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Martial Arts Injuries
What are the most common martial arts injuries and what
are the most common treatments?
Ross Hauser, M.D., a leading
Prolotherapy doctor describes below:
The most common injuries we see at our office is:
Knee Tendonitis (or
more appropriately tendinosis)
Tendonitis is the irritation or inflammation of a
tendon. Most martial artists have tendonitis of the knee
either from overuse or an injury sustained from a kick.
Knee tendonitis causes tendons in the knee to swell and
fill with fluid. The traditional recommendation for knee
tendonitis is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and
Elevation). The problem with this is that RICE does not
rebuild or strengthen the weakened tendon. Which also
brings us to the fact that the injury is actually more
likely a tendinosis injury, not an inflammation (-itis)
injury. In other words, the tendon is degenerated and is
bound to cause a future injury.
Knee Ligament Tears
Partial knee ligament tears are among the most common
injuries for martial arts athletes. Hyperextension, or
bending the knee more than ten degrees past its
straightened position, is a known cause of ACL tears.
For these athletes, hyperextension of the knee is most
commonly caused by kicking freely. That is, kicking
without anything (such as a pad) to stop the foot so
that the force carries the foot too far and hyperextends
the knee. The traditional treatment recommended for
ligament tears is usually RICE. This not only does not
fix the problem of a torn ligament, it also slows
healing as it decreases inflammation when the ligament
needs it the most. Inflammation is a natural and
necessary part of the healing process.
Turf Toe
As you can tell from the name, turf toe is usually
associated with athletes who play on turf. However, it
affects martial arts athletes as well because it can
affect anyone whose activity involves pushing off from a
hard surface – which is done in running and walking in
and of itself. So you can see how turf toe could affect
just about any athlete, including the martial artist.
Symptoms of turf toe include pain and swelling of the
big toe and can eventually lead to hallux ridigdus, or
arthritis of the toe. Turf toe is traditionally treated
with RICE. However, even when prescribing this treatment
martial artists say that turf toe can return. Of course
turf toe can return, because RICE does not actually fix
the problem. Turf toe is caused by a tearing of the
joint capsule in the foot.
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