Martial art for chest injury?

[Diamondboy]

Hi my chest is a bit ruined and I fear taking in blows to it in sparring. So I was wondering what discipline would be good to do. I want to do something practical. I would do boxing but I'm wary of getting hit there.

I didnt do mma for that long so I'm almost a beginner.

2 years ago I had someone land head first on my sternum in mma but recovered then a few months later I had a really bad cough and it wasnt the same since. My stamina and strength dont seem effected now like before but I feel my chest when sneezing, hiccouping, coughing hard, strength training and if i lie or sit with bad posture. So I think it's vulnerable, it feels that way anyway.

 

[Headhunter]

Well if you can't get hit that takes away a lot. Even grappling you'll have your chest pressed on.

Best option tai chi or something like boxercise classes

 

[Buka]

Welcome to MartialTalk, Diamondboy.

Have you had it checked, medically? Might be good idea for a complete physical, certainly can't hurt.

If it's okay, you can do various sparring arts if you're with the right people and use the right gear.

As for boxing, it's been my experience that the chest area is one of the least hit target areas overall, and probably the easiest to protect while sparring.

 

[Danny T]

Have you had it x-rayed or diagnosed by a physician and told you are vernable to damage or is this something you just feel?

 

[BrendanF]

What Buka and Danny said. If the injury was two years ago there should not be any issue at this point. Have it checked, and if there is not any structural weakness/damage, then your concerns are psychological, not physiological.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Additionally, if it turns out you have a serious/permanent injury and the doctor recommends you don't train anything, follow their recommendations.

 

[jobo]

What Buka and Danny said. If the injury was two years ago there should not be any issue at this point. Have it checked, and if there is not any structural weakness/damage, then your concerns are psychological, not physiological.

this really, after a major trauma, the body tries to protect its self from a repeat and quite often over compensates,

either you have an ongoing condition that makes being punched/ landed on hazardous to you or you don't.

if you do, then keeping away from ma is sensible, or at least do one that only drills the moves. If you don't, then its something you need to work through in baby steps , slowly building up the exposure till your body accepts it

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I'll just add on to what everyone else is saying. Your original post doesn't say whether you ever had the injury checked out. If you didn't, you should now, to find out if there is any significant damage in there. I'd go to a doctor who works with athletes, as they'll be more skilled at determining whether the injury poses any risk from these types of activities. It may be there's some scar tissue that's making it stiff in there. It may be you simply stopped some forms of movement (common compensation with any injury) and things have become tighter and less flexible. It may be you just paying more attention to your chest (because of the injury) and misinterpreting the minor aches and pains of aging (I don't know how old you are). Or it might be you suffered some real injury in that incident, and shouldn't be doing contact sport at all.

 

[Diamondboy]

Hi thanks for the response guys. I will take up Tai Chi. Boxercise in my town is just at a ladies gym.


I did get it checked out and a doctor just said he thought it was muscular and none of the doctors I saw did anything about it. But it was always bad after the cough.

"this really, after a major trauma, the body tries to protect its self from a repeat and quite often over compensates,"
You bones get bigger and harder but injuries are vulnerabilities anyway. I have an elbow as hard as stone and dense as lead from a fall but I have to leave out deltoid raises for the arm because last time my elbow twisted or something and strained my bicep.

"What Buka and Danny said. If the injury was two years ago there should not be any issue at this point."
It took a long time to recover, when my chest was worse I kicked a football like a girl and got tired on very short walks. I've had some other injuries but nothing so slow to wear off as this. I can do exercises now. I'm not limited psychologically, I just know my chest isnt healthy enough to take a punch.

"It may be there's some scar tissue that's making it stiff in there."
I dont know about scars internally, i will read about that thanks.

It may be you simply stopped some forms of movement (common compensation with any injury) and things have become tighter and less flexible."
I dont think so, when I had the bad cough I had recovered from my chest but after it was bad.

"It may be you just paying more attention to your chest (because of the injury) and misinterpreting the minor aches and pains of aging (I don't know how old you are). Or it might be you suffered some real injury in that incident, and shouldn't be doing contact sport at all."
I'm 25. I get a lot of join aches but not back or chest before 2 years ago. The impossibility to recover fitness and no follow through on kicks or punches then cant be accounted for by aches.

 

[jobo]

Hi thanks for the response guys. I will take up Tai Chi. Boxercise in my town is just at a ladies gym.


I did get it checked out and a doctor just said he thought it was muscular and none of the doctors I saw did anything about it. But it was always bad after the cough.

"this really, after a major trauma, the body tries to protect its self from a repeat and quite often over compensates,"
You bones get bigger and harder but injuries are vulnerabilities anyway. I have an elbow as hard as stone and dense as lead from a fall but I have to leave out deltoid raises for the arm because last time my elbow twisted or something and strained my bicep.

"What Buka and Danny said. If the injury was two years ago there should not be any issue at this point."
It took a long time to recover, when my chest was worse I kicked a football like a girl and got tired on very short walks. I've had some other injuries but nothing so slow to wear off as this. I can do exercises now. I'm not limited psychologically, I just know my chest isnt healthy enough to take a punch.

"It may be there's some scar tissue that's making it stiff in there."
I dont know about scars internally, i will read about that thanks.

It may be you simply stopped some forms of movement (common compensation with any injury) and things have become tighter and less flexible."
I dont think so, when I had the bad cough I had recovered from my chest but after it was bad.

"It may be you just paying more attention to your chest (because of the injury) and misinterpreting the minor aches and pains of aging (I don't know how old you are). Or it might be you suffered some real injury in that incident, and shouldn't be doing contact sport at all."
I'm 25. I get a lot of join aches but not back or chest before 2 years ago. The impossibility to recover fitness and no follow through on kicks or punches then cant be accounted for by aches.

its your nervous system restricting movement. That it considers potentially harm full. I had the some thing after a back trauma, my back ( and other muscles) wouldn't do what it was supposed to as it had decided all on its own it was safer not to.

you can slowly reprogram yourself, but its takes time and effort, but it can be done

 

[Diamondboy]

"its your nervous system restricting movement. That it considers potentially harm full. I had the some thing after a back trauma, my back wouldn't do what it was supposed to as it had decided all on its own it was safer not to.

you can slowly reprogram yourself, but its takes time and effort, but it can be done"
Thats reassuring thanks. I wont do anything full contact because its worrying when i was weak for ages.

 

[Buka]

Couple of things....the only constant in life is change. There's a good chance that over the next several years your chest issues will work themselves out, and be a thing of the past. Again, a full physical might be a good way to start, at least to ease the mind.

As for Tai Chi......Tai Chi is the balls, bro. There's few things in the Arts I've enjoyed as much. And with it's breathing from the abdomen as opposed to the chest, that might help with your healing as well. Worth a shot, anyway.