to kyphosis/hunched-forward posture. If someone is habitually hunched forward, the back muscles (particularly those around the shoulder blades) are excessively taxed to compensate, making them vulnerable to soreness and injury. A combination of computer work and front-centric exercises can exacerbate this condition. T-nation has two great articles on the topic, despite some of the bro-ish language. Look up "heal that hunchback" and "deconstructing computer guy" for a ton of helpful information.
posted by yorick at 11:24 AM on July 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

I had pain there years ago, after injuring my trapezius. Massages and time healed it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:59 PM on July 2, 2011