When Carleen Mathews failed to meet the minimum work requirement on Amanda .45 at the CrossFit Games, she did not know why she lacked any strength in her left arm/tricep. Following the Games, Mathews was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Mathews began experiencing symptoms five days prior to the start of the Games when she was already in Madison.
The difficulty with the diagnosis is that doctors don’t know the exact location, but believe it is somewhere between her spine and left shoulder. A month after the Games Mathews was still unable to do anything overhead or even burpees so she focused on lower body work with squats, deadlifts and other accessory movements.
But now, less than two months following the CrossFit Games, Mathews is back on top of the rings. In an Instagram post, Mathews is shown being able to do a muscle-up once again. She still can’t get inverted, but has regained the strength to press out of a dip on a muscle-up.
