What to do when you get injured (Part One)

Jul 10, 2024

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So, you got popped. Your partner spazzed out on you and your joints started making music (to your opponent's ears). Now what?

If you're like me, you're probably in a bad mood and want to sulk in a dark cave. This is not the way. Inactivity is a killer to gains and will make your comeback all that much harder.

First things first, you need to find a reliable Sports Orthopedist to determine the exact injury and severity you are dealing with. (Now we know what do when injured)

If you thought going to your local walk in clinic will be enough, it's not. They are not used to dealing with high level athletes like yourself. They deal with the general population, and give advice for them: Don't use that muscle anymore, let it rest for 3 months and for God's sake, quit going to that combat club, it's going to kill you.

No! A Sports Orthopedist has seen your injury before, knows how to fix it and knows you aren't going to stop training. They can also provide braces to use while you're recovering and can point you to a physical therapist if it is that serious.

Let's assume you are able to exercise, but not that limb. What do you do? Thanks to scientific research we have a solution!

Sauna.

One of the biggest losses due to injury is muscle atrophy. Basically, since your muscle isn't being put under pressure, the body decides that the muscle isn't needed and lets it waste away.

Sauna use has been shown to reduce these effects for both size and work capacity(1,2). Size isn't directly linked to strength, but we can safely assume that a smaller muscle is going to be weaker than it was before.

It has also shown to keep mitochondrial density higher(1). For those that loved science in elementary school you'll know that the mitochondria is the power house of the cell! This means that this small organelle(an organ in a cell) is responsible for making the energy units that your body runs on (ATP).

If you can keep these powerhouses, you'll be able to work longer. Which is great for those long matches!

Sauna also has been a great tool for heat acclimation (dealing with heat)(3). If you're a Gi player, you know how important it is to be able to keep moving even when you're burning up.

And if you're a No-Gi person, you're probably used to bone crunching takedowns and lots of contact from scrambles. Well, Sauna has also been shown to help keep bone density high(3).

Yes, simply being in a hot enclosed space has all of these great benefits!

So, what should we do? As always, start small and work your way up to something more challenging.

If you are in a Dry Sauna, aim for 170°F (or 76.7°C) for 15 minutes in the beginning. Work your way up to 30 minutes. Anything beyond that just isn't worth the effects for the time.

A higher temperature is useful for those that have acclimated to the heat and 30 minutes isn't a heavy effort.

You can also use a Wet Sauna. 120°F (or 48.9°C) is sufficient to get the response we are looking for.

And for those truly deranged out there, you can try contrast therapy. This is where you rapidly go from hot to cold.

For example: 20 minutes in the Sauna at 170°F and then you immediately enter a cold tub for 1 minute at 45°F (7.2°C°).

Ending your workout on cold is great for body composition as you will activate your brown adipose (fat) tissue to warm you up and burn more calories.

If you're looking for a more comprehensive workout, you can go back and forth 3-5 times and get a truly hard and beneficial workout.