Karate Injuries and What to do by Steve Denoo


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  Please Remember, Hard training is not recommended for those under 16 years of age, your body is growing. Those individuals under 18 years of age must get permission from a parent or guardian before starting training. Do not do this on your own. Join a qualified school. Always consult a physician before beginning any exercise program. Train at your own risk. These training methods only reflect my personal experience, I cannot be held responsible for any injury to yourself or someone else resulting from attempting to train in these techniques. Use this training wisely. Karate is more for the protection of your loved ones than self defense, therein lies the difference.

 

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Breathing is 1st, Bleeding is 2nd, Shock is the 3rd Priority in treatment of injuries.

Someday you may be injured and not be able to train. This is a look at what to do. As with most things you get out of it what you put into it. Hard training or sparring may result in injuries. Sparring injuries if serious should be addressed by a physician.
However when you do work hard you may injure yourself. You need to know what to do, so the injury is not perminant. It may set only part of your training back. You should try to come to class if you are able. Study your techniques and meditate on them. Meditate on your kata. You may find you come out better.
Cardiovascular endurance is a limiting factor in increasing intensity This occurs because of improper breathing techniques. If you are short of breath you need to work on breathing.

Pain

You may have heard, "No Pain, no Gain," soreness is one thing but pain is something else. When you work your muscles, they produce energy and tend to go into an "anaerobic" state, which means energy is being produced without the benefit of avaliable oxygen. The muscle produces a waste product called lactic acid. The presence of excessive amounts of lactic acid is what gives you sore muscles the next day. When too much lactic acid is present you can no longer contract your muscles no matter how hard you try. It is not a harmful state and you can continue through it.
Pain is a warning that you have damaged your self. It is telling you to stop. There is no working through this one. Stop. Otherwise you will do real damage. The first item to do with your recovery is to Rest the area. Seek medical help.

Soreness

Intensity is the measure of how hard you worked out. The more intense the workout the more recuperation time your body needs. There are a lot of complex biochemical processes that occur when a muscle is worked. The glycogen in the muscle is used up. The body must recruit more muscle fibers to help in the work. If they are not present the body will make them. Muscle soreness follows hard workouts and is common. I was told when I was in training, if you did not hurt the next day, you did not work out hard enough the previous day. So I always tried to work to the point that I hurt to move the next morning. This type of soreness is the reslult of the minor damage that occure in the muscle as you use them intensely, and it is often more painful two days later if you do not work the area lightly the next day. It is believed that this soreness is really originating in the tendons and ligaments.
Generally you can train despite the soreness, and will start to feel better as you pump blood through the muscles involved flushing out the lactic acid. The way to make progress is consistancy. Try to work out regularly. Overtraining cn cause tears in your muscles, and these take a long time to heal. Training too hard and too long is the cause here. When you feel more than the normal fatigue, discouraged perhaps it is time to call it a night. In class your instructor is supposed to watch out for you in this. These problems usually occur when training on your own. Too much of a good thing is bad. Quit when you are ahead. It will allow you to come back for more...

Setbacks

When you do have a serious injury, you need to take care of it. You will find that if you treat the injury properly, it will come bakc stronger than before. A broken bone wil heal stronger than before it was broken. Time is important in healing. Once the injured part is healed, you can work it as hard as you did before. Again, when one area of the body is injured the whole body is not injured. You can work on the other areas. Usually when you have an injury it is because you are out of balance. One part is stronger than another. Work your body completely as taught in class. What you do on the right side do on the left.

Initial Treatment

The initial treatment for these injuries is rest, and the injured area must be protected against further injury.
For a strain, rest and avoid the aactivity that caused the injury.
In a more severe injury to the leg, crutches may be required for complete or partial limitation of weight on the area. Bed rest may be required to elevate the leg allowing blood the flow in and out of the area. Compression and splint may be also required. Ice may also be required to prevent swelling. Rest/Ice/Immobilization/Compression/Elevation are the steps to follow.

Spasms and Cramps

Muscle spasm is another sign of strain. It is a sudden, often violent contraction of the muscle. This is a protective reflex action that the body uses when it senses it needs to guard an area until proper recovery has occured. It may last for an extended time or be short. It is also a sign that not enough water has been consumed.

