Training with injury

[Oz82]

My question is in two parts; hypothetic and actual.

Actual first; My big toe on my left foot is badly bruised with swelling under the nail (I'm pretty sure the nail is dead, and it's only a matter of time before it's gone).* Also, my right knee has a stone bruise that isn't healing very quickly, but it only hurts when it's touched or stiffens up after periods of inactivity. And finally (geez I'm falling apart!) I have a pulled latissimus dorsi muscle on my right, but it seems to be OK unless I sneeze or cough. Breakfalling on it a week ago nearly sent me off the mat, though.**

I felt like staying out the last class would allow me to heal up for the one today, but I don't feel much better. However, since we are fully involved in belt testing, I am reluctant to stay out again. Should I participate and tough it out? Should I participate, but beg out of certain activities? Or should I just wait for the next belt test and chalk this one up to bad luck? What does the forum think about my situation?

And also, I'd like to hear hypothetical situations, including younger students, since both of my sons (9 and 10) are involved as well.


*This isn't a result if forgetting to turn my toes up. My son pitched a low ball and I didn't get the glove down quick enough. And, by the way, I broke the same toe the same way last year about this time. You'd think I'd learn...

**Actually, none of these injuries are the result of dojo activity. I've just been unlucky recently on three separate occasions!

[Lisa]

What you ultimately decide to do should depend on how you feel. You said that break falling on the mat a week ago nearly sent you off of the mats, there in itself is the answer. If you are going to repeatedly hurt the injured area and not allow it to heal properly it could be that the injury could become chronic and not allow you to train at all anymore. Take it from someone who knows ;).

About a year ago I injured a rib. I rearranged my training, doing certain things and not doing others. I thought I had it licked, a couple of times. The injury still plagues me to this day. I have removed myself from all ground work nearly six weeks ago because of the pain and continued doing the stand up and clinch work. I was hoping that this would allow it to heal properly. I WAS WRONG! Here I am today wondering if I would have taken better care of myself last year, would I be in the position I am today. I love the ground work part of MMA and sadly miss it :( but I am also determined not to injure myself any further and hope that someday (soon) I will return.

On another note, about two years ago I broke my thumb and was back training within three days :D just altering what I could do and how I could do it.

Good Luck, hope I was of some help.

[Sgathak]

Depending on the nature of the injury AND the nature of the school I would say that if it is appropriate to practice at a "reduced level", do so.

In fact, at my school we advocate for that... with a specific purpose. We train for survival. By working with and around injuries we can actually use the injury as a training aid.

I have a bad shoulder from playing baseball... the rotator cuff acts up sometimes and I can barely move my arm. When this happens I use it as an excuse to work on my footwork. The result? My foot work is pretty darn good.

Another guy tore his achilles tendon... he is now the best person Ive ever seen fighting from a sitting position.

Dunno if that will work for you... but it works for us.

[Musubi Dojo]

I have a pulled latissimus dorsi muscle on my right, but it seems to be OK unless I sneeze or cough. Breakfalling on it a week ago nearly sent me off the mat, though.

Seen a Doctor type about any of this?
You can set yourself up for some nasty re-occuring injuries fairly easily once the initial damage is done.

Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.

Cheers
c

[Oz82]

And they say this forum is slow!

Lisa, I think you've got a good point. I've been telling myself similar stuff since this morning.

Sgathak, your post inspired a slap upside the head "well, duh, why didn't I think of that" moment. I'll ask Sensei if I can work on something like wristlocks and transitions. I'm more rusty than I want to be on these. However, since the class is being belt tested, I'm not sure if he'll allow me to borrow an uke for the side work. It's worth a shot though.

Musubi Dojo, what could a Dr. do about a pulled muscle? I'm not averse to going to a physician, but I'm not sure they'd do any more than I've already done (i.e. cold applications immediatly after injury, warm applications since and rest). Is there a possibility there's more damage than just a pulled muscle?

Also, does that t-shirt come in extra large? I can't stand tight T-shirts. :D

Again, thanks for the feedback!

[Musubi Dojo]

Musubi Dojo, what could a Dr. do about a pulled muscle? I'm not averse to going to a physician, but I'm not sure they'd do any more than I've already done (i.e. cold applications immediatly after injury, warm applications since and rest). Is there a possibility there's more damage than just a pulled muscle?


A Doctor could confirm whether or not it is really just a pulled muscle and give you an estimated time of recovery. A good sports med doctor could also help you train around weak spots while they heal. I've seen guys get hurt, figure it wasn't too bad, keep training and get hurt a lot worse.

Many years ago I broke a vertibrae in my back, got up and tried to "walk it off " before realizing something was really wrong. (Not in MA)

I took guy to the ER with a "pulled muscle" that actually turned out to be a broken collar bone.

