Joint, ligament and tendon injuries in BJJ

[fighting.spirit]

Are they inevitable? What are the best ways to prevent them? (Specifically finger injuries)

A freind of mine has been training for a little over a year. The [top] joints in his fingers are really swollen and cause him lots of pain when he trains. He was advised to stop training, by the doctor he went to, and the surgery that was suggested would prevent him from ever training again. Not cool.

 

[Brian2]

It is something that happens but, not something that happens to everyone. I just sat out 8 months due to a knee injury. I was already prone to it before I started training so I think it all depends on the person

 

[aldenton]

I would say conditions with fingers like that are the exception, not the norm. If you are just starting i would say the best possible advice I received was ...just relax. Most white belts (who are just starting) spazz out, are incredibly rigid in their movements, and act like it is a knock against their manhood if they tap in sparring. Relax, remember you are there to learn, and there is no shame in tapping, as you will have tapped thousands of times in sparring as you progress. The more you try to defend (when you don't know what your doing) The worse off you will be down the road (as far as joint / muscle pain is concerned

 

[JoLOveS]

Unfortunately a lot of us start the sport later in life than most of the superstars we see winning tournaments and our bodies are not used to the stress that BJJ puts it under. Thats not to say that it is the only sport that puts your body into such stress, I personally have bad knees due to my High School Baseball career as a catcher, as well as being a lineman in High School Football, and being a runner later on in college. Since I started Jiu Jitsu a few months back the have started to bother me again. It is a contact sport, you can try so much not to get injured but injuries are a reality in the sport, but that shouldnt stop you from training.

 

[HomerPlata]

Since I started training, I've had two pretty bad knee injuries - both of which were just freak accidents whilst walking or just standing up. The point I'm making is that if you're careless (in training or, in my case, life in general) you may get injured, but if you're on top of things, you'll generally be okay. Lose the worry, it's no good for anyone.

 

[Goat Meal]

I've been training for 6 years and in that time have only had 1 serious injury (shoulder bursitis) that kept me out for longer than a few weeks.

 

[GS828]

It is something that happens but, not something that happens to everyone. I just sat out 8 months due to a knee injury. I was already prone to it before I started training so I think it all depends on the person

What type of knee injury did you have?

 

[Neuro]

I've been training for 6 years and in that time have only had 1 serious injury (shoulder bursitis) that kept me out for longer than a few weeks.

You're a lucky man. I've been training for 8 months and I've fractured a rib and broke my eye socket/orbital. BJJ's rough.

 

[Amiro]

im always injured i fucking HATE it

if i wasnt injured id be on my way to bjj right now.

i fucked up my thumb, knee, neck, elbow, ankle, other elbow......

holding onto grips when i should have just let go

and just doing stuff i dont even realise i guess

and then when i cant go i get really pissed off

i cant even do drills in the living room cos my fucking left forarm hurts so bad when i put weight on it.

the worst thing is im 45 days away from my first competition. and instead of becoming ultra sick im just forgetting stuff i knew. its the most frustrating shit

 

[Brian2]

What type of knee injury did you have?

I tore my ACL in class. But this was my 4th knee surgery so like I said I was some what prone to it before I even started. This time they did the Cadaver legiment so It should be less likely to happen again.

When it happened it was a freak accident and even now looking back I wonder how in the hell it tore.

 

[AbuSana']

im always injured i fucking HATE it

if i wasnt injured id be on my way to bjj right now.

i fucked up my thumb, knee, neck, elbow, ankle, other elbow......

holding onto grips when i should have just let go

and just doing stuff i dont even realise i guess

and then when i cant go i get really pissed off

i cant even do drills in the living room cos my fucking left forarm hurts so bad when i put weight on it.

the worst thing is im 45 days away from my first competition. and instead of becoming ultra sick im just forgetting stuff i knew. its the most frustrating shit

you should just review techniques on youtube or something. It's not the same as class but it's better than nothing.

I was just out for the month of Ramadhan, and I feel like I actually came back better having watched a lot of videos.

 

[AbuSana']

I think that a big part of the game is actually seeing how flexible you are or how much you can take.

A lot of times, when I'm rolling, if someone catches me in something and I know it's locked, I'll tell them they got it and ask them to slow down so I can see what I can take. This way, you'll know better when you should tap.

I also don't try to force moves too much. If I have to apply too much strength for something, that means I'm not in the right position.

I'm 37 years old, so an injury to me means longer recovery time. I ain't trying to have that.

