Suggestions?

[Emilee <3]

I pull muscles a lot during classes and while I heal pretty fast (typically 2-3 days), it is pretty inconvenient. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it a good idea to try to eat healthier and create a daily stretching routine? Or does anyone else have any other ideas to help with this problem? Suggestions would be much appreciated!!

 

[Tez3]

Are your muscles warmed up sufficiently before you start training? Warming up then stretching should be done before class, stretching every day is also good. Stretch before you get out of bed in the morning, watch animals they always stretch before getting up properly after a sleep. Stretching after a shower/bath is also good.

 

[Emilee <3]

Yeah, we normally do about 5 minutes of stretching before class, then we warm up. Those are some good ideas, I'll try them tonight / tomorrow morning (that might also help me wake up in the morning because I'm not a morning person haha). Thanks!

 

[Andrew Green]

Stretching should be done after working out, not before. That may be part of your problem depending on how you are stretching. As a general rule dynamic stretching before, static / assisted / pnf after the work out.

Warm up first, before class if needed and don't go hard on stretches before a workout.

 

[Emilee <3]

Stretching should be done after working out, not before. That may be part of your problem depending on how you are stretching. As a general rule dynamic stretching before, static / assisted / pnf after the work out.

Warm up first, before class if needed and don't go hard on stretches before a workout.

That's also a good point, thanks!

 

[nijima2000]

Hi!
I would also suggest stretching, without muscular flexibility, your body is much easier to hurt. Also, stretchy muscles perform much better. In addition to stretching, I would suggest you reflect on how hard you work. If you're training until you drop, even if you don't pull something, you'll eventually mess yourself up. Shin splints for example, not fun. Exercise is good and all, but don't work yourself to death.

 

[JR 137]

Ideally, you should be pretty warmed up before stretching (before intense exercise). How do you know you're sufficiently warmed up? You should be sweating.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Stretching should be done after working out, not before. That may be part of your problem depending on how you are stretching. As a general rule dynamic stretching before, static / assisted / pnf after the work out.

This is one of those things that I'll disagree with no matter what they say. If you look at what a muscle pull is, you'll find that it's an overstretched muscle or torn muscle. What qualifies as an overstretched muscle depends on how flexible you are. If you don't have enough flexibility to do the activity then you are more likely to tear or pull your muscle if your muscle goes beyond the limits. One of the things that we always say in my school is to not kick higher than you are able. Kicking higher than you can comfortably kick is the same as overstretching the muscle. If you kick too high then it will tear the muscle. The muscles tears because it beyond the limits of its flexibility. The more flexible you are the less chanced you'll be injured as a result of limited flexibility.

The article below is from web MD
Should You Stretch Before Exercise?
Not necessarily. It's not proven to help prevent injury, curb muscle soreness after exercise, or improve your performance.

Static stretching before exercise can weaken performance, such as sprint speed, in studies. The most likely reason is that holding the stretch tires out your muscles.

You should warm up by doing dynamic stretches, which are like your workout but at a lower intensity. A good warm-up before a run could be a brisk walk, walking lunges, leg swings, high steps, or "butt kicks" (slowly jogging forward while kicking toward your rear end)."

I think the problem is in this statement: "It's not proven to help prevent injury, curb muscle soreness after exercise, or improve your performance"

When I'm stretching I'm trying to improve flexibility. If I can improve my flexibility then I'll be able to improve my performance.
If I improve my flexibility then I'm less likely to be injured as a result of not being flexible enough. I can't improve my flexibility unless I stretch.

I don't stretch to prevent from being injured. I stretch to become more flexible.

 

[Andrew Green]

I don't stretch to prevent from being injured. I stretch to become more flexible.

Then you should stretch after you are warm, not as a warm up.

Even that same article you linked goes on to say you will get more benefit from stretching after a workout then before.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Then you should stretch after you are warm, not as a warm up.

Even that same article you linked goes on to say you will get more benefit from stretching after a workout then before.

unfortunately for me this isn't the case. I'm saying this from experience. When I thief it their way, I lost flexibility. So now I'm back to the way I used to stretch.

 

[Tez3]

We stretch before and after but always when muscles are warm. We have a couple of trained physical training instructors (RAPTC) who train with us and they take the warm up ( a lot longer than 5 minutes) and the warm down.

