# advice on avoiding injury



## jarrod (Feb 14, 2009)

if you ask yourself "should i skip/cut short training today?" due to pain, the answer is automatically "yes".  it's not a matter of wussing out, it's a simple matter of missing 1 or 2 training sessions due to pain, as opposed to missing a week or more of training due to a full blown injury.  

this rule has served me well, & every injury i've sustained in the past year has been a direct result of breaking this rule

happy training,

jf


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## terryl965 (Feb 14, 2009)

I have to agree, sitting out when feeling something and making sure nothing is seriously wrong is the only way.


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## seasoned (Feb 14, 2009)

jarrod said:


> if you ask yourself "should i skip/cut short training today?" due to pain, the answer is automatically "yes". it's not a matter of wussing out, it's a simple matter of missing 1 or 2 training sessions due to pain, as opposed to missing a week or more of training due to a full blown injury.
> 
> this rule has served me well, & every injury i've sustained in the past year has been a direct result of breaking this rule
> 
> ...


 
This is very good advice Jarrod. Sadly enough I did not follow it myself in my younger years. It seems every injury we sustain early on will come back to haunt us in our golden years. The important thing from my perspective is, short layoffs are a good means of healing, but as soon as you feel up in it get moving.


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 14, 2009)

I think it depends on the injury.  I'm currently still nursing a broken toe.  It's going to take a long time to heal.  (That'll learn me to point my toes the wrong way while kicking, eh?)







If I waited for it to completely heal, I'd be out of the dojo for months.  In the meantime, I'm just a little more cautious with that foot.  I have re-injured it once, but I'm being more careful now.

I'm at an age where injury is not uncommon, pain is just something you learn to live with, and I don't have enough years left to 'wait' until I'm all better.

When I could not take part in training due to injury, I went anyway, and sat on the bench with a book on my kata.  I watched others spar and do kata and I read.  That way I knew in my own mind that I wasn't skipping dojo because I was just lazy.


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## seasoned (Feb 14, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> I think it depends on the injury. I'm currently still nursing a broken toe. It's going to take a long time to heal. (That'll learn me to point my toes the wrong way while kicking, eh?)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Bill, your foot does look familiar, in the context of course, that I have been there myself.


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## jarrod (Feb 15, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> I think it depends on the injury. I'm currently still nursing a broken toe. It's going to take a long time to heal. (That'll learn me to point my toes the wrong way while kicking, eh?)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
nice photo!  i just came off of training around a broken toe myself.

of course, there are injuries & then there are injuries, & it's up to each person to decide what will take them out of the game.  most folks can suck up a hurt finger or toe, but i've tried to push through back, hip, rib, & shoulder pains which developed into full-blown injuries & ultimately led me to miss more training than if i had just taken an extra day or two off.  wednesday i chose to ignore a nagging lower back pain & haven't been able to train since.

jf


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## myusername (Feb 15, 2009)

Quite agree, I few weeks ago I missed a week of jujutsu because of twinges in my neck and shoulder indictating that if I didn't take it easy for a bit my neck would seize up (again!) I actually turned up 30mins early to class and tried a couple of backward breakfalls on the mats, the shooting pain that ran up my shoulder blade and the side of my neck confirmed that I needed to rest it! I'm really glad I did, otherwise I know I would have been off training for longer.

On the other hand I shall be strapping up a sprained foot to go TKD'ing this evening! I figure that I can always kick with the other leg! It is about listening to your body and picking which injuries you can train on and which you can't.


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## bluekey88 (Feb 16, 2009)

Absolutely excellent advice.  I would also add that if the injury doesn't start getting better within a day or two, gets worse despite rest, or doesn't respond to initial first aid measures (ice, meds, etc)...get thee to a doctor.  No point in sufferring needlessly...let the experts do their thing and you'll feel better quicker.

Peace,
Erik


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## Drac (Feb 16, 2009)

jarrod said:


> if you ask yourself "should i skip/cut short training today?" due to pain, the answer is automatically "yes". it's not a matter of wussing out, it's a simple matter of missing 1 or 2 training sessions due to pain, as opposed to missing a week or more of training due to a full blown injury.
> 
> this rule has served me well, & every injury i've sustained in the past year has been a direct result of breaking this rule
> 
> ...


