I think injuries every now and again are pretty much unavoidable with this sport. You can minimize them by keeping your body in good shape, eating healthy, stretching and getting enough exercise. Also you need to be smart about your injuries. I got a very bad herniated disc in my neck a couple years back. Looking back I realize that the injury was probably avoidable. I had been having off and on neck problems for awhile, but never took time off from training unless the pain got excruciating. I remember my neck bothering me pretty bad, but at the time I had gone down to LA and was within my first week or two of training at 10th Planet, so I was like "fuck it, I'm training no matter what." Well needless to say my neck went out on me during training, and I ended up not being able to train again for around six months. If I had just taken some time off when my neck first started hurting I'm sure I could have been at full strength again within a month. I guess what I am trying to get across is that when you get an injury that is likely to be aggravated with more training you are better off resting it until it heals, rather than trying to be a tough guy and missing much more time in the long run. I still train through injuries when i feel it is just a matter of dealing with the pain and I won't make it worse, but I always take time off to let the injury heal if I feel training could make it worse.