Stretch Marks

copperman · 25-Apr-05, 05:02 AM

I have been exercising since I was seven, but within the last couple of years I have decided to give bodybuilding/Powerbuilding a shot. I have experienced excellent strength and size gains within the past few months, but recently I have been getting stretch marks on my biceps and upper pecs. Is this normal? And if so is there anything I can do to get rid of them or prevent them?

copperman · 25-Apr-05, 05:40 AM

Just saw a thread I had overlooked about stretch-marks... Just to clarify, I guess I don't understand why the hell I am just now getting these... I am not fat (about 10%) and I maintain the same % pretty much all the time.. I weigh about 235 lbs

booze · 25-Apr-05, 06:32 AM

its very common, obviously you have gained size to quick for your skin to handle, so congratulations not everyone can acheieve that. The only thing you can do is buy vitamin E oil and rub in2 the marks and everywhere else your muscles are likely to grow fast. That will most likely stop further marks from occuring, but you have to do it continuously. As for the marks you already have, only time will heal them depending on how deep they are.

**threenorns** · 25-Apr-05, 09:42 AM

<sigh> rub anything you want into the skin: it will NOT help. you'll get them or you won't, but the damage occurs at the very deepest layers of the skin - there is no OTC cream, oil, lotion, or potion that can penetrate that deep.

the ONLY way to prevent them is to grow only within the ability of your skin to stretch (which really sucks) or to treat them after they've appeared with Retinoic Acid, laser, or surgery. very, very light stretch marks can be minimized with dermabrasion, but that hurts like the devil and you run the risk of further scarring.

the good news is that stretch marks fade as they age. when they start, they're pretty livid - as they age, they'll end up a faint silver that will only really stand out when you tan (because scars don't tan).

oh -- sorry: if you have a dark complexion (black, olive, asian), they might turn very dark and raised. this is called "keloid" scarring. it doesn't happen all that often with stretch marks, but it could happen.

booze · 25-Apr-05, 09:10 PM

[quote=threenorns]<sigh> rub anything you want into the skin: it will NOT help. you'll get them or you won't, but the damage occurs at the very deepest layers of the skin - there is no OTC cream, oil, lotion, or potion that can penetrate that deep.

the ONLY way to prevent them is to grow only within the ability of your skin to stretch (which really sucks) or to treat them after they've appeared with Retinoic Acid, laser, or surgery. very, very light stretch marks can be minimized with dermabrasion, but that hurts like the devil and you run the risk of further scarring.

i dissagree there, i have had the same problem with stretchmarks on my biceps and back. At the fist sign of stretchmarks on my biceps i started applying vitamin E oil, and they not only didnt get bigger, but yes they faded, and pretty much arent visible anymore. As for the deeper ones which i had on my back, they also have faded basically to nothing. And since using the vitamin E oil, i havnt had a single sign of new stretchmarks appearing.
Call it luck or coincidence if you may, but i tend to think the stuff works, well it did for me

copperman · 26-Apr-05, 05:26 AM

I have heard about this stuff called ?Mederma? my wife used it after her children and her stretch marks disappeared...

**threenorns** · 26-Apr-05, 08:44 AM

the marks would've faded anyway, but trust me, they're still there and you'll notice them more if you tan.

here's a link to an article on the Western Washington University's website to a clinical description of stretch marks in answer to a question posed by a bodybuilder: http://www.wwu.edu/chw/ask_the_doc/post/1133.html

here's another article explaining stretch marks and describing a bodybuilder's attempt to eliminate or minimize his: http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/derek34.htm -- he's gone through just about all treatment options, including mederma.

mederma is a gel that was developed to work on scars (not stretch marks, which are NOT scars, technically speaking), helping them become softer and less noticeablethe "active ingredient in Mederma is onion extract. it's the "number one treatment prescribed by doctors", but we all remember about the incentives and kickbacks given by drug companies, right?

onion extract and kickbacks. think about that.

in conclusion, if the worst you have to worry about is piddly skin striations, i say paint them black and call yourself a tiger cause you're laughing and, for pity's sake, SAVE YOUR MONEY.

copperman · 27-Apr-05, 12:13 AM

i appreciate the info, I guess my wife must be a miracle. She doesnt have any of her stretch marks now, and she tans pretty much every day.

**threenorns** · 27-Apr-05, 06:48 AM

some ppl can regenerate collagen under mild stretch marks and some ppl are naturally built - genetics are funny that way. the vast majority of ppl with stretch marks, however, will always have them unless they use Retin-A, laser treatment, or surgery.

mine, for example, form a perfect pair of "boxer shorts" all around my hips in spite of doing the obligatory rubbing-with-the-Vitamin-E-and-cocoa-butter thing when i was pregnant (oldest child was nearly two feet long, younger child three years later was induced a month early and still weighed over 8lbs). i can't even have surgery - the damage is too severe and there isn't any stable skin in the areas needed. Retin-A will not work: the skin is so thin you can see blood vessels through the larger marks, which are the width of my thumb, and it splits if i wear clothing with elastic around the leg (bathing suits or bikini bottom underwear, f.ex). not wanting to be stuck with this kind of damage, i did TONS of research seeking any options i could find - if there were a viable treatment, i'd be the first on the bandwagon.

as it is, i'm watching this new laser treatment very carefully because it looks like i might have a bit of hope: maybe i could use the laser treatment to regenerate the collagen under my stretch marks enough to be able to get the abdominoplasty..... but with my luck, probably not.

Vas85 · 27-Apr-05, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by copperman

Just saw a thread I had overlooked about stretch-marks... Just to clarify, I guess I don't understand why the hell I am just now getting these... I am not fat (about 10%) and I maintain the same % pretty much all the time.. I weigh about 235 lbs

I am a clear example of that aswell, i think i grew too fast for my arms and upperbody chest, after adding 21kg of Muscle Mass over 2years and a bit.

It could be a skin type, i have a mate of mine that has excelled in size and strength dramatically yet has no stretch marks, but the majority of people do, just dont worry about it, they fade down (still there but faded) and if you Tan then it would make them practically unnoticable.