Original Post: 30 Mar 2014
By Sarah Cosgrove
Views contained in this post are the author’s.
It can take a split second. You’re fine one moment, and the next you’re feeling pain, knowing that something has gone very wrong. It can take weeks, or months – a gradual strain that creeps up on you, and it’s only too late that you realise that you hurt.
Everyone gets injured from time to time.
Now, I’m not saying that this is something you should expect; especially not in HEMA. Martial arts classes are an environment in which there should be a great awareness of safety and control. (There are whole discussions on safety equipment, respect and confidence which I will not delve into here – but do keep in mind that prevention is better than cure! Respect your body and your health, and don’t take chances.)
Rather, I’m going to talk about what happens when you have an injury, and how to overcome it.
I suffered a neck injury just over ten years ago. The short version of the story is: I was in a martial arts class with a toxic environment. I got put in an arm lock in a timed sparring match. I was fighting for the draw; ten seconds to go. The instructor told my opponent (the attitude there was that we were opponents, not sparring partners) to put the lock on harder. He twisted my arm. Damage done.
Over the years of coping with this injury I’ve learned many things, and I’m going to share some of my wisdoms here with you, in the hope that it will help overcome injuries, be they your own, or that of someone you know.
1. It’s not your fault.
I can’t tell you how many times I cursed myself for getting injured. “I should have tapped out.” “I should have left the class before then.” “I should have known better.” It took a long time for me to accept that perhaps I wasn’t entirely responsible for the injury. It doesn’t even have to be something with a specific cause; I’ve known people to blame themselves for repetitive strain injury from computer use!
Absolving yourself of blame is the first step to recovery.
The more you tell yourself that the injury was your fault and avoidable, the more likely you are to fall into subconscious mental traps of feeling like you deserve the injury, or re-running events over and over in your head about what you could have changed.
If it was a friend that got injured, would you tell them it was their fault and they deserved it? Probably not; we are harder on ourselves than others.
2. See your medical professional.
This sounds like it should be an obvious step; but it really isn’t. It took me two years to go to see a doctor and get referred for physiotherapy. I’d lost a significant amount of movement in my arm by then, and couldn’t raise it above my head. Why didn’t I go sooner?
I’d fallen into the “it will get better” trap. In those first few days I knew I’d hurt it; but I’d never been seriously injured before and was convinced it would get better on its own.
The days turned into weeks, into months, into years. I got used to the pain. I got used to not being able to use my arm fully. I’d accepted that it was “too late” to go to the doctor; the damage was done. How wrong I was. The very first physio session I had, I regained the ability to move my arm above my head!
If you get an injury; see your medical professional as soon as possible. If it’s an injury that has built up over time (such as repetitive strain) go as soon as you recognise that you are in pain. This leads us on to:
3. No injury is “too small” or “unworthy”.
“It’s only a [fill in injury here]”. Unless you yourself are a medical professional, it’s likely that you don’t know what you’re talking about. (And I don’t mean that nastily at all – I am so guilty of doing this!) If you are in pain; go and get it looked at. If you have limited movement; go get it looked at. If things are not normal; go get it looked at! Your body is good at telling you when something is wrong. Trust your instincts and get the injury checked out. It is infinitely better to hear that something will get better on its own than to leave something that won’t because you are afraid it will waste the doctor’s time.
4. Always have a recovery plan beyond treatment.
Even once you have finished your course of treatment for the injury, recovery doesn’t stop there. If you haven’t been using muscles, you will be weak. Muscular injuries may want to lock back up; you may “put something out” again. Discuss what you can do to recover with your medical professional. It may be some specific exercises. It may just be general strengthening by doing something like swimming. Have a plan and work it into your routine.
5. Accept it will take time.
You want to get better; but don’t push yourself too fast. A friend of mine had a fall and broke her wrist. Once the bones were on the mend, she was given exercises to do to recover the movement in her wrist. She was so determined to get full use back she did far more than the doctors had advised, which put strain on it and actually set back the recovery. Remember: You will get there, but you aren’t Wolverine. Your body needs time to heal.
6. Overcoming injury
Overcoming an injury isn’t just a physical process. It’s a mental one too. There are days that you will feel like you can never get better, never get back to normal. There are days where you will feel fear or anxiety. Long term injury and pain could even lead to depression.
In HEMA, (or any other physical activities) you should make sure that your instructor and your class are aware of your injury. This is not only so that they know what exercises you may have physical limitations in, but also so that they can support your mental recovery.
One example of this is when my class was doing an unarmed session, and we were looking at throws and locks. This was nearly five years after my injury had occurred; I was still having trouble with it, (I was unaware my vertebrae was sitting in a twisted position; this would not be discovered for another few years until I returned to a physio) but I had my movement, and I had built up some strength.
My training partner was aware of my injury and as we were practising an arm lock, he put the move on slowly and gently.
I panicked.
My heart started racing, my muscles tensed (not the best thing to do in an arm lock) and he had to release me immediately.
Clearly my mind had latched onto the fear that this was going to hurt me again. Few people will probably have an injury so specifically caused by a martial arts move; but that doesn’t mean that the fear won’t be there. If you’ve hurt your arm elsewhere, you may still react when your subconscious perceives that something will put strain on the injury and hurt you further.
There is no fast solution to this; and you have to accept that you may need time to overcome the mental block before you even learn certain movements. Discuss with your instructor and classmates how they can help you to overcome this. It may be something simple like having one of them move your arm around (without putting it in a lock) until you feel comfortable in trusting that you will not be hurt. Accept that this may be something you have to do over several sessions; you’re not going to be over it in one class.
You may feel embarrassed or ashamed for having the injury. You may tell yourself you are using it as an excuse to avoid doing a move you are uncomfortable with. Take a step back and assess these feelings again: neither you nor anyone else should be pushing you into doing something you are not mentally ready for, even if your physical recovery is going well.
Never be afraid to ask for support when you need it. HEMA and other sports and activities should be fun. If you are feeling anxious about going to class because of your injury, always talk to your instructor.
I hope this has helped anyone with an injury to be able to assess where they are and how to take the next steps to recovery.
I would also recommend checking out:
This is a free “game” where you can set yourself quests and gather allies for support. You can track your recovery progress and award yourself and friends achievements for goals reached.
And of course, as an online community, we can support one another; sometimes even just talking about your experiences of injury can move you along the path to recovery.
Read original: http://esfinges1.wix.com/e/apps/blog/fighting-back-from-injury