Category: News

The affect of Jiu Jitsu on Soft Tissue

Chronic and Acute Pain:
Chronic dysfunction is something which is very tricky. You see, dear audience: Acute Dysfunction may be identified sooner then Chronic. When one injures themselves stepping off of a curb for example, and twists their ankle, the pain is immediate and noticeable. Chronic is not so much, a postural Chronic dysfunction may take some time to show up.

In Jiu Jitsu one chronic problem we may see is the neck and upper shoulders be in constant spasm due to the locomotion which occurs while we roll, and since grappling arts use much of the head as a source of direction and a torpedo one may say, then all the assisting neck and shoulder muscles such as the flexors and extensors, along with the rotators will get shortened. This is a problem , since the effect of this can be seen by causing pain since muscles pull on bones. However, what makes this even worse is the fact that we use our necks to rotate our heads all day long, whether it is on the job behind a desk, or a manual labor endeavor.

This manual labor places much stress on the muscles of and surrounding the neck, which are already aggravated along with a lasting effect on the rest of the surrounding and supporting groups. Over time, this will cause serious discomfort , which may lead to strains , adhesions and tears if left untreated.

Please invest in a lacrosse ball, and use this ball along with a Thera cane on the areas which are tender after training , along with gentle neck stretches and shoulder stretches. This will safe you in the long run.

Use your Core

In many sports, daily life, and much so in Jiu Jitsu being able to have control of our core is essential to healthy living, optimal performance and a healthy spine. The core consists of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex (LPHC) . This is where the body’s center of gravity is located and where all movement begins. When training , there is one common denominator: injuries are abundant -from muscle tears, to overstressed ligaments , tendons, and of course stress fractures. The reason many times could be from not maintaining a strong base of special exercises for not only the muscles , but also for increasing ligament and tendon hypertrophy. Therefore, focusing on special small exercises to build up strength in the tendons and ligaments, will help prevent injuries, increase your overall lifts, and allow the tendons and ligaments to support the musculature growth and handle the overload caused by constant lifting. Lastly, building up your core with specific progressive exercises (plank, plank on ball, medicine ball wall throw, single arm dumbbell chest press with rotation on physio ball ). This will insure your core stays strong, which will allow your body to handle everything else.

In closing, doing these things in combination with myofascial release on the muscles worked after, and throughout the week for at least 45 seconds to a minute on the tender areas multiple times, will ensure that your musculature /nervous system as its all connected stays supple and pliable , allowing it to adapt, grow and not tighten up which will lead to optimal performance once again, and avoid injury in the long run.

Make your routine fun! Include stretching, Myofascial release, and progressive training , working small body parts with drop sets, partials , super sets will greatly improve your performance, and can be done multiple times a week with high repetitions/lower weight, without over taxing the nervous system .

Train smart, train hard, stay ready and motivated.

Until next time friends,

Wetek Personal training and Massage Therapy Staff