I'm not you, and don't know the extent of your injuries other than what you've written here. You're the one who makes the call, but if you're uncertain asking a doctor's opinion is probably better than taking advice over the internet. When in doubt I tend to err on the side of caution these days . :D

Good luck whatever you decide.

c

[Oz82]

You're the one who makes the call, but if you're uncertain asking a doctor's opinion is probably better than taking advice over the internet. When in doubt I tend to err on the side of caution these days . :D c

Good point. It just might be the excuse I need to get time off work to fish! (after the Dr. appointment, of course!)

[Oz82]

I went to dojo last night and explained how I was feeling to Sensei, and God bless him, he'd already decided to dedicate the class to wristlocks! I begged out of the calisthenics warmup part, but didn't hold back for the rest. I twinged the lat a little when I was applying shionagi (sp?), but not any more than I do getting in and out of the car.

Hopefully I'll be back to 100% next week, but if not, I'll still just go do my best.

Now, with the actual situation resolved (at least until next week), I'd love to hear from some of the Senseis we have hanging around what you would think of someone in your class begging out of certain activities that you'd planned. Am I risking my image in sensei's eyes, or am I just being prudent? :confused:

[tbmonti]

I think you did the right thing by trying to work trough your injury. That has always worked well for me. In fact, as previously suggested I always tried to use an injury to become better at something. For instance, I actually cracked my hip bone during training once and was not alowed to practice any kicking techniques for around 6 or 8 months. During this time I worked only on striking techniques and some joint locks that didn't require alot of lower body movment. That injury made me one of the better punchers at my school. So I say keep up the hard work!

Anthony B. Monti

[KZMiller]

I'm not an instructor but after participating in many clubs over the years, one thing is held in common by the best instructors.

They want to know you're injured. They want to know now, they want to know how it's progressing, they want to know what the Dr. says if you see one. They want to know before you're training, and they ask during training if they see pain in your eyes, "Are you just tired or is it your injury?" They want the ability to help you make judgement calls. "Kami, we're going to be doing a lot of line drills today. How is your knee? Maybe it would be a good day to work the bag after warmups."

And ditto the fact that your injury may not be what it seems. I thought I must have pulled a muscle in the back of my leg. I iced it, babied it to no avail, and it bothered me for weeks. Guess what it was?! Sciatic pain. My back was out. One back crack later (with a stern warning to see a chiropractor ASAP) and I was pain free for the first time in a month. My back did *not* hurt at any time. How crazy is that?

[Patrick Hayes]

I took a nasty fall at work the week before my shodan, landing on my right hip. It was tender, but I could walk on it ok, so I went ahead and did my test. I was fine, except for the one high fall I did where I landed right on my injured hip. After the test, everyone told me I'd better see a chiropractor. When I watched the video of my test, I saw why; my belt was extremely crooked, and my right leg looked about 2 inches longer than my left. Turns out, I had misaligned my hip, and it was just barely in the socket. It took a number of visits to get it back in shape again, and it still bothers me from time to time.
Advice: if you're going to train with an injury, be sure you know the extent of the injury.

[Mikey Triangles]

He he, right now I'm training with at least one broken rib, a strange problem with my knee and elbow, a sprained ankle, and 2 shin splints. Most of which were caused in the dojo.


anyway I just take it easy and don't do too many things that will aggrivate my injuries... like grappling with people a lot bigger then me... ofcourse I've never been one to follow my own rules, which is probably why I never heal.

[Abbax8]

"Now, with the actual situation resolved (at least until next week), I'd love to hear from some of the Senseis we have hanging around what you would think of someone in your class begging out of certain activities that you'd planned. Am I risking my image in sensei's eyes, or am I just being prudent? "

As a judo instructor, I have always taken the position that you know how you feel, I don't, injury wise. If you need to pass on some training to allow an injury to heal, I'm OK with that and will try to find something you can do so you get your nickels worth. The reality is, as an adult there are MORE important things in your life than training and belt promotions, putting food on the table and keeping a roof over your family's head come to mind. Injure yourself bad enough that you can't work, then you got real problems, unless your independently wealthy.

Peace

Dennis

[PhoenixMateria]

4-5 years ago, I decided to stop going to TKD tournaments until I was in the adult category after winning the gold for sparring in my division WITH A TWISTED ANKLE!

Minus one leg to kick, couldn't do jump kicks even with the other leg (landing), couldn't move around nearly as fast or fluidly... In TKD, that's like fighting without your senses against multiple opponents... And I still beat everyone.

I'm not saying this to brag, as my training was quite ordinary, but I noticed the TOTAL lack of involvement from the kids my age, and the limitations reduced to light contact, if contact was entirely unavoidable...

So in the end, my injury kept my parents from spending money to sign me up for those tournaments, and kept me from having a false idea of my own abilities.