Tendinitis

Overuse may cause tendinitis. and inflammatory condition of the synovium which lines the dendon sheath and surrounds the tendon. One of the most common examples is in the shoulder or elbow. In the early stages use the same treatment as above. Compress the area if possible and avoid stressing it. It often will heal if you let the area rest. After the area is healed you may resume the training that caused the problem in the fist place, but start easy. If you feel pain, stop. This often occurs with weight lifters. Too much, too long, not enough rest.

Is the person Conscious ?

When someone goes down on the ground, you need to immediatly find out if they are conscious. Tap the shoulder firmly but gently and shout, "Are you OK?" A person who is conscious will respond and not have stopped breathing. Keep looking for consciousness. Do not shake the person! You may have a neck injury.
An uncouncscious person may have stopped breathing, so always check the breathing first. You then only have a couple minutes to restart their breathing if it is stopped before brain damage begins. Usually less than 4 minutes.

First

If the person is unconscious, is the airway open? Tip the head back to open the airway, check for breathing. Put one hand under the neck, near the base of the skull, and the other hand on the forhead. Gently tip the peson's head way back, until the chin points straight up. If you do not tip the head, the tongue may block the airway. Put our ear close to the mouth and listen, look at the chest or abdomin feel for breath for 5 seconds. If you see the chest rise, and feel air on your cheek, they are breathing. If they have stopped, tipping the head may start the breathing. keep checking.
If the person is not breathing, give 4 quick full breaths. Keep the head tipped and pinch the nose to keep air from escaping, Take a deep breath and open your mouth wide. Cover the victim's mouth with your mouth.
Give 4 big breaths as fast as you can without allowing time for the lungs to deflate between breaths. Don't wait between breaths any longer than it takes to take another gulp of air. Give the breaths right on top of each other, this expands the lungs fully and gives a lot of oxygen quickly.
Check for the pulse on the side of the neck near you. Keep one hand on the victim's forehead to hold the head tipped. Place the fingertips of your other hand on the Adam's apple, then slide your fingers into the groove at the side of the neck. Check for pulse for at least 5 seconds.
If the person is not breathing but has a pulse, give mouth-to-mouth breathing.
If the person is not breathing and does not have a pulse, give CPR.
If you do not know CPR, keep the mouth-to-mouth breathing because the heart may be weakly beeting and they may still be alive. Once you begin Mouth-to-Mouth breathing keep it up until the victim recovers, and medical personnel take over.
After the victim starts breathing again, be sure to watch to make sure they stay breathing.

Prevent Shock

  1. Keep the victim lying down and at a comfortable temperature.
  2. raise the feet and legs if moving the legs does not cause injury or pain.
  3. Call a doctor or ambulance, take the victim to a hospital or life support unit.

Note

If a person has a broken neck or back or if bones in the face may be broken, do not tip the head. You may be able to give breaths after pushing the jaw forward, thrusting the jaw forward without tipping the head. Let your cheek puff out to block the nose when you blow. If a person has had head, face, neck, or back injuries, and you cannot inflate the lungs with the head straight the jaw forward, tip the head only as a last resort.

Black eye

By Mayo Clinic staff

The so-called black eye is caused by bleeding beneath the skin around the eye. Sometimes a black eye indicates a more extensive injury, even a skull fracture, particularly if the area around both eyes is bruised or if there has been head trauma. Although most black-eye injuries aren't serious, bleeding within the eye, called a hyphema, is serious and can reduce vision and damage the cornea. In some cases, glaucoma also can result.
Take these steps to take care of a black eye:
Using gentle pressure, apply ice or a cold pack to the area around the eye for 10 to 15 minutes. Take care not to press on the eye itself. Apply cold as soon as possible after the injury to reduce swelling.
Be sure there's no blood in the white and colored parts of the eye.
Seek medical care immediately if you experience vision problems (double vision, blurring), severe pain, or bleeding in the eye or from the nose.

