Posted: 1/25/2010 10:40:39 AM EDT
| I started doing the pre-afghan workout from military athlete. Not going there but after explaing my unit to Rob he sent it over right away. One thing I am noticing when doing the ruck workouts is a major pain shooting up from my shoulder blade to my neck. Ive noticed it on occassion with all my gear on after 8 hours but not like this after only 2 hours or so. I'm curious if I am doing more harm then good by just pushing through it. I am not sure if it is something your body gets used to or if will be hurting more in the long run. |
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I couldn't even take a guess at what is wrong, but wanted to say one thing. Continuing to push through the pain is never the answer. Now I don't mean pushing through the burn, or pain of one more rep. But continuing to do something that is painful again and again expecting different results is not wise. Example: Shin splints. Continuing to push through the pain can eventually lead to stress fractures. And any sort of "shooting pain" anywhere near your neck or back is something that should definitly be taken seriously. |
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Going to physical therapy school and working for a great PT, I would guess It could be a mechanical issue or joint dysfunction with your neck and thoracic vertebra and (this will sound funny but) a rib also. At each vertebra you have joints where they meet and connect, same with your rib which will be in contact with two vertebra. Over time the rib and vertebra can slip just a little (dysfunction), can be from repetitive stuff or from some impact. This will cause low grade muscle spasms (or knotted muscles) because they are being pulled in an irregular direction than they should be. Any exercise of the involved muscles will exacerbate them causing pain. Depending on the rigor of activity it may be right away or at the end of the day. At it's worse you can get the major pain you're describing.
You want find a physical therapist that specializes in manual therapy. I know if it pertained to the SI (low back) I would say to call the Ola Grimsby Institute (google it for the phone number) and ask for PTs who have studied there that are from IL (if that's your current residence) and you can look them up near you. That's my best guess and the first place I would start as to trying to get better. It is often never thought of or looked at and it's a simple fix if you find somebody who can do it. Keeps the therapists here booked at least 4-5wks out and wait-lists as many as 75 ppl. |
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I work out in a Ruck with 30-40lbs weight in it. I do 90min on the treadmil three times a week and Ruck on the AT anywhere from 4.3 to 10 miles on Saturdays or Sunday.
If I feel as much as a twinge, I leave the Ruck off during my treadmill sections for a week and while you can push your walking speed to the max (around 4mph), NEVER, NEVER, just Fucking NEVER run with a Ruck on. |
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I couldn't even take a guess at what is wrong, but wanted to say one thing. Continuing to push through the pain is never the answer. Now I don't mean pushing through the burn, or pain of one more rep. But continuing to do something that is painful again and again expecting different results is not wise. Example: Shin splints. Continuing to push through the pain can eventually lead to stress fractures. And any sort of "shooting pain" anywhere near your neck or back is something that should definitly be taken seriously. This^^^ There is pain you can push your way thru and pain that you really need to listen to. Learning to tell the difference is half the battle. Build into your routine gradually. |
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Major pain is subjective.... I think if you ask any Infantryman that has done hard time under a ruck...rucking is never pleasant.. I ruck twice a week in addition to my runs and have been doing this since May of last year, it never gets any easier, my feet are tougher but I kept waiting for that day when 10-14 miles would be easy (50-60 pound loads before water) ............it has never came...
I don't have "major pain" but I do have discomfort, rucking in my opinion is one of those men from the boys separators.... But I would never try to diagnose a pain problem over the internet...see a medic or a doctor.... |
| OOhh forgot about that. David makes a good point about pain. Pain is meant to keep the body from causing further pain or injury. So going back to what I was saying about the low grade spasms. Spasms are what try to brace the joint from further movement to prevent further injury. Think about what happens when you hit your funny bone. Your arms muscles goes into spasm to brace the joint - arm comes into the body and you hold your elbow at about 90 degrees and tenses up for a little bit. It's a protective measure. In the case of hitting your elbow the nerve was triggered from impact not dysfunction of the joint. |
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Major pain is subjective.... I think if you ask any Infantryman that has done hard time under a ruck...rucking is never pleasant.. I ruck twice a week in addition to my runs and have been doing this since May of last year, it never gets any easier, my feet are tougher but I kept waiting for that day when 10-14 miles would be easy (50-60 pound loads before water) ............it has never came... I don't have "major pain" but I do have discomfort, rucking in my opinion is one of those men from the boys separators.... But I would never try to diagnose a pain problem over the internet...see a medic or a doctor.... My shoulders were killing me Saturday but I am the idiot who had to carry a grocery store up 1700 vertical feet over 8.5 miles. Ibuprofin and Endorphins are your friends. There is 'fuck you' pain and there is general soreness. The shoulders were just general soreness and I knew I could ignore it and drive on. That said, I am still laying off the gym tonight to be on the safe side. I smoked my upper body good friday nite doing 240 various assorted push-ups. I don't want to go catabolic. I am the idiot carrying the Large Alice. My friend Mark put this up on anytrail. It is kind of neat, you can embed photos into the GPS trace of the trail http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=479343 |
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Seeing an MD is good idea but usually they'll do one of a few things. Test, scan, refer, or medicate. If the doc just says you have pain here find one of those PTs I was talking about and have the doc refer you to one of them.
Not to say seeing a doc is a bad thing but, most pains a doc isn't going to do much besides prescribe a med, ask for an x-ray or MRI, or refer to PT. You may however need the doc's refer to see a PT for insurance or state law may require it for PT. |
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NEVER, NEVER, just Fucking NEVER run with a Ruck on. Ruck runs are good training. For your Chiropractor they are. They are hell on the disks in your vertebrae and your hips and knees. If you want to ruin yourself for life, running with a heavy ruck would be a good way to do it. |