MMA
or Mixed Martial Arts is the fusion of
different styles of traditional martial arts. The best aspects of disciplines
such as kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, muay thai, Brazilian jiu jitsu, karate and judo, mixed all
in one to form an effective and complete fighting style, where two mixed martial arts professional athletes
face each other in a cage under right rules that protect them from severe
damage, but at the same time allow so much action that they have made MMA the fastest growing unarmed combat sport worldwide. Radio Salil et la (2013)
pointed out that “90% of injuries are yield by training itself, which is one of the prime conclusions of the study
carried out on sports injuries,
their prevention and recovery. According to this study, the most affected zones
by lesions are the knee, thigh and ankle.”

IS
THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UFC and MMA?
UFC is the
abbreviation of Ultimate Fighting
Championship, the main organization of MMA
in the world, created in the United
States. The popularity of this organization is what has made people relate
directly to the sport.
“A study of 9 weight divisions of UFC was made, in which it there were 291 injuries over 285 fights i.e.
the injury average of athletic exposure was 51 per 100 fighters/ athletes. Males
fighters (fifty-four injuries per one- hundred athletic exposures) had a higher
average of suffering an injury than
female ones” Stated out by Joseph A. Abboud et al (2018).

WHY
IS PHYSICAL THERAPY SO VITAL DURING PRE AND POST TRAINING / COMPETITION?
The risks of not following preventive protocols can
lead to problems such as muscle
inflammation or rupture, delayed
muscle damage, or fibrillar micro tears. For this
reason, the work performed by the sports physiotherapist
/ physical therapy specialist in Manchester city in the pre and post
training phase allows the prevention of muscle
injuries and optimal muscle recovery.
As part of these prevention assignments, MY Sports Injury | Manchester injury specialists recommend applying a topical anti-inflammatory
before and after sports activity,
because thanks to its heat effect, it helps to prepare the muscles and joints.

WHAT
ARE THE MOST COMMON INJURIES IN MARTIAL ARTS?
Martial
arts
can lead to a wide variety of injuries.
The type of injury often depends on the particular martial art form of being
performed. Many forms of martial arts are non-contact
and are characterised by overuse
injuries. Contact martial arts
vary widely in their techniques, standards, and protective equipment and these
factors affect the type and rates of
injury.
“A figure of 55
martial arts practitioners with an age average (18-39 years) was included in
the research that showed 207 injuries, in
which high belt ranks had significantly fewer
injuries compared to low belt ranks and Amateur fighters showed fewer severe
injuries than Professional fighters.
Most frequent parts of the body impaired were face, neck and head obtaining 38, 2% of prevalence, in
second place was found the lower limbs
30, 4 % of recurrence, upper limbs
22, 7% of incidence, trunk region 8,
2 per cent and groin area presented
0, 5 per cent. Injuries in specific areas such as toe, nose and shoulder displayed to be the most
common with 6, 3% all of them. Contusions
with 29, 4% continued by strains
with 16, 2% of prevalence, next, sprains
with 14, 9% of frequency and finally abrasions
10, 1%, they were the most frequent
injuries found in the study” Lt. Charles E. Rainey (2009).

THE
MOST FREQUENT INJURIES IN CONTACT MARTIAL ARTS.
- Concussion; common symptoms of
concussion include headache, dizziness, nausea, balance problems,
concentration difficulties, and memory problems. Martial arts that use kicks and
blows to the head are more prone to causing concussions.
- Face / eyes / ear /
nose; kicking or punching can result in minor
injuries such as cuts, bruises and lacerations. These types of injuries can be minimized by selecting
the martial arts style, coupled with
proper training and the correct use of protective equipment.
- Neck; minor neck
injuries, such as bruises and abrasions, are the most common.
However, some forms of martial arts, such as jiu-jitsu, judo, and mixed martial arts, do allow the choking techniques that can result
in loss of consciousness. It is
important to understand the risks of different forms of martial arts and always train under proper supervision.
- Extremities; limb injuries
include cuts, bruises, sprains, and strains. Joint fractures and dislocations are less common, but can
occur, particularly in styles that use joint
locking techniques.
“The injuries mainly occurred in MMA are muscle contusions.
In Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Aikido, Fight, muscle contusion is the main
sports injury. After monitoring more than 5000 competitors, 65% of them have suffered a muscle contusion. Being this the cause that is repeated the most
times regardless of the category or gender of the competitors.”

