Coming back from injury

[InkedT]

I want to start training in Ninjutsu and now that I'm ready to contact a couple of schools to try them out I have tendonitis in my shoulder.
Has anyone had to come back to training after an injury like this or any other? And does anyone know any excercises to speed up healing and build strength? I haven't lost any range of motion it just hurts and kind of pops when I bring my arm down from an overhead position. Will most schools work with me while it heals or should I just wait?

 

[Jdokan]

Select your school discuss your situation and see what the instruct tells you...You know quickly if he has your best intentions in the forfront or his pocketbook... I think most of here have done what you've described at one point...I'm currently altering my training due to a broke toe...Some classes I can take, I modify movements with the understanding that I may not be structurally correct but for my limitations it will be necessary until the injury is gone.....OR wait until I'm 100%...
I think this is an area where only you can determine what will be best for your overall health...the main goal of any MA...
Good Luck with your decision
jeff,

 

[InkedT]

Good to know, thanks for the advice.

 

[Carol]

Most teachers will work with you, but it is important to give your body the respect it deserves. If you don't let an injury heal properly it can leave you with problems that get a lot worse than what you are dealing with now. Shoulder injuries are particularly notorious for this because of the nerves and the musculature...we tend to use those muscles a lot.

That being said, it could very well be possible for you to start while your shoulder heals up. I really do not know much about how the Ninjutsu schools structure their material, but many arts start a new student with learning stances and different types of steps, perhaps even kicks. You may also have information to learn that is academic, such as learning the terminology or memorizing a school credo. If this fits in with what your potential new instructor teaches, this can all be done while your upper body heals.

Also don't be afraid to use your "downtime" to visit some other schools that may be a bit outside of your area of interest, that way you have more data to make an educated decision about where to train.

 

[Gemini]

If I waited, I may as well just have quit. I developed tendonitis in both shoulders just before my first BB test years ago. I tried everything to heal it (except stopping), but nothing worked. After trying the usual remedies and going to the typical doctors, which proved useless, acupuncture helped enough to get through the test.
Long story short, I never got over it, but I did learn how to control it. Certain excercises agitate it more than others so obviously, I limit my participation in those, such as push ups and hitting a heavy bag.
Any instructor should understand and work with you on that, but there are always things you can do while going through a healing process or nursing an ailment. In this instance, less is more.

 

[InkedT]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I'm definitely not going to push it but I'm not going to let it prevent me from going ahead and trying it. I'll just have to tell the instructors about it and take it easy for a while as it heals.
Thanks a again.

 

[InkedT]

So just an update.

I'm going to physio for my shooulder. The therapist said I can't do anything for at least a month. He said i might not want to take part in any boxing or martial arts. I'm going to put off any MAs or boxing until my physio is done and then ease my way in. Probably do the physio excercises before and after training and keeping an eye on it to make sure I'm not put in this position again. I definitely don't want to say I'm not going to do any MA or boxing but I'm not going to over do it.
After one session of physio with ultrasound and electrical pulses it felt a lot better so I;m hoping at the end of my physio session (8 in all) I'll be ready to start training.

 

[Supra Vijai]

Hey InkedT,

I'm training in Ninjutsu and I've come back from quite a serious injury myself. Started training initially and then had a motorbike accident where I managed to break both my legs, need ankle and knee reconstructions, ongoing keyhole surgery to realign the smaller bones in my foot as they wouldn't set right etc so had to take close to a year off. I mean the doctors told me I'd probably never walk again so a year is pretty damn good IMO.

Anywho, got back into training with a fresh start and a new mindset. Found that recovering from my accident helped majorly with thinking I can overcome any hurdles I'd face in class and I'm now starting my 3rd year of training as a 6th Kyu... In our school we also have black belts who are more "senior" in their years with joint problems and limitations and the techniques are modified for them if need be or they are told to use something that they are comfortable with which would work in the scenario. Where do you live and which schools are you thinking of trying?

Good luck with the art! It's demanding but a helluva lot of fun and something I plan on doing for a very very long time!

 

[oaktree]

Dear Inkedt,

Sorry to hear of your injury. You should listen to your doctor.
However you can train other parts of the body and other areas of training
that do not involve the arm.

You can practice footwork, evasive skills,leg development exercises.
Maybe even holding some stances(if the arm is bad just the lower part of the body in the stances) You can try doing some light techniques done very slow.

I think the Doctor thought about you going and doing some full contact sparing but there is plenty of things you can work on maybe discuss with your teacher and doctor.