The Benefits of Injuries

[Razor]

Over the past 2 years I have had many injuries. Some have passed, but most have stayed within my body. By that I mean a hamstring injury and contussions on either ankle and heel. Also, a deformation in my breastbones and scoliosis which I have had since the age 8.

Thanks to listening some audiobooks about Zen for the past few months, I have come to an understanding that there really is no good or bad in the REAL world. Everything just is. It is we who label things as either good or bad. But that is just how we humans are made. And this type of duality is what makes life such a great experience.

We can choose to either look at the positive side of things, or the negative. I have chosen to see the positive even in the negative! And I have listed here all the positive things about injuries I came about a week ago. I listed them during a good training session since at that moment my mind was getting a lot of oxygen and came up with some very good answers.

Benefits of injuries:

1) You will learn how to treat the injury by either a medical personnel or someone else. So, in the future you will already have the knowledge on how to deal with an injury if it should happen again or if someone else has it.

2) You will start to have an understanding of how that particular place in your body works or operates (if you do not have that knowledge, yet). You will start to see the body as a whole rather than a machine that consists of parts that don't interrupt others. Everything is connected.

3) You will have learned something new about yourself. More precisely, you will know your weak spot (if the injury happened after a certain move in your sport). This makes you relook at your training schedule - either to modify it or to substitute one exercise for another.

4) You will start to know how badly you really want to do your sport or achieve your goals. If you feel really down and don't think you have got a chance to regain your former strength after an injury, then probably you didn't really WANT IT in the first place. But when you still have a strong desire during and after the injury, then you may be sure that you are on the right path.

5) You will become more aware of your body in different situations because you will start to observe the injured muscle/bone/ligament in different situations and in under stress.

6) You will get to know more people who are willing to help you get over your injury. E.g. medics, sports doctors, physiotherapists, trainers, etc.

7) You will get new knowledge in biology, traumatology, different ways of treatment, and so on.

For now, these are the benefits I have come up with having an injury. So, in a way, I am actually thankful for my injuries. I hope that you too will start to look at your injuries as something good for you rather than bad.

Razor

[Big Jew]

True That Brotha!

Last year, I was laid out for almost three months away from doing any martial arts training with a dislocated shoulder and a dislocated floating rib from MMA. I learned to improve and focus on the parts of my body that were not hurt while those injured areas healed. I basically could only do leg work and really focus on my diet, which was much needed. That in itself gave me much improvement.

I been back in MMA training for a couple months now and better then ever. Those injuries are no longer a bother and I truly appreciate coming out on the other side.

[cheesedog]

EXCELLENT!!! One of the best things I have read in a long time.

Can someone make this a sticky?

[timfortehwin]

That's a great and very optimistic thread to read! ;-)

By the way.. where do you feel your scoliotic pain to a certain degree? I was diagnosed with it sub-clinically (X-Ray) and felt chronic lower back pain for some time, but I question whether that was the cause of all my pain or not..

[Dominator350]

Thats the spirit! i gotta hip bone that clicks when i walk, my backs in the shape of an s, and im missing an ear, but only wimps let stuff like that bother them!

[Razor]

That's a great and very optimistic thread to read! ;-)

By the way.. where do you feel your scoliotic pain to a certain degree? I was diagnosed with it sub-clinically (X-Ray) and felt chronic lower back pain for some time, but I question whether that was the cause of all my pain or not..

Scoliosis has actually made one of my shoulders higher than the other. So, whenever I carry something on both of my shoulders, e.g. my schoolbag, for some time, e.g. 15 minutes, I will start to feel tension under my left scapular bone.
And when I have sit behind a schoolbench for too long, tension will build up under my right scapular bone. But my lifting trainer, who is also a masseur, gave me an exercise to strengthen those areas.

I just have to stand my back against a wall with the hands in a pushup-type position and my feet a few feet away from the wall. Then I will push with my elbows against the wall and lift my back and head from the wall.

At the beginning my trainer suggested to do this exercise for 1 min each time after I feel any bad sensations in that area.

Have tried it only few times to feel any strengthening of the scapular area.

Try it out yourself and tell me how it feels.

Razor

[timfortehwin]

Yeah I feel it under my scapula too, so I will give it a go. Thanks very much.

[ABHPage]

Thats the spirit! i gotta hip bone that clicks when i walk, my backs in the shape of an s, and im missing an ear, but only wimps let stuff like that bother them!


You are missing an ear ? How did that happen ?

[bladerunner]

Great post Razor thanks for sharing your insight. I'm going through physiotherapy for an injured shoulder right now and still working out. I'm learning alot about how my body works and myself as well.