When Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he wasn’t speaking about martial arts injuries. However, the statement’s wisdom applies to many common martial arts injuries. Prevention must be a priority for practitioners, and that generally comes down to patience and proper training through strengthening exercises, stretching, stance and weight training, and internal and external toughening of the muscles and connective tissues.
Martial arts injuries are similar to other injuries suffered through any intense physical or sports-related activity. There are various grades of injuries, such as muscle strains like pulled hamstrings and groins; ligament sprains like tweaked knees and torn rotator cuffs; tendonitis; and tissue damage caused by the repetitive pounding of objects or of being pounded on.
Standard practice for the above injuries is ICER (ice, compression, elevation and rest) and to consult with a physician. Some martial artists also practice chi kung (qigong) methods to prevent injury occurrences.
– February 19, 2013
Holistic recovery from a martial arts injury is entirely possible! In part 2 of their guide to overcoming martial athletic injuries, Danny Dring and Johnny D. Taylor explain the roles that mind, body, attitude and outside support play in this process.
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– February 18, 2013
Get proactive in your recovery from martial arts injuries! Learn how phrase such as “restricted activity,” “surgery” and “therapy” don’t necessarily mean your martial arts journey is drawing to a close.
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– January 27, 2012
I recently saw a fit 74-year-old patient who’d practiced wing chun and tai chi for many years. He came to me because of shoulder pain that was bothering him during the performance of his everyday activities. Even doing slow tai chi forms was problematic because he couldn’t raise his arms
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– April 11, 2011
Danny Dring has been a martial artist for more than 30 years and has black belts in taekwondo, jujutsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He and co-author Johnny D. Taylor have written Stay In the Fight: A Martial Athlete’s Guide to Overcoming and Preventing Injury to help martial artists and athletes who
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