Like any sport or martial art, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can come with injuries. Here are some tips to avoid them:
- Tap out early. One of the studies above mentioned that the main reason why arm bars caused so many injuries was because competitors resisted it and didn’t tap out early enough.
- Know high risk positions. This will come with frequency of training and positional recognition. For example: If you don’t know the mechanics or risks of heel hooks and choose to allow them in sparring, then it’s up to you to tap early or learn more about them before you agree to them.
- Be aware of common injuries and skin infections. Knowing the most common injuries and skin infections can be useful to avoid them in future. For example, if your gym educates people about the most common skin infections, infected athletes will know when to avoid training and reduce the spread.
- Choose the right sparring partners. Roll with people who you can trust not to crank a submission.
- Avoid overtraining. One of the studies of BJJ athletes found that overuse was the biggest cause (66%) of injuries in novice athletes.
How to treat a BJJ injury for the quickest recovery
Injuries are a normal part of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so it’s important to give your body the best chance of a speedy recovery. We spoke to John Lee, a physiotherapist from to get some expert tips for speeding up injury recovery.
1. What should you do right after your injury?
The most important time in the treatment of an acute injury is in the first 24 hours post injury. When soft tissue is injured, blood vessels are usually damaged too. Thus, blood accumulates around damaged tissue and compresses adjoining tissues, which can further damage tissue.
Traditionally the most appropriate method of allowing the injury to begin its healing process and reduce internal bleeding at the site of injury is the RICE technique:
- Rest
- Ice
- Compression
- Elevation
In more recent times evidence has shown that ice narrows the diameter of blood vessels which limits blood supply, therefore reducing swelling and pain perception. But because there is vessel narrowing, this does not allow for the arrival of immune cells which are important for the healing process. So our general advice is to only use the “Ice” component of RICE if there is visible swelling, and if pain is greater than a 6/10.
2. How long after you get injured should you see a physiotherapist/physical therapist?
On the day of the injury, we generally recommend following the above RICE protocol for 24 hours. We usually advise patients to see a physiotherapist/physical therapist after 24 hours of the acute injury happening. Physiotherapists will begin gentle soft tissue mobilizations and acute injury exercise rehabilitation and will further advise patients on how to best manage their condition in its initial healing stage.
3. Other tips to ensure faster injury recovery
To state the obvious, patients should listen to their physios first and foremost! However you can supplement the healing process with a few additional tips to speed the recovery along:
- Keep your body mobile with walking, gentle yoga and a stationary bike. With this being said, be mindful that the pain is less than a 4/10 at all times.
- The use of epsom magnesium salt baths can help to relax the injured tissue.
- Consider seeing a remedial massage therapist to keep the neighboring regions to your injury flexible and mobile.
- The use of anti inflammatory pain relief to settle the discomfort can help to allow your body to move with less pain. Remember that the less you move due to pain, the more likely you are to stiffen up throughout your body.
- Try Deep Heat or gels to desensitize the injured area.
- Come in and test your range of motion learning technique. You don’t have to always roll in order to improve in the art.
4. How long should you wait before getting back on the mats?
Returning to sport is a tricky question to answer on the basis that not all injuries will have the same healing time. Age, lifestyle, the overall condition of your body are some of the many variables you’ll face with how recovery goes. Generally speaking, if it is a:
- Basic muscle strain, expect to return to the mat by your 4th week of recovery.
- If you’ve injured a ligament and it is not fully torn, you could expect to get back to the mat for gentle sessions from the 6th week post injury.
- If you’ve injured an internal structural component such as a knee meniscus or a shoulder AC joint, this can take upwards of 8 weeks to return to the mat safely.
Once you’ve been to your doctor for a comprehensive assessment of your injury, they will be able to give you a prognose of how long it will take you to get back to BJJ based on the injury’s severity!