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Orthopaedic Injuries In BJJ
In Sport Jiu-Jitsu, there is a fairly broad spectrum of injuries that can occur, as a result of the raw physicality of the sport, however, I would like to concentrate this coulmn on upper extremities, mainly the phalanges.
Commonly, as a result of the intense demand on our muscles and tendons, that support the structure, soft tissue (other than bone) injuries are most prevalent. Recently, Myself, I have tweaked my right ring finger while grappling during training, and it made a huge difference in my personal performance, as well as how it had put a damper on life in general for a while. It turns out that I had a twisting injury to the 2nd knuckle on that finger, and sprained the ligament (attatches bone to bone) on the inside of it, and any movement opposite of that side, caused extreme pain. I know that many of us in these MMA sports get this particular injury, ao many can relate to this. Unfortunately, in these injuries, the best thing for the damaged ligament, is to avoid using it at all; Granted, this is not an option for most of us in the real world, as we need them to work, as well as to continue training in our arts. Being as how we can't stop using the extremity, a few things will help immensely;
· Contain the Swelling - Use ice and/or compression (Ace Wrap or Coban if u have it).Tape the affected finger to an adjacent one, using some good cloth or reinforced skin tapes. Tape only between the knuckles, put some tissue between the fingers, to soak up moisture, while they sweat. Be sure to use ice on the area as much as possible. The sooner ice is applied, the sooner it will feel better and begin healing. I also recommend that you ace wrap the ice bag to the hand, to create both cooling and compression.
· Immobilize the Finger during Off Time - Go on down to the supermarket, and get a aluminum with foam finger splint, and tape it to the finger, between the joints like before. this will immobilize the finger, as well as protect it from being bumped or hit, which hurts like h@*^!! It is said that continual use of a soft tissue injured extremity, will extend the life of the injury significantly, as well as the amount of pain indured.
· Get it moving again - When you get past the severe pain and soreness for a couple of weeks, then it's going to be stiff, and it won't want to extend fully nor bend fully. I have to say, this lasts what seems like an eternity, but only like 2 weeks. There is a normal tendency to "baby" the finger, and not favor using it during normal tasks, but you must overcome this urge!! When it's getting to feel better, you don't want to favor this finger for very long, because you need to get it bending and producing more fluid in the joint for lubrication. At this time, one can expect to start using warmth to soothe the joint soreness. Always remember cool makes swelling go down, heat makes swelling, therefore ice it untill it's not swollen( weeks) then use heat during the therapy period.
· Stretch the Muscles and Tendons out - Atrophy (shringing of muscle) occurs when we dont use our muscles regularly. Because soft tissue injuries require that we do not use the extremity for a few weeks, Atrophy naturally occurs. Passive stretching of the finger will help get it back to the full range of motion that is maintained by daily life. Use the other hand to straighten the finger out, and also help it flex fully o the natural postion of the rest of the fingers. This will get the tendons stretched and working strong again.
All of these remedies for these soft tissue injuries, are universal for most common non-bone related injuries of the body. As always, there are other factors that must be taken into consederation for all injuries, and I always recommend that a person go visit their Doctor to insure complications are kept to a minimum, and NSAID (Non Steriodal Anti-inflammitory Drug) and pain control drugs may be needed to be dispensed. Pain maintains a continual factor in any injury, and in the health care field, it is a number one consideration. Pain has many physical effects as well as psychological effects of the brain. Continually going through pain breaks down the body and the brains ability to function efficiently. The body produces endorphines that are a natural pain killer if you will, but they are only produced in cycles, and the body can use them all up, before more can be produced, and here is when pain drug intervention is needed. good follow up care, like Physical Therapy, will cause pain in short term, while having many beneficial long term pain and use effects.
Alex Sisco - Orthopaedic Technologist Certified
RELAX!
Jiu-Jitsu training involves and exposes the student to live training also called "rolling" in which you and your partner attempt to apply techniques in order to submit or "tap out" one another. Which if you think about is pretty close to what might happen in a real street fight. However the removal of some of the more extreme elements i.e. biting, eye gouges, groin strikes, hair pulling and even at times kicking and punching allows the student to be able to partake in such live sparring on a daily basis without the risk of great injury.
A huge misconception most beginners have is that they must use total strength and power in order to prevail. Where as the more advance student often appears calm and relaxed with more focus on applying techniques in the most precise manner possible.
Remember this next time your on the mat, try to avoid using strength to try to win, but focus more on proper technique. Try to RELAX!
Watch the more advance students and ask questions.
After all training is a time for experimentation and learning, not win at all cost.
Train hard!
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