I get stretch marks from BJJ

M

MTPowerlifting

White Belt
Joined
May 16, 2016
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
So I've now done a MMA lesson twice, the first one was about 2 months ago and I got some pretty bad stretch marks on the left inner side of my bicep, so the part which is against my body when I have my arms hanging to my sides. They are pretty big and now cover my entire inner bicep from the top to bottom and it looks awful. I know stretch marks just fade but never fully and now I've tried a lesson today and I got some on my right arm on the same spot, not as bad as on the left but what am I doing wrong? I did some research and it should not happen normally. Am I doing something wrong or am I missing something? I was decently hydrated. This really makes me think if I should keep going with this sport, I don't want to be a stretch marks walking monster anytime soon.
Thanks!
 
By the way, it was without a Gi.
Is this caused by maybe all the rubbing skin on skin contact?
 
Are you sure you mean "stretch marks?" What you're describing sounds more like abrasions, whether from rubbing or mere pressure. Stretch marks are usually referring to scarring/marks on the skin caused by expansion (often due to pregnancy, though sometimes in body builders) of the underlying muscle/body faster than the skin can grow.
 
Yup, I am 100% sure it are stretch marks. I am a bodybuilder / powerlifter to and I didn't train yesterday or the first day I was training BJJ. I got them right after training BJJ. I didn't have them on my arms before but they are now huge on my left, after school I'll take a picture!
 
I get markings that look like stretch marks all the time but they're not really stretch marks. It just your skin getting tugged on in weird ways while grappling. A big thing is how easily you bruise.
 
I got stretch marks all over my thighs since I started doing karate. I don't know how
 
I doubt it's from MMA. Keep researching it and good luck, bro.
 
MTPowerlifting said:
Hey guys, this is not a picture of me but I have exactly the same problem but mine are bigger.
http://www.caci-international.co.uk/images/CaciImageGallery/images/Arm Stretch Mark B4.jpg
I'm positive they are strecth marks and I am 10000000% sure I got them AFTER the day of MMA training where we mainly focussed on BJJ.
It happen twice now.
Click to expand...

I looked up stretch marks on the NHS healthline, I think you may want to go see your doctor about these. it says nothing about doing any sport/activity that causes them.
Stretch marks - Causes - NHS Choices

"Stretch marks often occur:

  • during pregnancy
  • after rapid weight gain
  • during puberty
  • if you have a family history of stretch marks
  • if you have an underlying health condition or a syndrome, such as Marfan syndrome
  • after the prolonged or inappropriate use of corticosteroid medication "
 
Yeah, I've never seen anybody get stretch marks from BJJ or MMA. Abrasions and bruises aplenty, but no stretch marks.

FYI - stretch marks generally aren't something you get after a couple hours of an activity. They come from prolonged (but rapid) periods of growth. I got really tall really quickly during my teen years and as a result had stretch marks on my back for the next decade or so.
 
Well I think the main cause it when you rapidly gain weight or rapidly lose weight. I take medication so when i exercise it probably makes me rapidly lose/gain weight
 
But what explains that I got it right after doing a training of BJJ? It looks insane and I'm 100% sure, no way around it that I got them right after the training.
I really don't want them to grow any wider since stretch marks never go away. My left arm looks like it's been burned a few years ago or something and slowly repairing. It's really ugly. I might aswell place a tattoo on it later on, but I don't even like tattoos that much. Thats how bad it looks. This really demotivates me to go train BJJ again tomorrow, just because I believe it can't be anything else then BJJ. It looks and feels exactly like stretch marks.

This makes no sense to me, if you grow too quickly in a small period of time it means your skin is being stretched unusual. If you grapple with someone and he/she grabs our arm and makes your skin stretch unusually then why can't that cause it? I'm honestly not even kidding, I got it after the training and wasn't in a really big or really low calorie surplus/defecit.
 
What about this theory:
I had maybe a very tiny bit of stretch marks by working out, but since they were so small I didn't notice them however my skin was already cut abit. Maybe when I started a grappling training my skin stretch too much by the grappling that the cuts got larger and larger? It's not too bad to rip a cut open honestly..
If this can be true, I basically am fked. I can't do both of the sports.
 
Go check with a doctor (my guess would be a dermatologist): If it's stretch marks caused by bjj in 2 days (or anything else that rapidly), there's something wrong because you shouldn't be getting them that quickly or from bjj. If it's something else that looks weirdly similar to stretch marks, it may be important to get it checked out.
 
Last edited:
My guess is that your stretch marks are from you lifting weights. You mentioned that you are a bodybuilder and a power lifter so you much have some serious muscle mass near where you have the stretch marks. When you train BJJ your arms are probably increasing in size from the grappling. If you feel like your arms are pumped or swollen after grappling then that's probably where your skin is expanding differently than when it does when you lift weights.

I'm only guessing at this because my forearms swell differently when I do kung fu forearm conditioning in comparison to when I lift weights with my forearms. There is more swelling in the kung fu exercise than in the weight lifting exercise. The areas that have stretching are probably areas that aren't normally worked out during weight lifting. Stretch marks can be caused from steroid use (including the legal version found in creams). There are also some medical conditions that may cause it.
The cases that I was able to find on the internet were from people who were weight lifters and bjj practitioners, which makes me think it's more of my first guess than the other stuff.
 
There are many causes of stretch marks like pregnancy, puberty, genetic, but the main cause for it is sudden weight loss or weight gain. It seems that your body is stretching due to BJJ and because of which you are having this skin issue. Till now there is no treatment through which you can completely get rid of stretch marks, but there are treatments like massage palper-rouler through which you can fade its appearance. You can try this kind of massage palper-rouler for reducing stretch marks.
 
sorry it takes me too long to reply.

If you still have stretch marks, then try TriLASTIN Coupons cream.

i had them on my lower abdomen but thank God it all went away.
 
Last edited:
Confused as well, but see a doctor/pharmacist for this. For stretch marks i think bio oil is marketed as something to help scarring go away including those marks, for abrasion and such, dont they do tops to wear to stop your back and such getting torn up while ground fighting? As well as just basic wound management to treat them, clean them and wrap them if needed.

And now i look like a advanced sales bot. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Favorite Submission

Previous Thread

The Duck Dynasty choke

Next Thread

Similar threads

Corporal Hicks
Stretching Properly?
Replies
17
Views
2K
searcher
searcher
Corporal Hicks
This schedule ok? What stretches increase leg flexibilty?
Replies
6
Views
1K
TigerWoman
TigerWoman
E
Hip stretching injury
Replies
4
Views
2K
JowGaWolf
JowGaWolf
N
Need help stretching :(
Replies
4
Views
803
MJS
M
M
Stretching
Replies
6
Views
2K
Gemini
Gemini

Latest Discussions

Back
Top