Hurt Back and Belt Test this weekend

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dleeret

Yellow Belt
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Here's my story. I have had back problems on and off for the last 4 years - I'm almost 41. I am testing for my second Gup (Red Belt) tomorrow, Friday June 20th for four hours and again Saturday for four - six hours. Yesterday I did something - don't know what - and hurt my back (again). So now I'm in moderate pain with the dilema - do I try to do a Tiger Woods and work through the pain or sit this one out and wait until September to test? I'm pretty certain I can work through the pain but if it gets worse, I'm done and probably down for 2-3 days.

What do you folks think?
 
dleeret said:
Here's my story. I have had back problems on and off for the last 4 years - I'm almost 41. I am testing for my second Gup (Red Belt) tomorrow, Friday June 20th for four hours and again Saturday for four - six hours. Yesterday I did something - don't know what - and hurt my back (again). So now I'm in moderate pain with the dilema - do I try to do a Tiger Woods and work through the pain or sit this one out and wait until September to test? I'm pretty certain I can work through the pain but if it gets worse, I'm done and probably down for 2-3 days.

What do you folks think?
Click to expand...

I think you should tell your instructor what the problem is, and bow out of the testing. There will always be another testing (and I say that as an instructor and as a student who missed the occasional testing for injuries) - but if you injure your back more you may be out forever.

Good luck, and I hope you heal well and soon!
 
I agree with Kacey on this one. Talk to your instructor & bow out.

No need to compare yourself to Tiger Woods. If TKD was your job, I might have a different answer, but I doubt it. I'm a TKD school owner & it's my only job. I'm currently doing physical therapy & not doing my normal workouts because of it. If I was offered a test tomorrow, I'd have to decline it even tho I could do it. I'd pay for it for too long to make it worth it.

Your life outside of the dojang needs your full attention. Talk to your sabum & test another day when you are healthy.
 
The back is not something to play with, bow out and test in september. You instructor will understand.
 
I've got a wretched back that can go south .so I know what you're going through.. explain your situation to your instructor and let him know that you'd like to hold off until Sept.
 
There you go... you don't want to treat your body such that it will be hurt. You can test later -- and, you will have all that much more experience when you do finally test, too.

You can test later, make sure that your back is okay.
 
Man, I feel your pain. I was in your situation a couple of years ago when I blew out my knee a month before my blackbelt test. I ended up postponing testing for almost a year while I had surgery and recovered.

it sucked at the time, but I don't regret it. I was able to come back stronger and more fit.

Take the time off...take care of yourself and the rest will take care of itself. :)

Peace,
Erik
 
Don't test. There will be plenty more opportunities if you care for your back now. There may not be if you don't and it becomes chronic.

Listen to your body. It knows what it needs.
 
Talk to your instructor.

I tested with a blown-out ACL and a bledsoe brace. MY test was to see how I would modify techniques to accommodate my injury such that I was not injured further yet my techniques were still effective.

At higher ranks, your instructor has seen you do your patterns time and again and should have a feel for what your retention is like, what your general skillset is like.

But whatever you do ... if you think you risk injuring yourself further (you didn't really say exactly what kind of back injury you have) then put your test off until you're healthy.

For the record, before my black belt test I visited my exceptional chiropractor (he's a gift from God, I kid you not) two to three times per week for three months just to make sure I was in alignment as much as possible and to reduce my risk of injury.

Talk to your doc, too.
 
NEVER test injured.

first, you will just hurt yourself worse

not to mention, your injury could make you perform on a sub par level, and you might FAIL.

dont do it
 
I"m in agreement with the others...don't test. You could cause more injury if you do. Explain this to your inst. and I'm sure once the injury heals, you can reschedule another test.

Mike
 
dleeret said:
Here's my story. I have had back problems on and off for the last 4 years - I'm almost 41. I am testing for my second Gup (Red Belt) tomorrow, Friday June 20th for four hours and again Saturday for four - six hours. Yesterday I did something - don't know what - and hurt my back (again). So now I'm in moderate pain with the dilema - do I try to do a Tiger Woods and work through the pain or sit this one out and wait until September to test? I'm pretty certain I can work through the pain but if it gets worse, I'm done and probably down for 2-3 days.

What do you folks think?
Click to expand...
Firstly, I hope that you feel better soon! I can only second the advice already given. You want to be at your best for a test and you definitely don't want to injure yourself further or prolong an existing injury.

Daniel
 
Twin Fist said:
NEVER test injured.

first, you will just hurt yourself worse

not to mention, your injury could make you perform on a sub par level, and you might FAIL.

dont do it
Click to expand...
Plus, remember -- the testing is also the "show off" time in a way, so that the students can really throw down hard and show such good technique! That is not possible or wise if you are injured!
 
Listen to your body and use the interim to work on your techniques, remember black belt is only the beginning so post poning testing for a few months for your overall health will be beneficial and your skills can continue to grow even without the new belt.
 
dleeret said:
Here's my story. I have had back problems on and off for the last 4 years - I'm almost 41. I am testing for my second Gup (Red Belt) tomorrow, Friday June 20th for four hours and again Saturday for four - six hours. Yesterday I did something - don't know what - and hurt my back (again). So now I'm in moderate pain with the dilema - do I try to do a Tiger Woods and work through the pain or sit this one out and wait until September to test? I'm pretty certain I can work through the pain but if it gets worse, I'm done and probably down for 2-3 days.

What do you folks think?
Click to expand...
The weekend has come and gone. How are you feeling? Did you test? If so, how did you do? I hope that all is well.

Daniel
 
I had a massage session Friday and discovered that the problem was my glut (sp?) and not actually my back. It just FELT like my back due to the location of the muscle and other parts. I was able to get the muscle to relax a little with some Tylenol and aleviate the pain with Ibuprofin.

Long story short, I was able to test - 4 hours Friday night and 8 hours Saturday - and passed. I was in some pain during parts of the exam but for the most part was OK.

If it had turned out to be my back (as I originally believed) I would have sat out. I felt like I had been hit by a truck Sunday morning but that was gonna be the case even if I was 100%.
 
I'm glad you were able to test and that it went well - but do be careful; just because your glut isn't part of your back, doesn't mean it can't become a long term problem.
 
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