 

[GS828]

I tore my ACL in class. But this was my 4th knee surgery so like I said I was some what prone to it before I even started. This time they did the Cadaver legiment so It should be less likely to happen again.

When it happened it was a freak accident and even now looking back I wonder how in the hell it tore.

Sounds similar to me. I tore my ACL 2 months ago and I honestly have no CLUE how! I wasn't even rolling hard, I was actually just defending an armbar and stacking and then POP. I did the patella tendon bone graft and I have to admit at first it was a bitch ... very painful, but I'm noticing how much stronger my knee is now and I'm only like 2/3 weeks post op.

 

[cheesesteak]

I'm currently sidelined by a kimura injury now... I don't think anything is broken, but there was definitely a "cli-cli-cli-click" sound. The pain is in the elbow, not shoulder though. Any ideas?

 

[Brian2]

Sounds similar to me. I tore my ACL 2 months ago and I honestly have no CLUE how! I wasn't even rolling hard, I was actually just defending an armbar and stacking and then POP. I did the patella tendon bone graft and I have to admit at first it was a bitch ... very painful, but I'm noticing how much stronger my knee is now and I'm only like 2/3 weeks post op.

I did the patella graph the first 3 times. I just recently switched my insurance and was able to get in with a sports orthopedic surgeon. From what he told me I needed something a lot stronger just based on my lifestyle and my activity level. I guess once you go synthetic or cadaver you are pretty much in the same strength catergory as if you never did it. But I will see what happens this time

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

I'm currently sidelined by a kimura injury now... I don't think anything is broken, but there was definitely a "cli-cli-cli-click" sound. The pain is in the elbow, not shoulder though. Any ideas?

Yea I have an idea. It is your UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) and one of the WORST injuries you can have. Did you develop a bruise on the inside part of your elbow (medial)? You could possibly have a Grade I sprain (stretching of the ligament, and if you go see an Ortho he will tell you to sit out for 8 weeks) or Grade II (slight tear in UCL) or Grade III (complete tear of UCL requiring Tommie John Surgery, and you are looking at up to 1 1/2 years for recovery and 18 to 24 months for full power back in arm).

If your elbow popped you are f-ed.

 

[cheesesteak]

Yea I have an idea. It is your UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) and one of the WORST injuries you can have. Did you develop a bruise on the inside part of your elbow (medial)? You could possibly have a Grade I sprain (stretching of the ligament, and if you go see an Ortho he will tell you to sit out for 8 weeks) or Grade II (slight tear in UCL) or Grade III (complete tear of UCL requiring Tommie John Surgery, and you are looking at up to 1 1/2 years for recovery and 18 to 24 months for full power back in arm).

If your elbow popped you are f-ed.

No bruise or POP, thankfully! The pain is really more towards the outside of the elbow. It's feeling a little better after a few days with ice and Ibuprofen and hopefully all it needs is some time off. If it is my UCL, I'm really hoping it's just the Grade I sprain if your diagnosis is correct :icon_cry2

 

[ProdigyOfZen]

No bruise or POP, thankfully! The pain is really more towards the outside of the elbow. It's feeling a little better after a few days with ice and Ibuprofen and hopefully all it needs is some time off. If it is my UCL, I'm really hoping it's just the Grade I sprain if your diagnosis is correct :icon_cry2

Sounds more like your RCL (radial collateral ligament) that one seems to be much more difficult to injure. Maybe you just pulled one of the muscles or damaged a tendon!

 

[futang17]

i just fucked up my right ring finger, put my hand down to base and freak accident my finger just bent 90 degrees to the side. happened 3 nights ago, it doesn't hurt anymore but i'm taking a week off to let it heal. now i can bend it to the side like i'm double jointed, i'm sure i tore a tendon or something... i'll post a picture when i get home

 

[MMA junkie]

Are they inevitable? What are the best ways to prevent them? (Specifically finger injuries)

A freind of mine has been training for a little over a year. The [top] joints in his fingers are really swollen and cause him lots of pain when he trains. He was advised to stop training, by the doctor he went to, and the surgery that was suggested would prevent him from ever training again. Not cool.

Maybe your friend should try no gi.

You can do strength training to get stronger grips.

I have one of these:

but I've learned to stop having a death grip all the time. If you see your opponent about to yank out your grip quickly release it before he breaks it and grab it again or go for something else. I really like Saulo's philosophy of giving what he gives you instead of fighting it all the time. This still can be a struggle for me though.