Most Common Injuries in Martial Arts

Being a martial artist has its pro’s and con’s and injuries are a major risk of the job. The following are some common injuries that fighters can expect whether training for fun and fitness or aiming to become the world champ.

1. Lacerations

The most common injury in the MMA and martial arts world. Australia’s most decorated Muay Thai fighter John Wayne Parr currently counts a total of 346* stitches from 146 professional fights (Muay thai and boxing).

General rules for whether you need stitches are;

- If the cut is greater than 1-inch in length or depth

- If you can see fat, muscle or bone

- Is the cut easily exposed to infection i.e. on the hand or fingers

- Difficulty with clotting i.e. prolonged bleeding >15mins

- Is it in a sensitive area i.e. the hands or face where reducing scarring is integral.

See your GP or present to your nearest emergency department if you fit any of the above categories.

Good luck JWP in your next fight against Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine.

2. Cork / Contusion / Haematoma

Is an impact on the muscle with sudden, heavy compressive force i.e. opposition players knee. These can present either within a muscle (intra-muscular) or between muscles (inter-muscular).

Inter-muscular corks are sore to touch, can bleed down the limb i.e. thigh towards the knee.

Intra-muscular cork are also tender, and stiff to touch where stretching is difficult and movements like walking can be difficult without a limp. These can sometimes lead to solidification of blood within the muscle if not resolved, known as ‘myositis ossificans’.

Management;

- 0-48hrs: involves rest, ice, compression and elevation post game.

- 2-3days: see a physio/doctor for assessment and whether anti-inflammatories will be of use. Start some gentle stretching and movement i.e. exercise bike or light training.

- 3-4 days: gentle massage around cork and training as tolerated.

- 5 days: stretching and foam rolling around the sore spot and gentle heat packs may be useful.

3. Concussion – Knock Out aka ‘the Big Kaboosh’ aka ‘goodnight Irene’

The risk of concussion is significant in MMA due to high volume of punches, elbows, knees and kicks to the head. However, many fights are stopped due to submissions as opposed to head injury. In February 2019, the Australian Institute of Sport, Australian Medical Association and Sports Medicine Australia released a joint Position Statement on the management of confirmed concussions in athletes. (https://ama.com.au/position-statement/concussion-in-sport-2019 ). This states that athletes over the age of 18 should not return to contact activity sooner than 7-days, and 18-year-olds and under should refrain from risk of contact for 14 days or more and once cleared by a doctor with no signs of concussion still present.

A player should be immediately removed from the sport if any of the following occurred;

- Loss of consciousness

- A fall to ground without protection

- Seizure or tonic (rigid) posturing

- Impaired memory (date, location)

- Severe headache and other symptoms (below)

- Vomiting

- Deteriorating consciousness

- Vision loss/changes

- Non-typical behaviour

Signs of concussion may include;

- Loss of consciousness, headache, drowsiness or feeling like ‘in a fog’ or ‘slow’

- Dizziness or balance problems

- Confusion, sadness, irritability, nervous, anxiousness or emotional

- Blurred vision or sensitivity to light or noise

- Trouble sleeping

If any of the symptoms above are severe then the person should be taken directly to emergency and/or immediately be assessed by a doctor.

4. Fractures

a. Boxers Fracture

i. Occurs when a closed fist impacts with another hard object (head/floor) causing fracture at the head of the metacarpal (typically the 5th metacarpal).

ii. Signs: Swelling, redness, tenderness or crunching (crepitus) over the affected area.

iii. Diagnosis: Doctors or physiotherapist physical exam and X-Ray

iv. Treatment: Non-surgical cast and immobility or surgical pins and immobilisation cast.

v. Prognosis: up to 12 weeks

Others – can include any part of the body due to the high forces of usually bone on bone impact.

5. Cervical Disc Pathology – i.e. Neck cranks, rear-naked chokes.

Causes hyper flexion/extension or rotation to the neck. These often result in the fighter ‘tapping out’ prior to any serious damage. However multiple drilling, sparring and then fighting can place excessive stress on the neck discs, joints, ligaments and muscles.

Talk to your physiotherapist or GP immediately if you notice any of the following;

- Severe central neck pain

- Inability to move the neck >45° left or right

- Pins & needles, numbness or tingling into the arms and hands

- Severe shooting pains, electric shock or burning sensations in the arm and hands

- Strength loss in the upper limbs

Hot Tip: Learn your limits when training and ‘tap out’ early!

6. Dislocations / sub-luxations

The art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is designed to uncover the weakness at a joint and apply force so that the opponent taps before the trauma occurs. All dislocation/subluxations involve traumatic forces applied to a joint beyond its capability, leading to instability. Continuous micro-trauma may also lead to a joint becoming vulnerable over time.

A history of trauma puts you at increased risk of a repeat injury and continued clicking/locking/catching and instability indicates that the joint needs proper assessment and treatment. Never try to relocated a dislocated joint without a medical professional present.

Tip for young players… TAP EARLY

Author: Peter Gangemi - Master of Physiotherapy

Shoulder – Kimura / Americana