Pectoralis major tear in a 23-year-old woman while performing high-intensity interval training: a rare presentation

Pectoralis major (PM) tears are a rare injury, that commonly occurs at the sternocostal head and has a greater incidence in men, with only two previously reported cases in young and middle-aged women. The authors report a complete PM tear that occurred in a 23-year-old woman, that presented after performing a 'muscle-up'. MRI revealed PM rupture at the humeral insertion. Surgical management was performed, and patient returned to high-intensity interval training at 11 months postoperatively and reported great satisfaction. This is the first case in literature that reports a complete tear of the PM in a young woman through an atraumatic mechanism of injury with no previous alteration to the PM. With a cultural increase in wellness, atraumatic PM tear in young women should be expected and remain on the differential for any athlete that participates in high-intensity interval training.