2 ways I’ve dealt with a BJJ shoulder injury

About a month ago I felt something in my shoulder and it didn’t feel that bad, but slowly the pain progressed to a constant ache that would persist after training. The pain was very uncomfortable and I could just “feel” that something wasn’t right with my shoulder. I looked up a few self-tests to perform and I successfully figured out that my injury was a strained subscapularis (my student who is a PT confirmed my suspicion) which makes up part of the rotator cuff. At this point I came to the realization that either I’m hanging around my Physical Therapist student too much, or I’m getting injured too often. I’ll side with the latter, because I like hanging out with Eugene.

There was a real problem with the timing of the injury. I was heading down to Costa Rica the next week which was going to consist of surfing and training twice a day, so I really wanted to keep my shoulder together for the trip. I did 2 things and they helped immensely. Hopefully, if you’re experiencing shoulder pain, the suggestions listed below will help.

First, I received a deep tissue massage. My PT friend happens to have an awesome wife who is a phenomenal Massage Therapist. I went into her with some serious discomfort in my shoulder. I left with very little. What she explained to me was, “the  source of the pain is rarely the root of the problem.”  I’ve heard this sort of stuff before but it’s important to remember, because often times if something hurts we focus on the site of the pain, rather than focusing on other areas that might actually be causing the pain. Another example of this was I used to experience back stiffness after long walks or time spend standing. I would stretch and strengthen my back continuously. Come to find out after visiting someone smarter than myself, my back pain was caused by an imbalance between back and core strength. In short, my core was too weak and my back was overcompensating for the difference. After working on my core I have not experienced the same back issues.

During the massage I was told that my pec minor, lats and several other muscles (ones that are used over and over again during BJJ) were way to tight. After she worked on them the relief was immediate.

Second, I used some KT (Kinesio) tape. This was my first time giving KT tape a try. I’m not going to say that I didn’t believe it worked, but I was a little skeptical. Up until this point, when I thought of KT tape I thought of Sakuraba during the old days of Pride. The skepticism I had was quickly dashed after the first application. While in Costa Rica I was experiencing some residual pain and an unstable feeling. I had my girlfriend apply the KT tape following instructions on a YouTube video. Again, the effects were immediate. I had a much more stable feeling shoulder and didn’t experience any pain. Just to prove to myself that it was for real and not just a mental thing. I removed the tape and trained. That training session was accompanied by a feeling of instability in the shoulder and pain after. After reapplying the tape, my shoulder felt much better. Now granted rest was needed at the time, I was in Costa Rica surfing and training . . . rest simply had to wait. I continued to train hard and surf for the rest of the week with KT tape and it made a huge difference. I’m now a believer.

If you’re experiencing some shoulder issues, try either of the above, after you’ve had a professional determine what’s causing the issue. A massage by a skilled Massage Therapist can be invaluable. Situations can of course vary, but in mine I felt instant relief after the muscles which are attached to the rotator cuff were rubbed out. In addition, this is not the first time that I’ve had issues resolved via massage. Also, if complete rest is not an option or you want a way to help assist the affected area of your body with day to day activity. Give the KT tape a try. Even when I was off the mats, the tape made a huge difference.

If you’re reading this and your shoulders are feeling a little funky, good luck!

Chewy