Avoiding Injury

[KameKimura]

What do you all do to prevent injury from training? What kind of warm ups do you do before heading to the gym? And what does your stretching routine look like?

Im asking this because I have been out of the gym for over a month from lower back and hip strains. I think this is due to my lack of stretching. Sitting out blows:icon_sad:. I want to try my best this time and do all that is possible to avoid injury.

 

[hackenbush]

Stretch your weakest points.

Works for me.

 

[cenix]

my motto is "don't just train hard, but train smart" if you know what i mean. getting hurt is inevitable with bjj, but i think many injuries can be avoided with a little intuitiveness and forethought while rolling (at least for me and my last shoulder injury). hope you feel better and train smart!

 

[Fedorzilla]

The solution is warming up and then doing dynamic stretching prior to your intense training. I am a big proponent of yoga after class, but static stretching after training is very helpful also.

At my old school in DC, Luis Pantoja does an AWESOME dynamic stretching routine after warmup drills (Jiujitsu Maryland Jiu Jitsu Virginia - Washington DC - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Thai Boxing - Capoeira for adults and children). We had so few injuries as a result. However, most schools are fucking clueless about this stuff, make you do wedding carries, shrimps, etc. that get you warm but not loose, which is what you need to avoid injuries. They'll often say "stretch before class... your responsibility," but that's dumb, because you are supposed to warm up, then do dynamic stretching and then hit your high-intensity stuff. So stretching, then class warmups is less effective.

As far as backs are concerned, this is HUGE, because it will limit your hip mobility which is integral to jiu jitsu. I also had a back injury from about 2 months ago that is still really bothering me. I have never had back problems in my life, but came into class late... didn't warm up and then drilled with a 230 lbs. moron with no coordination and wrenched my lower back. Lower back injuries, hip injuries and hamstring injuries are all tied together. Actually they say that tight hamstrings and hips are often the reason for most back problems. Since you need to improve mobility through your hamstrings, hips and lower back, I think the goal is to do a really good dynamic stretching warmup for those areas before class.

I did a bunch of online research about this and found the following good resources (in order of quality)

7 Dynamic Stretches to Improve Your Hip Mobility | StrongLifts.com

Tricks Tutorials.com

T NATION | Joint-by-Joint Approach to Training

Hamstring Stretches for Warm-up and Lower Back Pain

Some Videos
(my personal favorite stretch for this)

 

[Fihasia]

Good post Fedorzilla!

I stretch a minimum of 30mins a day while looking tv+dynamic stuff before training.

That and being in good shape will help a lot.

Also when training, dont roll like a meathead, relax and use technique

 

[Jaxx]

Awesome post Fedorzilla.

Just to add weightlifting / strength training to the mix. My number 1 reason for doing any kind of lifting ( barbell, dumbbell, kettle bell, body weight etc ) is injury prevention. Strength and endurance are just bonuses.

Oh and watch out for spazzing noobs!

 

[KameKimura]

Thanks for the informative response fedorzilla! Im liking that 7 dynamic stretches for hips, Im going to start those before every class.