What do you guys do for your injuries

[Mider]

By this I mean i say. How do you take care of back, knee, etc injuries

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

My main issues are with my back and knee. They're also still relatively minor at this point. For my knee, i just make sure not to do anything too hard on it (i don't run anymore, just bike and swim), and if i notice somethings bothering it, I'll stop or adjust what I'm doing.

For my back, build the back muscles through rowing and rope training, do yoga a couple times a week, and heat and ibuprofen on days it gets bad. I've got some prescription painkillers for it but I avoid those whenever possible.

 

[bluepanther]

Take a small break from the activity that caused injury, ice the area to minimize swelling and bruising (if this is an acute injury), after swelling is controlled start to apply heat to get blood flow to area. Ibuprofen may help if tolerable. As soreness fades in a few days, start to stretch and do passive range of motion. Ease back into activity after a week or so. If persistent, then seek medical attention.

 

[Buka]

As I go through the healing process (whatever that might be) I try to figure out how to prevent that particular injury from happening again.

 

[Gyakuto]

I’m a great believer in prevention rather than cure so…

I really look after my knees as those joints seem to be the most troublesome for martial artists and impact upon the every aspect of ones life. So I keep all my leg muscle strong, without pushing ridiculous amounts of weight and knowing the mechanics of the that joint, none of that silly ‘knee-over-toes’ form when squatting etc. I‘ve also been taking a daily 1500mg dose of glucosamine for the last couple of years: it takes about three years to have the positive effects.

I hang from a chinning bar regularly for my shoulders and perform various shoulder mobility exercises.

I perform various hip mobility exercises and stretch my achilles’ tendons (Asian squat for example).

But I echo Monkey Turned Wolf, at the first sign of any pain, I assess it’s origin and desist from the offending movement if necessary.

If an injury does occur then I ensure adequate rest, NSAID and no ICE (as discussed on another thread).

 

[Cynik75]

When I was younger short break and stifferings were enough to cure most of injuries (or so I thought)... And today I pay for this...

October 2022 I have made decision to take a break from BJJ till I will be ready again (the plan was to return to training on the beging of January 2023). A few painfull chronic injuries (rotator muscles in my left shoulder, rectus abdominis and long adductor muscle) forced me to hang my gi fo a while. Lasers, massage, ultrasounds, compressions, warming up, cooling down... Three different clinic and soon I will know if my body if my body will survive the rolling with the young ones (If not I will turn to something less damaging = weighlifting plus yoga for example).) . I am going to step on the mat again in two weeks - 11 months later than originally planned.

The break was long not only because years of years of overlapping and repeated injuries in places that have not fully and properly healed made rehabilitation much slower but also because the pain in bottom part of rectus abdominis muscle turned out to be hernia (surgery was in July) - sports injury rehab specialists in the first two clinics had no idea what was really wrong withthis part of my body. Only in the third clinic, a smart lady, instead of trying to take money out of me for useless treatments, told me to consult with surgeon.

In the past the best results with long-term post-traumatic pain in muscles and tendons was achieved by a friend who worked with fascia - a half of an hour of pain, screams, moans and tears resulted in immediate and permanent pain relief. Unfortunately he moved to another part of the country and I have never met again somebody with this kind of magic in fingers.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

If an injury does occur then I ensure adequate rest, NSAID and no ICE (as discussed on another thread).

I'm curious about your "no ice" approach. What's behind that?

 

[screamingskull]

My main issues are with my back and knee. They're also still relatively minor at this point. For my knee, i just make sure not to do anything too hard on it (i don't run anymore, just bike and swim), and if i notice somethings bothering it, I'll stop or adjust what I'm doing.

For my back, build the back muscles through rowing and rope training, do yoga a couple times a week, and heat and ibuprofen on days it gets bad. I've got some prescription painkillers for it but I avoid those whenever possible.

try doing some more direct lower back work. The erector muscles can be trained easily.
try these at home seated on a bench. ( or whatever) Doug (RIP) was a very radical thinker but he´s correct here.
Deads, Good mornings..etc tend to work the muscle in a static isometric way.

 

[Gyakuto]

I'm curious about your "no ice" approach. What's behind that?

It was @Ivan who alerted me to this and after a bit of literature searching I found this (and many others)

The R.I.C.E Protocol is a MYTH: A Review and Recommendations

Authors: Domenic Scialoia & Adam J. Swartzendruber Corresponding Author:Domenic ScialoiaSaint Joseph’s College of Maine278 Whites Bridge Road Standish, ME 04084Email: [email protected]: 617-922-0309 Domenic Scialoia is a recent graduate of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine...

thesportjournal.org

 

[Gerry Seymour]

try doing some more direct lower back work. The erector muscles can be trained easily.
try these at home seated on a bench. ( or whatever) Doug (RIP) was a very radical thinker but he´s correct here.
Deads, Good mornings..etc tend to work the muscle in a static isometric way.

This is one of the places where I think static/isometric work has strong benefit, since that's pretty much what you need those muscles to do: hold a relatively static position during most of the day.

