Injuries and Training

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10-09-2012, 07:30 PM
Sam Davis

Injuries and Training

About 5 months ago I tore the cartilage that connects my rib to my spine doing an arm bar drill. I let it heal up and about 3 weeks later I was back on the mats. I didn't ease back into training because I was so excited and it immediately ripped again. Instead of taking time off, I decided to just train away the pain. Now, it has gotten a lot worse and there is swelling all across the right side of my back and the muscles around it are turning into knots. I have decided to take some time off from training and then try to ease back into it this time. Has anyone had similar rib injuries before? I would like to start a thread about training with injuries, how to recover quickly from them, and how to train after recovering.
10-09-2012, 08:43 PM
Aaron Gustaveson

So when I was 16 I was working a welder in a fabrication shop. I was making a huge thing, at the time is was pretty much a big rectangle of steel on the ground. I was crouching down like a catcher, I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the bottom rail of the rectangle, and pulled (trying to drag it). Felt like hot water got poured on my back. I thought that somehow my skin had torn and it was blood running down my back. Turned out I tore the connective tissue that connects your shoulder blade to your spine (used when you pull your shoulders back) I occasionally re injured it for many years. I developed a nerve problem , think its called nervosis? any way felt like a hot piece of shrapnel was in my back when it was bad. When it wasn't so bad it felt tingly and or numb and just always felt out of place or strange. I continued occasionally re injuring it until I was about 23. Thats when I got a new line of work that was physically easier. After maybe 2 years it got so it never really burned and hurt really bad, it just felt off and tingelly. After maybe 3 more years of not injuring it and light exercise it kinda went away. If I do somthing like kayaking or rock climbing sometimes I think I kinda feel it. Nothing like the hell it used to be. Forgot to say I went to a physical therapist and got some exercises that maybe helped. S that was 7 years of re injury and constant pain, then 5 years of being very careful about avoiding certain movements.

Heating pad, and tigerbalm back patches help. Good luck.
10-09-2012, 09:45 PM
Brandon Mccaghren

Rib injuries take so long to heal. I'm still nursing one from 2 years ago.
10-10-2012, 05:57 AM
Shane Davis

I was rolling with a guy about 100 lbs heavier than me and had him in crack head control (left leg over the back of the neck)...he postured up real strong while I pulled down real strong with Gable Grip on the back of my ankle...I heard and felt a light pop in the left outside of my knee towards the back near my hamstring and knee has been achy and just a little unstable ever since... there doesn't feel like any structural damage as a can still jog and do agile movemnts... but just feels uncomfortable when in mission control or lotus position..any one ever dealt with this...

(btw i didnt get it checked out because I broke & dislocated my finger with the same guy, in the same session and went to the doctor for that to discover I needed to pins in my finger, Im still recovering...........there's no punks out here in 10th planet phoenix;))
10-10-2012, 06:39 AM
FRANK BARCA

Injury is always looming around you, each and every day that you put it all on the line. You just have to learn to manage them and find a way to get back on the mat. If I can stay under 3 injuries at a time Im in good shape ;) IF its real bad then I have to work around them and focus on what I can do anther than what I cannot.:cool:
10-10-2012, 07:21 AM
Ehsan_Karam

Yeah bro, I was out for 11months with a similar issue because I didn't take time to let it heal properly. If you had actually broken a rib healing would have been much quicker, but the cartilage takes forever to get back to 100% and gets re-injured if you fucking look at it wrong. I know this isn't the answer you wanted but if you want to continue training for the rest of your life you need to stay out of the gym right now.:(
10-10-2012, 07:53 AM
Cody Kietzman

I require toe surgery...my hand is still healing from about 4-5 months ago. I think Forrest Griffin put it best when he said if you aren't injured you didn't train hard enough.
10-10-2012, 08:09 AM
Brandon Mccaghren

In my opinion, you have to learn to train around an injury. You can't roll? Work arm drag drills. Do squats. Practice your shot. Come to class and take notes. Write out your game plan or some flow charts. Keep your mind actively involved in the pursuit of perfect technique. Any day that you aren't in class is a wasted day if your goal is excellence.
10-10-2012, 08:29 AM
Jason Morgan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Mccaghren

In my opinion, you have to learn to train around an injury. You can't roll? Work arm drag drills. Do squats. Practice your shot. Come to class and take notes. Write out your game plan or some flow charts. Keep your mind actively involved in the pursuit of perfect technique. Any day that you aren't in class is a wasted day if your goal is excellence.