 

[donald1]

If the 5 minutes isnt enough Try stretching all your joints before class (ankles, knees, waist, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists and neck)

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

What I've done when I felt there wasn't enough time before class to stretch/warm up properly is park about a mile away, and jog to class. Depending on your fitness level and how intense the classes are, you can probably do more or less, but its definitely helped my muscles be loose when going into class, at least during the warmer months.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Several people have made some essential points already, but I'll expand on them a little bit for those who have not followed the current state of knowledge in the field of exercise physiology ...

Stretching is not a warm up. Stretching is something you do after you warm up. Stretching cold muscles won't do much to improve flexibility and may increase your chance of injury.

Stretching immediately at the beginning of class doesn't do anything to improve your performance in that class. Maintaining a consistent stretching regimen throughout the week over a period of weeks/months/years (referred to in the literature as "chronic" stretching) will improve your flexibility which should improve performance and decrease injuries.

You can do that regular stretching routine before class, after class, or outside of class. Outside of class generally gives you more time to do a thorough job of it. (A good yoga class can be helpful.) After class allows you to take advantage of the fact that you should be thoroughly warmed up. If you stretch before class, be sure to do some sort of warm-up exercise first. (I do sometimes like to do some very gentle stretching before class for relaxation rather than a true flexibility routine.)

Never force a stretch. Stretching should not hurt! Take yourself just to the point where you feel some resistance, then breathe deeply and relax until you feel the resistance dissolve and you can move a little deeper into the stretch. Alternately you can research PNF stretching, which is also good. The first component of flexibility is training your nervous system to "take off the brakes" and allow your muscles to work their full range of motion. Only when you can consistently relax into your full range of motion are you likely to actually start building longer muscle fibers.

Too much flexibility can sometimes lead to injury if you can't maintain sufficient strength throughout your full range of motion. Strength and flexibility should go hand in hand.

Make sure you feel your stretching in the body of your muscle, not in your joints. Stretching is for muscles, not tendons and ligaments.

Stretching aside, body awareness is another important element for avoiding pulled muscles in class. If you are aware of what your current range of motion is on that particular day (and stay within that ROM), can relax when you need to relax, and use your body with good alignment, you are unlikely to injure yourself.

 

[Tez3]

The analogy we were given was to imagine an elastic band as your muscle, stretching it when it's cold will likely make it snap, it certainly won't stretch far anyway. A warm elastic band stretches easily and doesn't snap ( as long as you don't try to take it too far lol)

 

[SahBumNimRush]

I'm not going to attempt to diagnose over the interwebs, but the first question should be, is this a mobility/stability problem or a flexibility/muscle length problem. Your best option is to find a movement based clinician to help determine the root of your recurrent muscle strains.

This short article/clip may clear up the subtle difference between flexibility and mobility. Is there a Difference Between Flexibility and Mobility?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

This short article/clip may clear up the subtle difference between flexibility and mobility. Is there a Difference Between Flexibility and Mobility?

FYI - the audio clip from that link redirects to a paywalled site.

 

[Buka]

Emilee, it might be easier to advise you if you feel comfortable answering some training questions.

How old are you and how long have you been training?

Are you getting these muscle pulls in the same way? Like from kicking, or throwing a particular kick(s), or when working with another person, or from class exercises? Do they happen with punching or grappling?

Are you pulling the same muscles, or group of muscles, all the time?

Have you done any exercise regimens before you trained Martial Arts?

Thanks.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

Thanks for that Tony, it used to be a free link, but the article is dated.

Basically, what I am referring to is the difference between mobility and flexibility.

Flexibility is joint range of motion as affected by joint health and muscle length.

Mobility is the firing sequence of the muscles that cross the particular joint space, i.e. are they activating in the correct order at the correct time to allow the intended range of motion to occur.

In some cases, the joint health is optimal, and the tissue length is adequate, but the muscle firing pattern is dysfunctional which creates eccentric contraction to the lengthened muscle, which predisposes it to strain.

Seeking a healthcare clinician that specializes in functional movement assessment would be a good start to determine where the deficit is that creates this recurrent muscle strain.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

Generally speaking PT's and DC's certified in the FMS/SFMA are a good starting point, although any healthcare provider may earn these certifications. For example, Dr. Mark Cheng, a contributing editor to Black Belt Magazine, is a doctor of oriental medicine, and is a teacher within the functional movement systems course.