Pulled Muscle.. Heat or Ice?

[suey1973]

That day of yard work  cost me.   I pulled a muscle in my chest  and maybe my back shoulder too.   I can not bend my torso without pain.   Sneezing, coughing, laughing and even heavy sighing causes  pain.   I've tried advil and Alleve.   Neither is working.    My SIL is a physical therapist  and I know she will say ice.    She always says ice.      As long as I don't try to bend over I feel fine.    Learning to sit down keeping my back straight and erect.   Glad it is Sunday so I don't have much that I have to accomplish.   

On the good side the planter WORKS!    No way the company ever really checked the monitor.   6 new sensors were needed. 

We started planting at 5:45PM on Saturday.     He wants me to run it for  awhile today.   Once I get in the tractor I should be okay.   The newer seats that swivel will make it so I can look backwards.   We do not have autosteer.    We missed showers yesterday.  Right now if it looks like we will be planting through Wed.  if the forecast holds.     If DH is right we could be done planting corn., 

Time to get ready for church.    Have Happy May Day.  

[Kay/NC]

Have always heard to ice injuries for the first 24 hours to reduce swelling. Ice on that much of your trunk and on parts you will need to be able to articulate, like the shoulder, will be possibly tricky. you could have torn some of the connective tissue in your chest as well, so may need to see the MD for an assessment and an intervention.

Glad you got the planter going right...that dealer owes you some parts payments, doesn't he? Don't you hate it when someone says they have checked something, but they haven't?

[dairy mom]

I'm going to say go to the doctor.  I injured my shoulder last fall.  The standard opinion around here has always been just work through the pain, it'll get better.

Well guess what!  It didn't get better.  When I finally said I can't take it anymore and went to a doctor the diagnosis was a torn muscle that could have been helped if I had come in within 10 days but at this late date there is nothing they can do except prescribe pain med.

Go to the doctor or you could be looking at living with pain for the rest of your life like I am.

[suey1973]

The Alleve seems to be helping more than I thought it did yesterday.   When I posted this morning it still hadn't taken affect.    I am able to function right now.    Got my planter time in.    Found out DH had the monitor cable mixed up.    Monitor said #2 wasn't planting.   I get off check #2.   Plenty of seed,  and chain was still on sprockets.   So I got back on and started again hoping it was a "glitch".   Went okay for about 10 seconds and did it again.   Called,   He suggested I check #8.    Yep,  that one was short on seed!    Simple fix when we knew what was what.    I've got dinner ready when he calls to help move him.    

I've pulled muscles in my Chest several times.   First time I was a college  "flag girl" in Marching Band.  (Yes, I was).   Cold wet afternoon.   The first motion for the flags was to throw them to the ground with a POP!   What made that one worse was I had a bad cold.   I was in tears everytime I coughed or sneezed.  I ended up with real pain killers.

This time I don't know when I might have done it.   I didn't do anything strenous.   Just mowing, (riding lawn mower),  picking up sticks and a little raking of smaller sticks.   I feed one group of sows 12 scoops of feed but been doing that for 3 weeks now.  

For right now I'm going to use Alleve and heating pad.  I'll take Alleve every 12 hours too so not to be in such bad shape in the AM.    If not better by the end of the week .  Then I'll go.   Right now  we must.  PLANT CORN! 

[Kay/NC]

Glad both the machine and your body are doing better. It is bad enough when it is one thing at a time messing up...more than one is too much!

Whenever you use a new set of muscles for the season, it seems so much easier to move wrong and have one get really out of whack..Mike's worst is to trigger an old sciatic nerve injury by puling something, so I try to remind him to avoid that type of movement whe we work together. My biggie is when I snatch my right foot on something, an outward twist makes that knee scream.

You may have aggravated an old injury, and rest wiill probably be the best cure. I know that is far easier said than done during planting. Take care!

[dairy mom]

I still say better to be safe than sorry.  All I was doing when I wrecked my shoulder and arm was pouring water from one bucket to another for calves.  Something I've done every day for 20 years.  Oh yeah, it would seem to get better for a while, less pain, but just kept coming back.  I'm learning to be a lefty because there is now so much I cannot do with my right arm without piercing pain.

[Kay/NC]

That kind and duration of pain sounds way worse than a muscle pull. Are you sure you didn't damage the nerve or a ligament?
I am thinking the fact you do have to perform the motion every day ( for 20 years!!) points to some sort of repetitive motion injury, along the same lines as carpal tunnel problems.

[dairy mom]

no I'm not sure.  Still need to get an MRI done.  But am waiting until I return from Florida.  I leave next Sunday, my daughter's baby is due on May 12th and she wants me down there.