slight twitch in muscle after muscle pull

[Special K]

Last April I pulled an abdominal muscle pretty good while squatting - there was some brusing/bleeding. I went to see 3 docs - a family practice doc, an ortho, and a hernia repair specialist (each doctor referred me to the next one to get another opinion). Ultimately all 3 docs said my injury didn't require any special treatment - I just needed to avoid any heavy lifting or activities that caused any pain for several weeks.

I followed their advice and all of the pain/discomfort went away after 6 weeks or so. The only strange thing that continued after that point was an odd muscle twitch in my lower abdominal muscles near the injury site. The twitch only occurs when I make very specific movements that I know will activate it. The intensity of the twitch has gradually decreased since the injury, but is still not totally gone yet. Otherwise I don't notice any symptoms of the injury. There is no pain, lack of flexibility or strength, etc.

Should I be concerned about the twitch? Will it eventually go away? Is there anything I can do to mitigate it? I've been foam rolling my lower abdominal muscles and doing some abdominal stretches after my workouts.

 

[Saint Nick]

FWIW, I dislocated my shoulder in 2009 and my shoulder twitched for damn near a month while it healed.

 

[warr666]

.....

 

[SociallyChallenged]

It's hard to know why this started happening in the first place. Sometimes, people get benign fasciculations (twitching), which I believe are more common after injury to that muscle. However, I also think that if you restore that tissue to its previous state, you'll likely be able to decrease/abolish the twitching. What kind of things are you doing to rehab it? The first thing that comes to my mind is that the connective tissue or muscle fibers may not be properly aligned quite yet (after injury, scar tissue comes in and just plants collagen everywhere. You have to use significant force to realign fibers), which throws off the homeostasis of the musculature. If I were you, I'd slowly start working into some eccentric ab work. Depending on what kind of gym you go to, you can find one of those big cable machines with the two-handed rope attachment. If you put some light weight on that, you can assume a the Seiza position on your knees, grab the rope attachment and create a crunching motion. Most people focus on the concentric portion of that exercise. You need to focus on the eccentric portion (coming back up slowly). I would definitely start with something that was comfortable, do it for 10-15 reps, and keep moving the weight up. Research has shown eccentric exercise is the best way to re-align those fibers. Try doing that for a couple weeks and see if the twitching starts to alleviate more. Hope that helps, man.

 

[Special K]

What kind of things are you doing to rehab it?

Right now I do cable crunches as you describe below, but only focusing on the concentric part of the movement. I also do DB leg lifts. Additionally, I foam roll my lower abs and do some simple ab stretches - i.e. just reach up in the air while standing and stretch your trunk out as much as possible). I also strech my abs on the rubber exercise balls by just leaning/rolling back.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that the connective tissue or muscle fibers may not be properly aligned quite yet (after injury, scar tissue comes in and just plants collagen everywhere. You have to use significant force to realign fibers), which throws off the homeostasis of the musculature. If I were you, I'd slowly start working into some eccentric ab work. Depending on what kind of gym you go to, you can find one of those big cable machines with the two-handed rope attachment. If you put some light weight on that, you can assume a the Seiza position on your knees, grab the rope attachment and create a crunching motion. Most people focus on the concentric portion of that exercise. You need to focus on the eccentric portion (coming back up slowly). I would definitely start with something that was comfortable, do it for 10-15 reps, and keep moving the weight up. Research has shown eccentric exercise is the best way to re-align those fibers. Try doing that for a couple weeks and see if the twitching starts to alleviate more. Hope that helps, man.

Thanks, I'll add that to my routine. Is muscle healing/fiber realignment a very slow process? My injury was 5 months ago and while the pain/discomfort was all gone after a month or so, this twitching has lingered for quite awhile.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Right now I do cable crunches as you describe below, but only focusing on the concentric part of the movement. I also do DB leg lifts. Additionally, I foam roll my lower abs and do some simple ab stretches - i.e. just reach up in the air while standing and stretch your trunk out as much as possible). I also strech my abs on the rubber exercise balls by just leaning/rolling back.

Thanks, I'll add that to my routine. Is muscle healing/fiber realignment a very slow process? My injury was 5 months ago and while the pain/discomfort was all gone after a month or so, this twitching has lingered for quite awhile.

Ok, yeah, definitely focus on the eccentric portion. Control it slowly. Well, it's not just muscle healing - it's all scarring processes. Think of how long it takes for a scar to completely heal. First the skin seals up, then it begins to scar. That scar, at first, is pink and reddish. It takes time to become mature. It gets whiter and flatter. To be honest, complete recovery from something like a strain takes about a year. Most people recovery to a degree that they can start working out again, so they consider it healed. It's actually not completely done for a lot longer.

 

[wheresmybacon]

I’ve had this exact issue for probably over 10 years. To be honest I’m not sure at what point it began. It wasn’t an injury that prompted it. I don’t get it all the time, but sometimes when I’m doing a little more direct ab work than normal, or if I move my torso in a certain way – usually compacting it like an extreme crunch – it’ll twitch and spasm. It’s painful when it spasms, but it happens pretty rarely now. I told my doctor about it last year and she said it was a normal spasm and nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Special K]

Ok, yeah, definitely focus on the eccentric portion. Control it slowly. Well, it's not just muscle healing - it's all scarring processes. Think of how long it takes for a scar to completely heal. First the skin seals up, then it begins to scar. That scar, at first, is pink and reddish. It takes time to become mature. It gets whiter and flatter. To be honest, complete recovery from something like a strain takes about a year. Most people recovery to a degree that they can start working out again, so they consider it healed. It's actually not completely done for a lot longer.

Right now I do ab work once per week. Should I do it more often or leave it the way it is?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Right now I do ab work once per week. Should I do it more often or leave it the way it is?

You can do your typical ab stuff once per week. Add that specific exercise and do it 2 extra times per week.