Martial Arts Injuries Part 1

Once you step onto the mat to train in whatever martial art of your choosing the risk of injury is ever present. From the minor toe or finger sprain to the more painful serious injuries such as torn rotor cuffs, hyper extended elbows, twisted knees, torn ligaments and concussions are only a few of the injuries that can be sustained on the mat.

Most of the injuries you get will require some type of attention and some of the more serious types may even may require an emergency room visit. So the key point is to be able to treat the injury immediately so it does not become chronic in nature.

The reasons for injuries are as numerous as the martial arts that cause them. The thing to look out for is an excessive amount of injuries that are being experienced by the students in a martial arts class because this may be caused by the curriculum, school philosophy and even the sensei.

Of course there are martial arts that do experience more injuries due to the amount of physical contact that is a major part of the martial art in question. Some examples would be Karate, Jujitsu, Boxing, Muy Thai to name just a few.

Each particular martial art has it’s own type of injury or injuries that are indicative of the art itself. Judo players have knee, shoulder, broken fingers & toes and hyper extended elbows. Karate & Muy Thai practitioners suffer concussions, twisted knees, broken hands, ankle fractures and broken noses.

Jujitsu students tend to experience all of the above mentioned injuries due to the fact that it is a combination of throwing, striking, grappling, choking, kicking and punching. I believe this is also true with Mixed Martial Arts since it also incorporates all types of martial arts in the daily training regime.

In juries are a fact of life and even more so when training in a martial art so you need to be prepared to accept the consequences. Most dojos will have a medical kit for minor scrapes, breaks and cuts that will suffice for the majority of injuries sustained during the class. The most important item in the medical kit will be a roll of tape which is extremely versatile in treating broken fingers and toes.

Basically the treatment consists of taping the broken toe or finger to the adjacent toe or finger for support. This can be done during the class so that you can continue training or fighting if your pain threshold is high. Sometimes just a scrape will prevent some students from continuing to train which is unfortunate because I believe you need to increase your pain tolerance for real life situations that may present themselves to you.

If you are attacked and possibly end up with a broken nose there is no timeout allowed on the street and you better be able to endure the pain and react accordingly as per your training because the consequences may be turn deadly if you don’t.

When I was doing Judo a jammed finger was treated by my sensei by just pulling it out and taping it up which is a bit hardcore but in Japan this was just the way it was done. Obviously if there is a bone showing or horrible swelling then a trip to the emergency room is advisable.

In all martial arts you will find students that get dizzy, have shortness of breath and nausea. This usually happens in the summertime due to the heat coupled with the fact that the student is sometimes out of shape or overweight. It can be very disruptive to the rest of the class especially when it occurs frequently. I may be a cynic but I do feel that many students use this as an excuse to get out of the warm ups or the more strenuous training.

The problem is that the sensei is ultimately responsible for the health of the students and if there is a hint of negligence the lawsuit can bankrupt the school. This is not to say that there are legitimate reasons for students to take a break during the class but if it becomes frequent then the sensei may need to address the issue with the student in private.

The other solution may be for the student to also supplement his martial arts training with aerobic and cardio exercises to build up his or her endurance. If this is not working or the student does not wish to do so then the solution may be another martial art that is slower and requires less motion such as Tai Chi.

The martial art should fit the student’s expectations, body type, endurance level and goals. If you are honest with yourself and you realize that does fit your expectations then it may be time to find a more suitable martial art!