Couldn't have said it better. I really have learned alot when an injury has made my training limited or not being able to train at all. It's amazing how much you learn when you go to class and just sit back and watch and take notes. It's a perspective you don't usually get. Always find a way to make the best out of it. I had an injury that had me completely out for a couple months and I went to class almost everyday and took video of the techniques to study and it really paid off.
10-10-2012, 09:34 AM
sean applegate

just give it time man. go to your school and absorb everything you can. work the techs from class at 10%. talk to brandon about all the techs you are working on. when i cant train, thats what i do. just study.
10-10-2012, 12:32 PM
Scott Lusk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ehsan_Karam

Yeah bro, I was out for 11months with a similar issue because I didn't take time to let it heal properly. If you had actually broken a rib healing would have been much quicker, but the cartilage takes forever to get back to 100% and gets re-injured if you fucking look at it wrong. I know this isn't the answer you wanted but if you want to continue training for the rest of your life you need to stay out of the gym right now.:(

can I ask who/how were you diagnosed? I fear i may have a similar issue going on.
10-10-2012, 05:24 PM
Aaron Gustaveson

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cody Kietzman

I require toe surgery...my hand is still healing from about 4-5 months ago. I think Forrest Griffin put it best when he said if you aren't injured you didn't train hard enough.

I don't know man, partly matters how old you are I guess but. we've seen a lot of fights getting called off due to injuries sustained in training. Also we've seen Forrest Griffin run out of the arena bawling (not crying like a man) and he takes TRT. I'll never come close as a fighter but he's not my role model of choice.
10-10-2012, 06:32 PM
Sam Davis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Gustaveson

So when I was 16 I was working a welder in a fabrication shop. I was making a huge thing, at the time is was pretty much a big rectangle of steel on the ground. I was crouching down like a catcher, I reached out with my right hand and grabbed the bottom rail of the rectangle, and pulled (trying to drag it). Felt like hot water got poured on my back. I thought that somehow my skin had torn and it was blood running down my back. Turned out I tore the connective tissue that connects your shoulder blade to your spine (used when you pull your shoulders back) I occasionally re injured it for many years. I developed a nerve problem , think its called nervosis? any way felt like a hot piece of shrapnel was in my back when it was bad. When it wasn't so bad it felt tingly and or numb and just always felt out of place or strange. I continued occasionally re injuring it until I was about 23. Thats when I got a new line of work that was physically easier. After maybe 2 years it got so it never really burned and hurt really bad, it just felt off and tingelly. After maybe 3 more years of not injuring it and light exercise it kinda went away. If I do somthing like kayaking or rock climbing sometimes I think I kinda feel it. Nothing like the hell it used to be. Forgot to say I went to a physical therapist and got some exercises that maybe helped. S that was 7 years of re injury and constant pain, then 5 years of being very careful about avoiding certain movements.

Heating pad, and tigerbalm back patches help. Good luck.

Heat pad has really helped me too. Thanks.
10-10-2012, 06:34 PM
Sam Davis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ehsan_Karam

Yeah bro, I was out for 11months with a similar issue because I didn't take time to let it heal properly. If you had actually broken a rib healing would have been much quicker, but the cartilage takes forever to get back to 100% and gets re-injured if you fucking look at it wrong. I know this isn't the answer you wanted but if you want to continue training for the rest of your life you need to stay out of the gym right now.:(

If I knew it would get better over time, then I would keep training, but I don't want it to get so bad that I permanently injure myself. Thanks for the feedback.
10-10-2012, 06:34 PM
Sam Davis

Thanks everyone.
10-11-2012, 07:51 AM
Cody Kietzman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Gustaveson

I don't know man, partly matters how old you are I guess but. we've seen a lot of fights getting called off due to injuries sustained in training. Also we've seen Forrest Griffin run out of the arena bawling (not crying like a man) and he takes TRT. I'll never come close as a fighter but he's not my role model of choice.

