Anyone ever have a ruptured/torn latissimus dorsi?

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Looking for some input to my query. If you don't want to read the backstory just go down toward the last paragraph and see what I put in bold to get right to my questions. I just typed all the rest to provide exact details as to how I injured my lat. Feel free to skip it if it's too long.

I was doing really well with DC training over the summer and was getting stronger every workout. I'm no strongman by any means but I was really pleased with how much I was going up in weight each workout. Even if just two and a half or five pounds. About seven weeks ago at the gym I was a bit tired on the day I was doing back and felt a horrible pull in my left lat while finishing up my workout with deadlifts. Like I said, I'm not super strong. I was deadlifting 340lb which I haven't done in a while and by the second and final set I felt an instant pull and pain at rep six. At least I thought it was a pull. I couldn't even bend over and forward and let the weight of my arms just dangle as this hurt the area that was injured for the next several days. I couldn't do back at all for the first two weeks, but by week three and four I could do light weight. I was progressively getting stronger again. I wasn't lifting nearly the same weight as before. By week four I was doing rack pulls and being very careful. The week prior I was I did 225lb for deadlifts and it felt good. The pain was so minor it just felt like the type of soreness associated with DOMS from gym workouts. Not sharp or shearing at all. I would not train if that were the case.

So after doing 225lb on week three I went up to 275lb with rack pulls on week four. I thought it would be easier and better on my lat since the distance is shorter than regular deadlifts. As I was at the rack lifting the weight I saw and felt my left shoulder drop at lightning speed and felt a bad pull again. Damn that was kinda nasty but not as painful as the first time. But it kinda shocked me. I thought it was another pull but now I think I ruptured/tore the muscle.

The reason I think that is because in about three or four days after that second pull I had a lot of visible bruising in the area. From my limited reading when a muscle tear/rupture occurs it bleeds under the skin and this is what creates the bruised area. I made an appointment and saw my doctor. She saw I had no limit in range of motion as she had me move my arm in all directions. She said if the pain gets worse she would order an MRI to see if it is indeed ruptured. And if so then surgery might be necessary. But here's the thing, when I lift my arm up and grab/feel my lats on both sides the one that's injured feels like thin bans of string. Whereas the the right uninjured side feels solid and meaty. It kinda makes me feel like the left injured side is partially missing tissue and it's freaking me out. I wanted to know if anyone here has ruptured a lat and if so, did you have surgery for it? And if so, what was that like? I'd like to get feedback from anyone who has gone through this or who personally knew of someone that did. I'm really bummed as I literally made plans to work with an online coach/nutritionist to take my body to the next level. I've taken taken three weeks off from the gym and I'm going kinda stir-crazy. In the meantime I'm going to contact my doctor again to go forward with an MRI or specialist to get a concise diagnosis.
 
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You need to get an MRI. I’ve had pulled muscles where it bruises up like that real bad. There are 3 degrees of muscle strain and the worst strain will be far more painful than a muscle tear. So you can’t determine based on that either. Without the MRI you won’t know. No sense worrying about surgery until it’s worth worrying about.
 
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I've already sent in a request through my portal asking my doctor for an MRI.

The fact that I'm not in much pain at all makes me suspect it's a rupture. Also, when I palpate the area it feels (and looks) very strange. I can feel like ribbons or taut cord-like bands amid empty hollow space. Not good. 😞
 

The Phoenix

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I had something similar happen with one of the trapizius. It's been about 7 months since I started therapy and it's finally getting back to normal.

Edit - the MRI is a good idea. I am gonna get it done regardless just to understand the extent of the injury.
 

Test_subject

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You need to get an MRI. I’ve had pulled muscles where it bruises up like that real bad. There are 3 degrees of muscle strain and the worst strain will be far more painful than a muscle tear. So you can’t determine based on that either. Without the MRI you won’t know. No sense worrying about surgery until it’s worth worrying about.
This is the first step.

You don’t know enough about the injury to formulate a recovery plan until you get an MRI done. You’d just be guessing.
 

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