If you train in combat sports, chances are you’ve had a few injuries in your time. If you haven’t you’re either incredibly lucky, or counting down to the inevitable.  My training partners will often pull me aside when we get off the mats to pick my brain about an injury that’s interfering with their training and this has made me realise that there aren’t specific guidelines available to athletes. I’ve put together a list of the seven most common mistakes people make when recovering from injury.

  1. Complete rest

This one needs some common sense, for example, if you have a fractured leg it’s in your best interest to stay off it. But in general, if it’s a mild to moderate injury, the research shows that early mobilisation will lead to faster recovery. This doesn’t mean going all out, this means modifying your activity to reduce but maintain some load on the injured tissues. I want you to become familiar with the term relative rest.  An example is reducing the intensity but maintaining the movement. This might mean performing some light drilling but taking some time off live rolling. Or you could use this as an opportunity to work on the weak parts of your game or tighten up your techniques. Very rarely do you need complete rest

  1. Ignoring injuries

You would think that this one wouldn’t need an explanation, but we’ve all had training partners that refuse to manage injuries properly because they don’t want to lose mat fitness or skills. If you’re injured and you don’t modify your training, you won’t be getting the most out of your sessions because you’ll have to hold back. If you’re really lucky, you’ll recover, but it will take a lot longer than if you managed it properly, and chances are you’ll re-injure it again in the future anyway.

  1. Getting advice from the wrong health professional

It’s not uncommon to present to a GP with a training injury for them to turn around and say ‘well, maybe you shouldn’t be training’ or ‘have you considered trying a different sport?’ Not only is completely unhelpful, it also frustrating as hell. Having the right health professionals on your team is going to make your rehabilitation journey not only more effective but also much more pleasant. A good health professional knows why you do your chosen combat sport, but also what’s involved. Like other aspects of training, having a good team is important, and that includes a rehabilitation specialist as well

  1. Wrong diagnosis

Consulting someone who doesn’t understand your sport is going to make it difficult for them to understand exactly how you’ve injured yourself. A wrong diagnosis is going to lead to wasted time performing rehab that won’t work, wasted money on multiple consults that aren’t helping and frustration that may lead to you giving up entirely on rehabilitation because it’s not working.  Ultimately this can lead to long term dysfunction. A correct diagnosis will help you choose the correct rehab, and the quicker you start performing the right rehab, the quicker you get back to full training on the mats.

  1. Not communicating with training partners

If you’ve got an injury that you can train around, it’s important that you let your training partner know. This is a simple way to avoid re-aggravating the injury.  And importantly, train light and don’t let your ego get in the way. You might get submitted by someone that you’d normally have no trouble with, but your focus should be on recovery, not ‘winning’ a training roll.

  1. Not having a team

You can’t know everything, that’s why you have a coach. And just like you need a coach to teach you takedowns, submissions and strikes, you need someone to teach you how to correctly rehabilitate your injuries. You need someone you can trust that not only knows how to rehabilitate injuries, but also understands the demands of the sport and knows exactly what you need to be able to do. It’s also important that your therapist can communicate with your coach (through you if necessary), so that your coach knows what and how much you should and shouldn’t be doing in a training session.

  1. Not completing a rehabilitation program

This is one of the biggest ones I see.  You get injured, you do the right thing and modify your training. You start your rehab, things get better so you think it’s okay. I mean, your pain has almost improved so getting back to full training is fine, right? I know you’re in a rush to get back to full training, I get it, I’ve been there. But if you don’t see a recovery program through to the finish there’s a good chance that you’ll end up injuring the same thing again and again. Tissues take time to fully heal, so unfortunately there are no shortcuts when it comes to rehabilitation. If you put in the right work in your rehab program, chances are you’ll significantly decrease the chances of sustaining the same injury again.

If you’ve taken the time to read these points it’s likely that you’re carrying an injury and possibly making one or two of these mistakes. Hopefully these guidelines will give you some ideas on how you can manage your issue and return to training faster and stronger. If you’re already doing these things and still not training at the capacity you should be, your next step should involve an appointment with a qualified health professional. Here at Scarborough Physio and Health I specialise in treating combat sports athletes and trainers. The clinic also boasts adjunct therapies such as massage and acupuncture to get you back on the mats.