Practicing while injured....
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Out_of_Bubblegum
Posts: 2,220 Member
What injuries have you continued to practice with/through? What did you do different to accommodate, and how did it work out?
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Compound fracture of big toe on left foot during sparing practice.
Once stitches were out, about a week, bought and wore a pair of mat shoes. Avoided grappling for 6 weeks. Right foot breaks only for same period (had to take shoe off right foot, just couldn't break with the d@mn thing on).
Continued to wear mat shoes only under sparing pads after six weeks past.
Toe didn't fall off so guess it worked.2 -
I had a bone bruise on my left foot, 4th metatarsal...possibly a stress fracture, but I skipped the MRI.
I did sit out for 6 weeks, but I took my kids to the classes and watched attentively. As soon as the boot came off I went back to training. I'm still careful when I kick the bag with that foot and doing most of my push-ups on my knees. When I do too many on my toes, I can feel it later. I'm hoping that I can get back to real push-ups soon.1 -
Not much of an injury, but I had blisters on the balls of my feet (greater than half the width of my feet in diameter). They developed during my promotion course for black belt. I couldn't even walk on my feet but I strapped them up and kept training.
Anyway, the evening before the last day one of the sensei's told me to dip my feet in pee (nor expecting me to actually do it). I did and they were all better the next day. I bounced up to him the next morning!! I got my black belt - not sure how much of it was training through the blisters, dipping my feet in pee, or if it was completely unrelated.2 -
Versicolour wrote: »Not much of an injury, but I had blisters on the balls of my feet (greater than half the width of my feet in diameter). They developed during my promotion course for black belt. I couldn't even walk on my feet but I strapped them up and kept training.
Anyway, the evening before the last day one of the sensei's told me to dip my feet in pee (nor expecting me to actually do it). I did and they were all better the next day. I bounced up to him the next morning!! I got my black belt - not sure how much of it was training through the blisters, dipping my feet in pee, or if it was completely unrelated.
That's an... interesting blister cure!! Never heard of that one before. Not sure I'm ready to try it.
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I had a bone bruise on my left foot, 4th metatarsal...possibly a stress fracture, but I skipped the MRI.
I did sit out for 6 weeks, but I took my kids to the classes and watched attentively. As soon as the boot came off I went back to training. I'm still careful when I kick the bag with that foot and doing most of my push-ups on my knees. When I do too many on my toes, I can feel it later. I'm hoping that I can get back to real push-ups soon.
Have worked out through many bone bruises.. for some reason, they always end up on my heels. NOT fun.0 -
As an instructor, I always tell my students to let injuries heal before returning to class, and to ease back in so they don't re-injure themselves.
But for myself.. I seldom follow my own advice. Most of the time I will wait for the healing to begin, then start easing back in as soon as I feel "safe" to do so... meaning that I will go gently on the injury, feeling for any immediate signs of sharp pain and back off/stop if need be, with lots of RICE between practices.
Most soft-tissue injuries seem to do fine with this protocol, but really requires very careful attention to your body mechanics, and a keen understanding of when to back off. It is NOT an "Ignore and continue training" type of thing.
This works well with minor training related injuries...
Bone bruises
Muscle strains (hip flexor, hamstring, calf)
And a few major ones I've had to deal with (that required weeks/months of reduced training):
Muscle tear (hamstring)
Compound ankle sprain (one of the most painful injuries I have EVER faced)
ACL reconstruction (with help of a sports rehab therapist - this is when I learned how to do this)
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Versicolour wrote: »Not much of an injury, but I had blisters on the balls of my feet (greater than half the width of my feet in diameter). They developed during my promotion course for black belt. I couldn't even walk on my feet but I strapped them up and kept training.
Anyway, the evening before the last day one of the sensei's told me to dip my feet in pee (nor expecting me to actually do it). I did and they were all better the next day. I bounced up to him the next morning!! I got my black belt - not sure how much of it was training through the blisters, dipping my feet in pee, or if it was completely unrelated.
That's an... interesting blister cure!! Never heard of that one before. Not sure I'm ready to try it.
Yeah. I was desperate! Plus he was ex-military and swore by its effectiveness. It has to be your own pee though. It all turned out well!!!0 -
Versicolour wrote: »Versicolour wrote: »Not much of an injury, but I had blisters on the balls of my feet (greater than half the width of my feet in diameter). They developed during my promotion course for black belt. I couldn't even walk on my feet but I strapped them up and kept training.
