Tips And Tricks 3 - Dealing With Injuries

Injuries are almost inevitable in the sport of BJJ.

The worst injury I've ever seen has been a total rupture of the quadriceps muscles above the knee along with full ligament tears. This took a considerable amount of time to repair for the athlete, but he was still able to get to training.

Personally I have had knee reconstructions and made it back on the mat within four weeks. But I wasn't training.

What I did was make myself available to help coach other groups or sit and watch as technique was instructed.

As my rehabilitation progressed, I would start to get my movement back through certain exercises on the mat and continue to coach.

I would limit my contact with people and only partner with those that I trusted.

When I got the tick of approval from my doctor and physio, I would participate in the warm up component of the class and, if the technique would allow me, I would participate in drilling.

As I regained my strength and mobility, I would pursue bigger or stronger partners for more resistance in the movement.

Like any rehab program, there are tests involved, and only when the physio could see my progression would he then allow me to move forward in training.

Slowly my confidence would grow and I would select partners that I trusted to wrestle with.

This type of training works in several ways;

1. to remain in contact with training partners
2. to be able to still learn even if I wasn't physically participating
3. for my MENTAL HEALTH

Too many athletes will fade away not giving thought of how being present at training can actually help the rehabilitation process. They either come back to training;

• at maximum capacity only find the rigors of the sport too much on their body
• become despondent as they see their training buddies progressing 
• or they quit because.....

Over my time in the sport, I've seen people return to the mats at a reduced capacity with arms in casts, feet or legs in 'moon' boots and from personal experience, in a sling.

So how can you manage your injury to maintain some sort of training regiment?

It's as easy as speaking to your coaches.

When it's time to return to the mats, do it in a staged manner such as;

1. Sitting on the mat learning, even if you can't do anything
2. When ready, start with the warm up. If there is discomfort in the warm up, don't do it and go back to point one.
3. When you can complete the warm up for a week with no discomfort or thought to the injury site, start to become active in the drilling of technique. If this becomes uncomfortable, just do the warm up.
4. If you can do the warm up and drilling isn't a problem, begin to involve yourself in specific positional wrestling with select partners.
5. When you become comfortable with joining in the main group for positional wrestling, introduce wrestling with select partners and pretty soon you'll have the confidence to join the rest of the team.

If at any stage you feel discomfort or you lack confidence, just move back a step for a week until things feel right again.

Just remember, continue to conduct the required rehab you had been prescribed and DON'T rush getting back to rounds of wrestling. Otherwise you might find your back at the doctors asking for a referral to see a specialist.

​Train smart, not silly.