 

[screamingskull]

This is one of the places where I think static/isometric work has strong benefit, since that's pretty much what you need those muscles to do: hold a relatively static position during most of the day.

nope..watch the video properly

 

[dunc]

By this I mean i say. How do you take care of back, knee, etc injuries

In addition to all the sensible suggestions above around building strength, icing etc I do continue training with most injuries, but very deliberately avoid movements that aggravate them (which usually means switching out free sparring for specific sparring). I find this keeps me motivated and moving which helps recovery

In terms of avoidance…. That has a lot to do with avoiding certain types of training partner and being OK with giving up positions earlier than I’d like during sparring (which is actually good training, but requires putting one’s ego into a box)

 

[Dirty Dog]

I'm curious about your "no ice" approach. What's behind that?

The science that shows ice/heat have the same (very minimal) real impact on healing.

 

[Oily Dragon]

This is one of the places where I think static/isometric work has strong benefit, since that's pretty much what you need those muscles to do: hold a relatively static position during most of the day.

That wasn't the point of the video, he specifically pointed out isometrics are not ideal for strengthening the "lower back" (which is true for pretty much any muscle group).

Isometrics are better suited to things like connective tissue strengthening, a longer term effort but well worth it for strength training.

One thing is for damn sure, everyone prefers sore muscles to sore tendons.

How to Strengthen Tendons and Ligaments With Strength Training

Improving your ligament and tendon strength can help reduce injury and increase athletic performance. Here's how through year-round strength training.

www.trainingpeaks.com

 

[Gyakuto]

There’s one muscle, upon which we have conscious control, that has ‘superhuman‘ stamina. It can keep contracting all day long but when it finally fatigues it flops and there’s little we can do to make it contract again. It’s called levator palpebrae superioris and it’s the muscle that keeps our upper eyelids elevated and thus our eyes open. This ability comes from the fact it is partially composed of smooth muscle (like the muscles in our gastrointestinal tract) which can contract weakly but for a long time due to it’s particular arrangement.

A very good fact to bring up at dinner parties and first dates.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

nope..watch the video properly

I wasn't summarizing the video. I was giving my thought on isometric exercise. Resistance over a short (or in this case non-existent) ROM isn't useful for most purposes. I don't have any research to back my statement (so I didn't indicate any), but my understanding of how isometrics would affect muscles suggests that it would have some benefit in a situation like the lower back, where a large part of its support function would be in a very narrow area of movement (standing upright).

 

[Gerry Seymour]

That wasn't the point of the video, he specifically pointed out isometrics are not ideal for strengthening the "lower back" (which is true for pretty much any muscle group).

Isometrics are better suited to things like connective tissue strengthening, a longer term effort but well worth it for strength training.

One thing is for damn sure, everyone prefers sore muscles to sore tendons.

How to Strengthen Tendons and Ligaments With Strength Training

Improving your ligament and tendon strength can help reduce injury and increase athletic performance. Here's how through year-round strength training.

www.trainingpeaks.com

You're correct. That's why I didn't reference the video. I'd agree they're not ideal for the purpose, but the narrow ROM needed for standing upright means isometrics are more likely to be useful there than elsewhere. I've seen suggestions of isometrics (chair exercises, usually) for other muscle groups, and I can't see any likely benefit, since the muscle would strengthen in such a narrow ROM. But with the lower back, adding some slight strength in either seated or standing upright position would be beneficial.

In general, I've not seen many good places where isometrics would be better than other exercises - and many suggestions where I'm not sure there's any net benefit, at all. Lower back would be an exception.

 

[Gyakuto]

I wasn't summarizing the video. I was giving my thought on isometric exercise. Resistance over a short (or in this case non-existent) ROM isn't useful for most purposes. I don't have any research to back my statement (so I didn't indicate any), but my understanding of how isometrics would affect muscles suggests that it would have some benefit in a situation like the lower back, where a large part of its support function would be in a very narrow area of movement (standing upright).

I think that’s a good summary of isometric exercise, Gerry Seymour. Isometrics do have their issues, however: the extravascular compression by the muscles during the exercises (sustained squeezing of the blood vessels) can cause transient increase in mean arterial blood pressure, which for some may be an issue with regards stroke and myocardial infarction.

For us martial artists, it makes sense to exercise the muscles in the way we mainly use them, i.e. isotonically.

 

[screamingskull]

In general, I've not seen many good places where isometrics would be better than other exercises - and many suggestions where I'm not sure there's any net benefit, at all. Lower back would be an exception.

just curious..what do you Deadlift?
I used to squat heavy but now i train lighter but with exercises like the Zercher squat.
Definitely has some carry over to martial arts such as MMA or any throwing arts.

 

[Oily Dragon]

For us martial artists, it makes sense to exercise the muscles in the way we mainly use them, i.e. isotonically.

It's not an either/or dilemma. Both are important.

Pushups are a good example of an exercise can use both.

A lot of people rush pushups. Imagine planking every pushup. Let's go.