 
Well said...I will cary my cane to class just in case my knee or back began to hurt...It aggrevates me to sit there and do nothing but why risk compounding an injury...


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## Nomad (Feb 17, 2009)

jarrod said:


> if you ask yourself "should i skip/cut short training today?" due to pain, the answer is automatically "yes". it's not a matter of wussing out, it's a simple matter of missing 1 or 2 training sessions due to pain, as opposed to missing a week or more of training due to a full blown injury.
> 
> this rule has served me well, & every injury i've sustained in the past year has been a direct result of breaking this rule
> 
> ...


 
Respectfully, I'd like to disagree with this, to a certain extent. For me, it depends what type of pain we're talking about. If it's a general achiness, sore muscle-type thing, a good workout in class is often the best cure. 

If you are injured, that's something different, and then it depends on whether it's an acute injury that will heal quickly or a chronic one that could take you out of your training for weeks or months. 

Many injuries can be worked around, if you *listen* to your body. If a drill looks likely to aggravate the injury, or if you start a drill and find that it is aggravating whatever localized pain you have, step out of the line for a few minutes (let your instructor know before class if you have physical issues, or you might get reprimanded unnecessarily). In some cases where it is impractical to actively train a martial art (eg. broken leg), even sitting on the side of the class can keep you involved and actively learning (listening to the lesson, observing the other students, etc).

I see nothing wrong with taking a few days off to allow an acute injury to heal; taking weeks or months off waiting for a chronic one can often lead to many other issues (mostly mental, guilt-related, etc) that can result in people stopping training altogether.  Many people that do the "I'm sore, so I'll skip class tonight" can start getting on the path where they skip more and more often, and eventually we just wonder what happened to them and why they faded away.

For me, the key is learning turning off my ego (which continually tells me I'm Superman) and listening to what my body is telling me (like "Don't kick above your waist tonight or you'll pay for it when that hamstring that's been tight for a couple of weeks goes "twang"")  I'm getting to an age now (coming up fast on 40) that if I waited to be 100% healthy and pain-free, I wouldn't be training at all.

On the other hand, if you feel like you're coming down with something (cold, flu, etc), please do us all a favor and skip class to get some rest.  We don't need you sharing your oncoming illness with everyone else in the dojo...


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 17, 2009)

jarrod said:


> if you ask yourself "should i skip/cut short training today?" due to pain, the answer is automatically "yes". it's not a matter of wussing out, it's a simple matter of missing 1 or 2 training sessions due to pain, as opposed to missing a week or more of training due to a full blown injury.
> 
> this rule has served me well, & every injury i've sustained in the past year has been a direct result of breaking this rule
> 
> ...


 
From one who in his youth did not listen to his body SCREEMING don't train I hurt.... and later paying the price I agree.

However I also agree with my last Xingyiquan Sifu who said of standing in Santi.... If you have joint pain tell me about it and I'll see what I can do to adjust your stance..... if you just have muscle pain...shut up and stand.. I dont want to hear it.

So it would of course depend on the type of pain and what hurt.


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## jarrod (Feb 19, 2009)

listening to your body is exactly what i'm advocating.  if i get a bruise or a little soreness, the thought of quitting doesn't enter my mind, i know that's just part of training.  but when i feel a twinge in my back, or my knee feels funny...time to sit down.  

jf


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## mozzandherb (Feb 20, 2009)

I completely agree, but when I have an injury I still try to do something constructive for my body, whether is be eating healthier, or stretching if you can.  But yes, resting your body even when you're not injured is very important, as a lot of injuries occur from over-training.


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## rhn_kenpo (Feb 20, 2009)

I generally follow this advice myself.  Especially with injuries that could be aggravated by a training session.  Injuries around the joints come to mind since I'm nursing one now.  Bruises or muscle soreness are not such a big deal and I'll usually just work around those.  But if I'm not healthy enough to let another student perform techniques on me, I'll take the day off.
R


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