Anyway, the evening before the last day one of the sensei's told me to dip my feet in pee (nor expecting me to actually do it). I did and they were all better the next day. I bounced up to him the next morning!! I got my black belt - not sure how much of it was training through the blisters, dipping my feet in pee, or if it was completely unrelated.
That's an... interesting blister cure!! Never heard of that one before. Not sure I'm ready to try it.
Yeah. I was desperate! Plus he was ex-military and swore by its effectiveness. It has to be your own pee though. It all turned out well!!!
Thank goodness you don't have to use someone else's pee.3 -
Last year I tried the famous method of ignoring injuries and carrying on training 5 days a week for six months or so until it becomes obvious the injury won't get better on its own, and only then finding out what the recommended physio exercises are.
Plus-points of this method: you won't have to delay taking your black belt exams, and you get to take them as early as possible.
Downside: turns out that just as the physio exercises start to work, the injuries from compensating on the other side will assert themselves. And then you have to take time off training after the black belt exams instead.2 -
Versicolour wrote: »Versicolour wrote: »Not much of an injury, but I had blisters on the balls of my feet (greater than half the width of my feet in diameter). They developed during my promotion course for black belt. I couldn't even walk on my feet but I strapped them up and kept training.
Anyway, the evening before the last day one of the sensei's told me to dip my feet in pee (nor expecting me to actually do it). I did and they were all better the next day. I bounced up to him the next morning!! I got my black belt - not sure how much of it was training through the blisters, dipping my feet in pee, or if it was completely unrelated.
That's an... interesting blister cure!! Never heard of that one before. Not sure I'm ready to try it.
Yeah. I was desperate! Plus he was ex-military and swore by its effectiveness. It has to be your own pee though. It all turned out well!!!
Thank goodness you don't have to use someone else's pee.
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The main thing that kept me off the mat was concussion. The first one, I was off for a couple of days, my coach told me I was not concussed and should train. I felt fine so belived him. Two weeks later I competed, edured a hard takedown and ended up with amnesia, a night in hospital and 6 months no full contact training. The first two weeks were bad, getting headaches and nausea under control, but after that I could do normal fitness stuff and would go watch class and do technique with trusted friends. Coach told me the doctors were exaggerting about needing 6 months off and I shoudl get back on the mat. By then I had realised how serious this was and that was the final thing that made me move clubs. I spent the first 4 months at my new club watching and light technique, but my new coach was amazing and so supportive. He would tell me what I was or wasn't allowed to do.
Big lesson on that: If you have a suspected concussion, take it light for 6 weeks! A secondary concussion is SOOO much worse.
Also, not injury, but if I'm sick, I stay away. Jiu jitsu is all super close contact so if you have something contagious, you will pass it on pretty quickly. Rest also speeds the recovery so you can get back quicker!
I do occasionally add supports to help when certain joints take strain, but I try and only wear them when the joint is struggling as I'm trying to strengthen rather than rely on supports. When I'm training harder than normal or if I get a mild injury, they definitely help. My left elbow gets tendonitis often, so it is the most often using a support. My trainer is workign on strengthening the problem; shoulder muscles don't activate as well on that side, so whole arm is weaker, resluting in more armbars etc.1 -
Swollen instep: trained through - didn’t take a day off.
Second degree ankle sprain: took 4 days off and back to class 5 days a week wearing a brace for 4 months.
Fractured wrist (from soccer): took a weekend off and back to class wearing a brace for 2 months.
Kind of stupid if you ask me but I can’t and won’t stop lol
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I have had shoulders issues on each shoulder. I would go to PT and then training. (I wasn’t supposed to be doing anything but PT - but i couldn’t help it. I had to roll.)
I have popped a rib twice. Couldn’t completely stop training, so I just stopped grappling and worked around it while focusing improving on my striking.
Various lumps, bumps, sprains, and a broken toe (buddy tape for the win) I just trained through.
Basically I am an idiot, but I can’t stop. I’m a martial arts and combat sports addict.2 -
Not me, but one of the kids at our dojang had a broken foot. He still went to every class and modified everything he possibly could. Absolutely incredible spirit.0
