Strange Injury

[Erik]

I cannot figure out what has been injured.

Breathing hurts, turning my head in any direction hurts, it feels like I got a big bruise just to the right of my sternum but if I press it, my back hurts at around T-6 or so, not quite sure - hard to count as I cannot raise my arm and feel back there because then the front hurts!

If I press on my sternum looking for a bruise or an accute spot where it hurts, the chest feels just fine - no pain. If I press on my back (with a corner of a wall or a tennis ball) then the back feels great - no pain.

It just hurts when I breathe or when I turn. And my arms are a little weak, too, somehow.

I cannot figure this out!

Here's how it happened (free BJJ lesson here, too!):

Last night at BJJ I was rolling with my pal Hank (who is made of steel) and he shot a takedown, I sprawled, worked my right hand in between his head and shoulder (no underhook) and got the collar under his chin, similar to a guillatine in terms of hand positioning. We call this a loop choke.

From there, I put the left hand under his armpit and slid around his neck like a half-nelson, but from the front.

Then, I rolled to my left, pulling on the collar and driving that left underhook in nice and deep. First time, Hank did not seem to care - he countered and got to his knees ahead of me. This is not humanly possible but that's not the point.

Second time, I shot the roll a little harder and landed hard on my chest (that spot to the right of the sternum) on his shoulder when he was perfectly perpendicular to the mat, so it had the entire length of his clavicle supporting my weight. It was like I impaled myself.

What is actually injured?!?!? How to treat it? How long to heal?

[Cliff Hargrave]

Sounds like some kind of cartlidge injury where the ribs attach. Hurts to breath deep. Long time to heal :)

btw, I caught a brown belt with that loop choke recently. Then he smashed me the rest of the class.

[Erik]

I was thinking it was a cartilage (however it's spelled!) but the local area is not at all tender - oh, scratch that. I just found a spot while typing with one hand.

Tonight is swimming - maybe I'll be able to iron out the area. Sometimes the swimming fixes the kinks from BJJ. Let's hope so. Man, this hurts.

Congrats on that loopchoke!

How important is it to get the collar under the chin? I get this choke sometimes but never get the guy to tap out. I'm not quite sure why. Also, hard time getting the second arm deep enough. I think the hand needs to face outwards, too.

Great job, though, Cliff!

[Cliff Hargrave]

When you catch the collar, push it against his chest and down towards his waist. Makes it go under his chin easier when you turn.

[De_Franza]

Can a rib have dislocated from the sternum? intercostal muscle bruise?
Maybe get it looked at if it's not much better in a few days.
check Webmd for Pleural effusion (sp?) and weird lung injuries too and remember that too much shallow breathing can lead to pneumonia if it really hurts to breathe deep, you may not do it for days and maybe not notice. But it's probably not as serious as all that.
Feel better soon.

[Right To Defend]

Could be a damaged nerve.

[Abbax8]

Sounds to me a rib may be out of place along with some neck vertabrae. The fall you described could cause whiplash.

Peace

Dennis

[NickR]

Would recommend seeing a Doc before doing any further exercise.
Also I would'nt drive/ride in a car ... seat belt might be painful.

Dead easy to crack a rib and not know...

[GodofGamblers]

weakness in the arms suggests a pinched nerve. could resolve itself or could need physio.

[stella fuentes]

Just to be sure, Erik, see a doctor. :)

[Erik]

It's all handled now, guys. Thanks for all your support.

[Eye4NEye]

Just curious, Erik. What was it and how did you (or the doc) handle it?

[Erik]

Don't know. I took a lot of advil, rested on my back (not on my side, as usual), took hot baths, and waited. My chiropractor pal helped keep my neck straight as it was cramping up and hindering healing.

Swimming and walking/hiking helped, though it really hurt for the first two weeks. Sometimes I think that swimming is the antidote for BJJ.

[Tony Dismukes]

Sometimes I think that swimming is the antidote for BJJ.

For me, it's yoga that is the antidote. If I had easy access to a pool, I'd gladly try your method, though.

[Pheaj]

Your symptoms remind me of when I tore the pectoral muscle from my chest. It was caused from pulling like you would on a torque wrench, although, I wasn't pulling a wrench at the time.
My sister, who is a doctor, just told me to take some anti-inflamatory and hang out a few weeks and try not to pull on things for a while.