Whether you practice a strike-dominant martial art like karate or boxing, a submission-focused sport like Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or a throwing-dominant practice like Judo, there’s the potential for injury. Although using proper equipment and technique reduces the risk of a serious injury, many participants still experience bumps, bruises, sprains, and more when engaged in the martial arts.
Understanding martial arts injuries’ causes, symptoms, treatment, and exercises can help you avoid the most common issues and enjoy your martial arts practice without issues.
The Most Common Martial Arts Injuries
There’s an inherent risk for certain types of injuries when practicing martial arts, especially when you engage in combat exercises with another person. The injuries you’re most likely to sustain depend on the individual sport.
In striking-predominant sports, the most common injuries are bruises, concussions, and cuts. Hand injuries like broken bones are also common, especially when you don’t use proper technique.
Submission-predominant martial arts injuries are more likely to be joint-related. One critical element of martial arts injury prevention is learning how to maneuver your opponent into position and perform joint locks without causing ligament and muscle strains and sprains.
Both submission and throwing-predominant forms of martial arts come with a risk for neck and back injuries. Shoulder injuries are also common; again, not using proper form is a common cause of injury, along with a lack of muscle strain and flexibility.
Identifying and Treating Martial Arts Injuries
Training gyms and programs focus a great deal of attention on martial arts injuries’ causes, symptoms, treatment and exercises. This includes learning to recognize martial arts injury symptoms and when to seek treatment.
For example, any cut that is more than an inch long or where the skin doesn’t meet requires medical attention. Symptoms of head injuries, like dizziness, nausea, and headaches, also require immediate attention.
However, it’s also important to address injuries that might seem less serious, like muscle strains. Seeing a skilled chiropractor in Oakville or an athletic specialist for a full evaluation and customized treatment plan can support a complete recovery and reduce your pain through a customized martial arts injury rehabilitation plan. In the short term, basic first aid, like icing the affected area, can help reduce pain and swelling.
Preventing Martial Arts Injuries
The martial arts are full-body workouts, and it’s important to warm up and prepare your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems before working out. Five to ten minutes of aerobic exercise, like swimming or jogging, to raise your heart rate, plus an equal amount of time for both static and dynamic stretching, can go a long way toward injury prevention. Some of the best exercises to try include squats, planks, and sport-specific moves that mimic the movements you’ll make while fighting.
Recover From Martial Arts Injuries with Help From OAK Chiro and Wellness
As Oakville’s premier chiropractic care center, OAK Chiro and Wellness can help guide your martial arts injury recovery and get you back in the ring or on the mat quickly. Give us a call to make an appointment and learn more about martial arts injuries, causes, symptoms, treatment, and exercises.