“Throughout the course of 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games
within judo/ martial arts matches, it
was observed that the average number of sports
injuries due to the practice of martial
arts was about 11% i.e. musculoskeletal
contusions, tears, cramps and sprains represented the most frequent injuries usually affecting shoulders, fingers and the knee” Gerhard
Ruedl et al (2013).

“Throughout the course of 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games
within judo/ martial arts matches, it
was observed that the average number of sports
injuries due to the practice of martial
arts was about 11% i.e. musculoskeletal
contusions, tears, cramps and sprains represented the most frequent injuries usually affecting shoulders, fingers and the knee” Gerhard
Ruedl et al (2013).
Muscle
injuries can be classified according to many factors: mechanism of production, time
of evolution, location of the injury.
LET’S
CLASSIFY THEM ACCORDING TO THE PRODUCTION MECHANISM:
Extrinsic (factors outside
our body): muscle contusion.
Intrinsic (factors related
to our own movement): muscle tear, elongation, strain, muscle cramps.
To know the extent of a muscle injury it is necessary to use diagnostic tests such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging. Only through this type of test we can get
to know how the tissue is. The recovery time will depend on the amount of
muscle tissue that is affected, the place of production, age of the subject and
the assistance of your health care
provider in this case musculoskeletal
clinicians / physical therapy practitioners.
“Magnetic
resonance imaging has been widely used to accurately assess and diagnose musculoskeletal injuries. MRI has been well received and accepted
as a diagnostic method by trauma
physicians and specialist
physiotherapists due to its accuracy, emphasizing its use in conditions
caused by accidents and sports-related injuries” Conveyed by A
L Deutsch, J H Mink (1989).
A term widely used in rehabilitation and one of the most frequent injuries in sports, we refer directly to the musculoskeletal system, since this is where these common injuries occur. Within sports we are subjected to a lot of impact, jumps, changes of direction,
over efforts, which together can
cause the muscle to begin to damage, generating adhesions at the muscular
level. But when the intensity exceeds the limits of resistance at the muscular
level, inflammation or muscle contusion
occurs, generating a lot of inability to execute certain types of movements
and in turn a lot of pain when pressing the damaged muscle, thus confirming a muscle contusion.
HOW
CAN PHYSIOTHERAPEUTIC MANAGEMENT ASSIST TO TREAT MUSCLE CONTUSION?
The treatment is conservative
since the athlete is asked to
continue executing movement during the treatment as well as therapeutic
isometric work; physical agents are applied to the injured area. Within this
type of pathologies, the use of invasive techniques such as dry needling is recommended. Some of
strategies and treatment choices during a physiotherapeutic
/ soft tissue therapy session to return to the prior level of proficiency
are:
Ice.
Anti-inflammatory drugs.
Interferential electrotherapy.
Laser therapy.
Isometric exercise.
Proprioceptive exercise.
Dry Needling Acupuncture.
“A huge variety of non-surgical strategies to treat acute and severe injuries and musculoskeletal
disorders are utilised i.e. the main focus is to minimize and avoid future
damage to the injured area, decrease edema and haemorrhage, ease spasm and
pain, and encourage healing. Moreover, muscle
injuries due to its nature demand a functional approach from acute stage
until the aim of returning to sport, conservative
management is highly effective for
these muscle contusion injuries and one
of its immediately treatment options is RICE which means rest, ice, compression and elevation” Research made by L.
Baoge et al (2012).

Rest after activity is an extremely important component of any treatment program once an anatomical
structure is injured, the healing process begins immediately. If the
injured structure is not allowed to rest and it receives external pressure and
stress, the healing process has no chance to start.
Rest does not mean that the athlete does nothing, the
term rest concerns the part of the body injured during this period, the athlete
must continue to work on their cardiovascular capacity and perform
strengthening and flexibility exercises in other parts of the body that have
not been affected.
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