I'm 23, and regardless of what Forrest has done I think the statement holds some weight.
10-11-2012, 08:06 AM
Josh Passini

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRANK BARCA

Injury is always looming around you, each and every day that you put it all on the line. You just have to learn to manage them and find a way to get back on the mat. If I can stay under 3 injuries at a time Im in good shape ;) IF its real bad then I have to work around them and focus on what I can do anther than what I cannot.:cool:

Truth. I feel your pain. Three different injuries at the same time seems to be the norm, but figuring out a way to stay on the mats is key. Adjusting what game you play based on what options you have due to injury.
10-11-2012, 11:07 AM
Greg W

My rib cartilage is my weakness for sure. When I first started BJJ I paid my dues for my first month and went to the first class. During the class my first partner was HUGE. We learned Upa and roll. During the bridge and twist I tore the cartilage in my ribs. Went to Doc, he took x-ray and I had no broken ribs. I could barely freakin' breath. A sneeze sent me to the floor. Since I already paid however, I wasn't going to miss a single class. I very painfully rolled thru it. Since then I have had the same thing 3-4 more times in a couple of different spots. Rolled thru every one. It has been almost 2 years since the last one. I am either just rolling smarter or my ribs have finally gotten conditioned to rolling. Choose your rolling partners carefully for a while. Find people that you can work with but will take it alittle easy on that side for you. With your Doctors permission of course!!

And ICE, ICE baby!!
10-11-2012, 11:17 AM
Aaron Gustaveson

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cody Kietzman

I'm 23, and regardless of what Forrest has done I think the statement holds some weight.

Yeah, one way to look at it is, based solely off his accomplishments, anything hes says regarding mma has some weight. On the other hand great fighters aren't always the great coaches. You also have to consider the severity of injury. We get mat burns and bruises almost everyday. (I do anyway) but injuries to connective tissues like ligaments and tendons, some cartilage take a long time to heal. One of the climbing gyms I used to frequent had a limit on the number of days you could train on this one particular apparatus. That was because muscle can grow and heal so much faster than connective tissues that you can develop to rapidly and rip you own tendons.
10-11-2012, 11:23 PM
Steeyle

Just keep your mind active, look into things that you didn't have time to before. Remember healing is training too, being patient and taking the time to heal up isn't easy, but theres so much in this world to be learned and nows the perfect time to do it. I blew my knee out in April and have been dying to get back on the mats but nothing would be more disapointing than reinjuring myself and being out even longer. Just concentrate on healing and being patient. In the long run it'll be better, some injuries are worth pushing through and some are better off having time to heal.. In my opinion haha
10-12-2012, 09:42 AM
Sam Davis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeyle

Just keep your mind active, look into things that you didn't have time to before. Remember healing is training too, being patient and taking the time to heal up isn't easy, but theres so much in this world to be learned and nows the perfect time to do it. I blew my knee out in April and have been dying to get back on the mats but nothing would be more disapointing than reinjuring myself and being out even longer. Just concentrate on healing and being patient. In the long run it'll be better, some injuries are worth pushing through and some are better off having time to heal.. In my opinion haha

Thanks for the encouragement.
10-12-2012, 10:27 AM
AJ Camacho

When i had a sore sternum (the connecting part between the ribs and the sternum felt like a knife when somebody drove pressure into my chest) I was just selective about what I could and could not drill. I would usually jump in on 3 man groups and just work top game parts. Once I started easing into rolling, it was still just 70% speed and then I would tap once I was swept to the bottom position. It really allowed me to invest more time into my top game, which I am still lacking to some degree.

I usually don't abandon training when I'm injured. I just work with my coach and training partners to build a safe structure that won't stress my current injury.
10-12-2012, 02:54 PM
bobby rivers

When dedication is not the issue, which I know in your case it is not. Injury management is the number one factor for success and longevity in jj. Good luck, be smart, and just drill slow and technical. Nothing live. As soon as you feel that familiar tweak that makes you say "Oh shit", you just set your rehab back two weeks. This is a delicate game, made even more difficult to those who love to train/make shit worse.