Jiu-Jitsu like many other martial arts disciplines can be a very demanding and competitive combat sport that has its risks. In this blog post we will be reviewing a few easy and accessible strategies that help to reduce your own risk of developing injuries in the world of Jiu-Jitsu.

Warm up and Cool down routine:

As Jiu-Jitsu involves a lot of groundwork, grappling and submissive holds you can often find yourself in some unnatural and awkward positions for your joints like being forced past your usual range of motion in an armbar or fast movements in a stack pass defence.

Doing a 5-to-10-minute warm up including dynamic stretches and basic tumbling drills will really help in preparing your body for those fast-paced, unpredictable movements.

Regularly going through a low intensity 5-10-minute cool down including walking and static stretches after training will then help to return to resting heart rate, improve recovery time and improve flexibility in the future.

Prioritise technical ability over strength:

BJJ consists of several strategical grapples and positions to maintain and control good distance and angles against your opponent with matches lasting usually anywhere between 5-10 minutes.

Repetitively working at high effort levels for such time can be very taxing on the body which dramatically increases your risk of injury if form starts to decrease because of tiredness. Having the ability to win a favorable position early on in a match will help to limit fatigue build up and wasting energy as you will have to work less to gain more. The best way to achieve this is by practicing on your functional movements and technical ability with drills and sparring rather than relying too heavily on your maximum strength.

Staying hydrated before/during/after training:

It is typically recommended that you drink at least 2.5 cups of water a few hours before training and a cup of water for during training for every 20 minutes that you do. By hydrating before and during training, you are going to help your body to properly regulate body temperature, reduce the frequency of cramps and maintain mental concentration for decision making.

Don’t forget to drink water after exercise either just because you have now finished your workout. You still want to make sure that you are replacing any fluids lost through sweating to help with further muscle recovery and joint lubrication to improve joint health.

Be aware of your limitations:

Most that train BJJ come with a competitive and driven personality. This can be a great strength to your overall willingness to achieve and progress through the sport. However, like all sports, the human body comes with its limitations, so it is important to be aware of you and your training partners abilities.

If you are in a losing position, caught in a grapple or proper submission tap early enough to avoid unnecessary risks and make sure to always communicate clearly with a training partner if you begin to feel pains or discomforts in any areas of your body. It is okay to take a rest and go again!

Tapes, Straps and Braces:

There are a wide range of different types of supportive aids used in sport to help with injury recovery and prevention. In this section we will give a simple summary of the different attributes of Taping, strapping and bracing methods.

Taping:

Taping is often an effective strategy of injury prevention in a wide variety of sport. A large difference with taping compared to strapping or bracing is that using tape is more versatile for all shapes and sizes of body parts making it adaptable to several scenarios. This means that taping is more suitable when range of motion needs to be preserved while adding more support to a joint or soft tissue.

Specific types of tape such as K-tape when properly applied can also protect without limiting blood flow and help with pain relief. Some may also find it helps to improve grip which is particularly helpful in a sport like BJJ where there is an emphasis on grip strength.

Straps and Braces:

Straps and Braces in sport tend to be more suitable for early to mid-stage rehabilitation after an injury and often athletes will wear them to prevent further injury while getting back into some form of training routine. A notable example is the P3 knee brace used to prevent displacement and dislocations around the knee suitable for those with preexisting instabilities or a history of re-occurring injuries.

Rest periods between training sessions:

Plenty of athletes in BJJ can fall victim to overtraining which is when you are exhausting the body past its functional capacity making injuries much more likely to occur. Your training load can vary and is determined by the intensity of training and your overall fitness, competency, and experience within BJJ.

It is typically advised anybody new to the sport starts off with 2 sessions a week as a start point to then progress from whereas more competitive athletes train typically 4-6 times a week. By sticking to a realistic and achievable training schedule you will do better at avoiding any new or reoccurring injuries.

Diet:

Like rest periods, an athlete's diet can be influenced by a few factors including training frequency, weight class, individual needs and goals. The overall calorie count that you get from proteins, carbs or fats are going to be your main source of fuel for training, recovery and competition.

Particularly for higher level performance carbs will provide faster releasing energies which you get from most fruits, pasta, potatoes, veg and oats so keep this in mind when creating dietary plans specific to training. Modern nutritionists usually agree that around 0.4-0.5g/kg bodyweight per meal of protein is also a good target to aim for to maintain healthy muscle mass which are often found in white or lean meats, fish and egg whites.

Factors like vitamins and minerals can also play an important role in achieving and maintaining high levels of performance. Diets including a healthy selection of different fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, protein and fat sources will be sure to cover all the necessities. They can also be found in a variety of supplements that some athletes use to boost vitamin and mineral intake.

Hot/Cold aids and when to use them?

Hot and cold aids often play a pivotal role in injury management and prevention in BJJ. As a general guide on which one to use and for when it is often agreed amongst researchers that cold treatments will reduce blood flow to an area which its applied. By doing so it helps to reduce pain, inflammation and swelling most suitable short-term relief for soft tissue related injuries like tears or sprains. Cold aids typically come in the form of frozen peas wrapped in a cloth or towel, ice packs and ice baths.

Hot aids increase blood flow to the area which they are applied to which helps with symptoms like pain and stiffness while helping to also improve rate of healing. Using heat before exercise can also reduce the amount the body is aggravated by high demand activity. Hot aids typically come in the form of warm baths, hot compress or heat pads.

Special Offer

Thank you for reading our latest blog post. As part of our ongoing partnership with New School BJJ, we are delighted to offer a 20% discount across all our services.

Simply quote NSBJJ20 when booking your first appointment at our Covent Garden Clinic.

On this first appointment we will complete a full assessment of your current injury concern and also your first full treatment with us.

We use the latest cutting-edge injury treatments to help our clients recover faster and more efficiently from injury.

If you are injured and need some help or advice, please feel free to call us on 02071172076

or email one of our injury practitioners at info@fit2functionclinic.co.uk

Written by George Block

BSc Sports Rehabilitation

Clinician at Fit2Function Clinic

www.fit2functionclinic.co.uk

02071172076