Injury Management

If you have experienced an injury you should have a healthcare professional or primary care physician diagnose and recommend the appropriate treatment. Fighting Arts Health Lab does not provide medical advice and this section is only intended to inform you about injuries and their management. 

What to Expect

In this section, we cover the normal physiology of the human body and what this looks like. Below, the skin, muscles, ligaments, cartilages, bones, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels work together to seamlessly allow human function. There are 206 bones in the human body, more than 600 hundred muscles, 4,000 tendons, and 900 ligaments. All of them are sustained by 4.5- 5.5 liters of blood that forms about 10% of the body weight. 

As with any physical sport, the very step in injury management is preventing their occurrence in the first place. There are various steps when it comes to prevention, this includes, stretching, hydration, and resting among other principles. 60% of the human body is water. The lungs are about 83% of water while the brain and heart about 73% water. Prevention is the key to staying fit and injury-free while your train in martial arts. 

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If You Sustain an Injury, What Are the Tell-Tale Signs?

Many athletes train and ignore minor cuts and bumps. However, when do you know its time to stop and evaluate an injury further? You have to know the signs of an injury to be able to seek help at the appropriate time. The primary signs of any injury usually include redness, warmth, swelling, pain, and loss of function. 

There is a long list of injuries that are sustained no matter what martial art form you practice. Every part of the body is vulnerable to an injury. From the head to the toe, every potential injury that can occur during training is covered along with its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

Diagnosis can be done via physical exam, imaging, or blood tests. Treatment is done either in the emergency room, in the hospital, or at home.

Additionally, various tissues sustain a common injury that is non-specific. These include sprains, strains, and tears. RICE is the standard therapy for most nonspecific injuries. This includes rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

However, even these injuries can also worsen over time if undiagnosed and left untreated. To understand these injuries better, their symptoms have been listed. And, how these common injuries are diagnosed and managed through treatment is also detailed to help you get back to your fighting self. 

While this section provides an overview of human physiology, we can teach you the techniques to prevent injuries and to speed up your recovery from injuries. Sign up for our free newsletter here.

About the author

Dr. Pamela Q. Fernandes is an author, doctor and medical writer. Born and raised in Kuwait, she graduated from Angeles University College of Medicine, Philippines in 2007. Soon after that, she started her career as a medical writer and physician. Pamela is an advocate of preventive health, rural medicine, women’s health and tele-medicine having been active in these roles for the majority of her decade long career in medicine. She an Aikido practitioner. Learn more about her at pamelaqfernandes.com.

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