Bruises

By Mayo Clinic staff

A bruise forms when a blow breaks small blood vessels near your skin's surface, allowing a small amount of blood to leak out under your skin. The trapped blood appears as a black-and-blue mark. Sometimes, there also are tiny red dots or red splotches.
If your skin isn't broken, you don't need a bandage. You can, however, enhance healing with these simple techniques:

  1. Elevate the injured area.
  2. Apply ice or a cold pack for 30 to 60 minutes at a time for a day or two after the injury.
See your doctor if:
  • You have unusually large or painful bruises — particularly if your bruises seem to develop for no known reasons.
  • You bruise easily and you're experiencing abnormal bleeding elsewhere, such as from your nose or gums, or you notice blood in your eyes or your urine.
  • You have no history of bruising but suddenly experience bruises.
  • These signs and symptoms may indicate a more serious problem, such as a blood-clotting problem or blood-related disease.
  • Bruises accompanied by persistent pain or headache also may indicate a more serious underlying illness and require medical attention.

Dislocation

By Mayo Clinic staff

A dislocation is an injury in which the ends of your bones are forced from their normal positions. The cause is usually trauma, such as a blow or fall, but can be an underlying disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Dislocations are common injuries in contact sports. Dislocations may occur in your major joints such as your shoulder, hip, knee, elbow or ankle or in smaller joints such as your finger, thumb or toe. The injury will temporarily deform and immobilize your joint and may result in sudden and severe pain. A dislocation requires prompt medical attention to return your bones to their proper positions.
If you believe you have dislocated a joint:

  1. Don't delay medical care. Get medical help immediately.
  2. Don't move the joint. Until you receive help, splint the affected joint into its fixed position.
  3. Don't try to move a dislocated joint or force it back into place. This can damage the joint and its surrounding muscles, ligaments, nerves or blood vessels.
  4. Put ice on the injured joint. This can help reduce swelling by controlling internal bleeding and the buildup of fluids in and around the injured joint.

Head trauma

By Mayo Clinic staff

Most head injuries are minor and don't require hospitalization. However, dial 911 or call for emergency medical assistance if any of the following signs are apparent:

  • Severe head or facial bleeding.
  • Change in level of consciousness, even if temporary.
  • Black-and-blue discoloration below the eyes or behind the ears.
  • Cessation of breathing.
  • Confusion.
  • Loss of balance.
  • Weakness or an inability to use an arm or leg.
If a severe head injury occurs: Until medical help arrives,
  • keep the person who sustained the injury lying down and quiet in a darkened room,
  • The head and shoulders slightly elevated.
  • Avoid moving the person's neck.
  • Stop any bleeding with gauze or a clean cloth.
  • Observe the person for as long as necessary to be sure the level of consciousness doesn't change.
  • If the person stops breathing, do mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing.

Sprain

By Mayo Clinic staff

Your ligaments are tough, elastic-like bands that attach to your bones and hold your joints in place. A sprain is an injury to a ligament caused by excessive stretching. The ligament can have tears in it, or it can be completely torn apart.
Sprains occur most often in your ankles, knees or the arches of your feet. Sprained ligaments swell rapidly and are painful. Generally the greater the pain, the more severe the injury. For most minor sprains, you can probably treat the injury yourself.
Follow the instructions for P.R.I.C.E.

  1. Protect the injured limb from further injury by not using the joint. You can do this using anything from splints to crutches.
  2. Rest the injured limb. But don't avoid all activity. Even with an ankle sprain, you can usually still exercise other muscles to prevent deconditioning. For example, you can use an exercise bicycle, working both your arms and the uninjured leg while resting the injured ankle on the bike peg. That way you still get three-limb exercise to keep up your cardiovascular conditioning.
  3. Ice the area. Using a cold pack, a slush bath or a compression sleeve filled with cold water all limit swelling after an injury. Try to apply ice as soon as possible after the injury. If you use ice, be careful not to use it for too long as this could cause tissue damage.
  4. Compress the area with an elastic wrap or bandage. Compressive wraps or sleeves made from elastic or neoprene are best.
  5. Elevate the injured limb whenever possible to help prevent or limit swelling.
Call for emergency medical assistance if:
  • You heard a popping sound when your joint was injured or you can't use the joint. This may mean the ligament was completely torn apart. On the way to the doctor, apply a cold pack.
  • You have a fever, and the area is red and hot. You may have an infection.
  • If you have a severe sprain. Inadequate or delayed treatment may cause long-term joint instability or chronic pain.
  • You aren't improving after the first two or three days.
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