Sports injury: Supraspinatus tendonitis

I've been out of training this week because of my shoulder pain. I eventually went to the doctor to check what I could do to self treat it and she explained I probably have Supraspinatus tendonitis (sometimes called rotator cuff tendonitis): an inflammation of the supraspinatus tendon. Tendons attach to bones and I can feel it acutely at the point in my shoulder where the joint is, especially when I raise my arm above my head or try to move it behind my body. BBC Health says that: "overuse is ...a common cause", and I think I might have aggravated it by doing a very wide lat pull down.

Here's a decent article outlining treatment, management and rehab.

Hey! Take care out there!....

Basic anatomy 'baffles Britons'

"Less than 50% of the more than 700 people surveyed could correctly place the heart, BMC Family Practice says.

Under one-third could place the lungs in their correct location, but more than 85% got the intestines right."

Article here.

The above study shows that a large proportion of people just don't know where the major organs lie! Although I can't scoff too much- there's always room for improvement and I had to think long and hard about one of the items in that article (not the heart, ok!?).

Knowing anatomical features and weaknesses is important for the martial artist, not only to have maximum effect when we need it but also to know where we shouldn't strike or apply pressure. The human body seems, to me, a fairly weak structure and the news is often peppered with tragic stories of people being killed in an altercation where only one punch has been thrown. Most of these people, I'd guess, didn't enter the conflict with the idea of killing but ultimately somebody is laying on the floor with their life seeping out onto the pavement. (Det Sup Alan Betts said, "This tragic case is a powerful reminder to all that it can only take one punch to kill a person.")

Some martial artists may find this cautious approach alarming, after all the aim of martial technique is to inflict damage on the opponent (or points in tournament) and I'd be happy to hear from others on this. If you know positions of organs and vital points you are better placed to get out of that altercation by ruse rather than by staring down at a corpse. Of course it is rare to kill in a fight (safety in MMA) and these stories of one punch kills may be flukes; a guy hits his head on the pavement.... There's not much you can do about that once you've lamped the guy and he's heading floorward. The reality is that street or domestic violence doesn't happen in a padded ring: very often it's a bar or a pavement where falls can break you or your opponent.

"The punch was of sufficient force to fracture the jaw and it must have rendered Mr Trimmer unconscious as he went to the ground in a way that quite obviously meant he was unable to break his fall." (Eugene Warwood probably still in jail and Edward Trimmer still dead)

I'm not advocating entering a fight in a state of fear, but knowledge of anatomy, awareness of what's going on and confidence in your technique will help in a 'situation'.

So, I'm armed with anatomical knowledge and a respect for humans but how would I react if my family was in danger?

Hobble, hobble...

Looking at this technique makes me wince. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I value my knees, or (a bit) wiser and know that you could smash your opponent's keens up really badly if this isn't practiced correctly.

Which got me thinking...why practice it at all? I think I'd have to be really hard-pressed and in a real situation to use a direct kick to my adversary's knee. So I won't practice it. Ah, but if I don't practice it then it won't be in the memory bank of techniques when I really am hard-pressed and need it! So practice it. Well if I practice it will I be pre-disposed to use it, even in error or in haste?

We have to train sensibly and with control across a wide variety of techniques but I just think this one freaks me out a bit. After all, apart from the hapkido explanation, the other two videos show a fairly straightforward front kick, aimed low. Learning anatomy and vital points may well be enough to empower you to disable an opponent without causing extreme injury! (Article on kyusho, vital points).

Found an interesting clip about the anatomy of the knee and its ligaments:

My bloody thumb!

Energetic sparring and conditioning session at Tang soo Do last night. I learnt another important lesson whilst bashing up a fellow student: keep your bloody thumbs tucked in! I didn't have my gloves so was free sparring 'naked' (so to speak) and as I thumped him (with a good straight punch I might add!) I caught a hard part of him and as my thumb wasn't tucked tightly round correctly I whacked the end of it which drove it backwards and stressed the first joint. (the carpometaparpal joint apparently! see below) Bollocks, it hurts. But as I said I'll learn. Hopefully ... I'm fairly sure I've done this before! 

Subsequent bag work was good as I was then obliged to tuck it in firmly to contact correcty without further injury.

As it was the last lesson of the year we went for a curry afterwards. The company was great but the Curry Queen on Mill Rd has gone done the swanny for sure....

Torn muscles and tempers

"BLOODY OUCH!", I said the other day during a Tang Soo Do session. Early on in the warm-up I stooped over and suddenly I felt a "BANG" in my lower back over to one side. After the initial shock of the pain I realised it wasn't going to magically go away. I was most annoyed. Mostly because I didn't warm myself up properly as I should and as I like to before the 'official' warm-up started. This pre-lesson warm-up gives me the time to stretch in a personal way: I know my body best ans know where I need to put in a certain amount of attention, stretch more here, give more attention to the feet and ankles (especially in winter!). But that day I was annoyed at myself, mostly as I wouldn't be able to continue the lesson.

But I did. Reckless I know but I was working on the assumption that keeping it moving (gently) wasn't going to do it as much harm as stopping dead. I have since learned that putting an ice pack on a muscle tear is probably the best thing just afterwards. I came home had a bath and popped some ibuprofen.

I checked some details about muscle repair this evening and from what I can tell (although I'm no expert) as a muscle tear heals it will form scar tissue which is less flexible generally. During this healing period it is therefore an idea to gently stretch out the muscle to try and maintain some of the previous flexibility and build this in to the newly healing part of the muscle. Of course I'm not doing it if it hurts but an interesting point as I think I'd have just left well alone till it was completely healed otherwise. This is a great article!

"Gradually training muscles specifically in eccentric contractions is helpful in reducing muscle strain injuries." Not sure what this means.... :-)

More DOMA blog articles about injuries in the martial arts.