explaining an athletes mindset when coping with injury.

[Shannon]

Hey guys,need some opinions,insight, thought, w/e you wanna call it.

kinda hard to explain in a message but, here we go:
its been 4 days since i dislocated my elbow and I have regained a tremendous amount of motion and feeling back.

like most athletes passionate about what they do, im one of those guys that hates the "helpless" feeling, and if I feel good after the 1st week of a 2 week orderd recovery, im gonna use it and exercise the injury slightly but well within my limits untill im 100%

problem is, everyone is hounding me about following doctors orders to the "T" and staying completely off my arm, leaving it in a sling, and just leaving it alone.

im not in a cast, but they ace wrapped it and plastered it to keep my arm in a natural bent position.
since saterday, i've been moving my fingers, wrist, arm and bending it slightly now and then, mostly to keep the blood flowing and to keep from getting stiff. but while doing this i've noticed myself healing more and more, im not doing anything crazy but i've been kind of doing my own self progress check. saterday night i couldnt make a fist but now i can clinch full force. It makes me feel better I guess because Im aware and can notice myself healing.


But am I wrong for doing this and making everyone worry? I know everyone wants me to heal but it kinda feels like they're sayin "shut up and just do what the Dr. said."
Though on my end, it feels like no one thinks about how i am doing mentaly and why i so stubborn and wanting to get back to rolling sooner wrather than later.

Am I wrong and/or making things worse for this? Or is this common for alot of athletes?
anyone else have this mindset of hating to be out and wanting to get back sooner?

thanks guys.

[Luis Acherbo]

i do this too i dislocated my shoulder on wednesday and it must have gone back in the wrong way or something but its been killing me but i still roll every night alot of ppl have been asking me if im a masocist and its true i feel like its healing alot quicker so know where your coming from i saw a doctor yesterday and he told me to take it easy that night i went to 10th planet phoenix tonight i went to traditional jj so i know what your going through and i think its the same for all athletes

[Shannon]

glad someone undersyands where im comming from. its not that I'm ignoring doctors orders, i just have a strong drive to get back ASAP, i hate being told I cant do something, let alone having to stop rolling for a little.

I cant stand this helpless feeling. just hard tryin to explain why I do the things i do when im injured to friends and family. some friends dont have any big sports or hobbies their passionate about, so its like only other athletes understand what I mean and where im comming from when i explain it while the other people say im just arguing and being defensive. I'm not arguing or being defensive, just trying to explain why i do these things and why my mindset is like it is at the moment. seems like only athletes are understanding what im talking about and not objecting about it.

[Aikijiujitsu]

Sometimes you feel like your great but just let it heal and wait till your cleared you don't want to injure yourself again man take it from me i hurt my lower back playing basketball. Rushed back to the dojo then got judo thrown hurt my hip which was really serious I'm only healed and able to train again to do a miracle. Hurt my knee came back to quick hurt my other knee just take it easy use this time to read up on techniques, watch instructional videos, and work on visualization.

[AJ Camacho]

The great thing about jiujitsu is if you can't do things one way, you can find another way. I'm nursing a busted knee right now, so I just have to avoid heavy lateral torque on my knee. It's much harder in, in live rolling, to contain your range of motion within your means so at the moment I am using the time to drill positions over and over. A couple months ago it was my back, and I just worked top positions.

If it was my shoulder that was busted I would probably try to work a lot of over hook guard with my good side.

[stlnl]

You are the same guy who asked about training to limits, or tapping a bit early. Within two weeks you blow out an elbow. Granted it was not due to a submission, but over the years I have seen guys like you come and go (and was once just like you). You simply try to train too hard, and not smart. Personally I was back rolling within a week of having elbow surgery years ago, it wanst too smart though and in the end hampered me. Same with a host of other injuries (from broken hand to torn knee ligaments etc).

Finally it dawned on me though, be smart and heal fully. As others mentioned IF YOU CAN CONTROL YOURSELF and find a particular partner drill/exercise to do in the healing phase, do it. If you are the sort to keep trying more and more things, dont do it. In the end you only extend recovery time, and as you get older (esp when 20's are over) you will really start to regret bad decisions training (going too hard, wrenching out of something, etc).

For you, for now (meaning young, way gung ho) take doctor's orders and stay off the mat. Go and watch if you must, ask questions, and read/watch vids in the healing time.

[J Cheng]

I used to be a college varsity athlete and tore my hamstring during a 100m race. I was out for a long while but just like you I saw my friends running every day and I hated having to take it easy. I wanted to get back out on the track and beat people. Each day I felt my leg feel slightly better and better until I could barely feel anything at all. I thought I was healed.

On that day, I tried to fire things back up at practice. I started out with a long solid warm-up and eased into my workout. I did a few smooth starts at about 70% (not too fast) and on the third try my leg locked up again and I tore my hamstring up just like I did the first time.

I never did break my old records after that day and have since quit the track team due to injury. I had a lot of pride back then and I was too impatient to get back to training so I started training again as soon as I thought I was clear. What I didn't realize is that lingering injuries will stay even after they've stopped hurting. The damage I've sustained to my hamstring after hurting it multiple times is enough that it'll probably stay with me for the rest of my life. Don't be like me. Let your body heal.

[Tim Elliott]

Mate, just chill out. It's only two weeks. Movement is good but going 100% on it is not cool. Those lingering injuries people talk about are just scar tissue. By working it hard while it's healing, your just making more scar tissue. Gentle movement improves blood flow, helps with range of motion and helps clear away waste products.

As For well meaning relatives, they are always the biggest hurdle to recovery. I actually get greif about doing my rehab gym work! It's insanely frustrating. What do they expect me to do? Just stay a crippled vegetable on a couch just so I don't risk "injury". I feel your pain.

Right now, after two years of recovery Im back in a hospital bed with an infection in the bone that flared up randomly a few days ago. Two weeks doesn't sound like much to me!