sternum pain during back lever

[sean842]

Anyone else experience this? I've halted my back lever training entirely until this feels better. But it is an intense pain in the sternum when holding straddle and full back levers.

[Joshua Naterman]

There are other posters who have run into this with dips, and it's the same thing. You have to give your sternum time to adjust to the strain. Back off to the point where there is no pain, whether that's all the way back to a tuck or not. Slowly work on extending out, inches per week or two weeks, making sure there is never pain. If you get to where you feel sternum strain, back off to where it disappears and stay there for a few weeks to a month, at least. Then try extending back to where you felt the strain. If it's gone, stay there for a while and continue, step by step, extending out to straddle or half lay a few inches at a time. Once you're there, do the same thing with full lay. Little by little. Try and remember that all of our body positions are just discrete positions along a continuum from full tuck to full lay. You don't have to go from point to point. You can go an inch at a time if you want.

[Blairbob]

Been There, Done That. It's no fun, really. Dealt with it sometime last year after hurting my sternum I believe when I went dip crazy one night. I've felt it both doing the dips and back lever, even doing simple ring supports there for awhile. It can even happen on regular Parallel Bars with the weak or untrained.

Back off and scale back. You may be able to hold these more advanced positions but your body is telling you "yipes!"

[sean842]

How long was the recovery for you blairbob?

[Blairbob]

In mid April, I noted my chest was starting to hurt. 1 month later and I was still backing off having problems doing just adv tuck BL and most support stuff.

By early June, I was noting the chest pain seemed to be gone. By August, I was back to doing some of the more advanced stuff like RTO dips, Russian Dips, Lever work and assisted Crosses in my Cross Trainers.

So basically a month and a half, and about the same amount of time before I was back to par where I had been before.

I do remember, though they were slightly aggravating, of incorporating some ring support holds. I figured a bit of poison might be the cure. As in a tiny bit over time slowly. It seemed to work, because just doing nothing wasn't. It's a very fine line.

[sean842]

thanks blairbob, I've eliminated all back lever work and just replaced with more focused planche work and skin the cats. I'm hoping this doesnt last to long. As an aside, I don't feel any pain when doing heavy weighted dips, cross work, weighted muscle ups,etc.

[Blairbob]

Interesting. I would think assisted crosses and weighted muscle-ups would put the same pressure on the chest. MU did for me when my chest was recovering.

Try taking the BL back to tuck or advanced tuck and see if there is any discomfort.

[yuniko]

Back pains is the most annoying body ache for me. it made me stop from training for 2 months.>

[Joshua Naterman]

Have you scaled back to where you are just doing tucks or high tucks? That is a smart place to start. You should also look into soft tissue work for your pecs, if they are permanently tight or inflexible and it is due to soft tissue restrictions there is nothing that will help except direct soft tissue work.