How to Make Injuries Work For You

No one likes to be injured.

And if you’ve followed me for a long time, you know that I spent a chunk of my 30s dealing with debilitating neck and back issues, not to mention all the others over the years.

So I completely understand that there are some injuries where you just need to stop entirely and heal.

But for those injuries where you are limited but can still do some work, with the right approach you can actually make them work for you.

For example:

You might recall that I recently got PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy on my left wrist.

Apparently when I thought I badly sprained it about 25 years ago, I actually broke it in two places (oops). So the arthritis and bone spurs gradually got so bad it was unbearable even with a wrist brace.

(I’m also a big proponent of PRP after the almost magic results I got after having it in my shoulder a few years ago.)

My orthopedist emphasized that I should not be doing anything competitive like rolling during the 8 week healing cycle of the PRP therapy. If I don’t give it a chance to heal, the results won’t be optimal and I could be back to the drawing board.

So here’s what I’ve been doing:

Isolated live drilling with partners I trust (wearing my wrist brace), only playing from half guard top and/or side control top.

That’s it. But it’s way better than being completely out of commission for 8 weeks.

Here’s what I really want to emphasize, however:

1. Even though there are a bunch of things I can’t do, my half guard passing and side control pressure have actually improved significantly over the past 5 weeks (I have 3 to go).
2. The reason that I have been able to do this safely is because I’m not using my left hand or wrist; specifically, I’m not using my hand to control my training partners or pinning my arm underneath them. No crossfaces.
   

Instead, I’m controlling them and advancing my position the most efficient way possible, which is to do it with the correct placement of my body weight.

So although I’m essentially training with one hand, my weight distribution, pressure, and relaxation has never been better.

The main takeaway:

It’s not just about “training around injuries,” it’s about how you do it.

As always, we want to think about how we can train around injuries using first principles, in a way that actually allows us to improve during a setback.