Boy that was dumb... training injuries...

[GeoGiant]

I've over-trained a body part many times and caused an injury to myself however my latest injury should be subjected to public ridicule.

I was having an issue with soreness in my shoulder so I took a few days off from working out my upper body. I was jumping rope, treadmill, squats, etc. Well, after 3 or 4 days of this I was getting bored so I decided to go to the dojo early one day and get in an ab workout before karate class. I had a nice circuit set up where i was isolating different stomach parts. To end my workout I got out the incline sit-up board. I extended the board to the maximum incline and did 50 sit-ups - all the way down so my head touched the pad, then up to touch the wall. After 50 I feel great, I run a lap around the dojo and back for 50 more. Mid way through the second 50 my tailbone feels a little unconformable but nothing bad so I knock out the rest of the set. I run another lap and return for my final set of 50. After about 10 sit-ups my tailbone hurts so I stop. I figured I got a good ab workout in before class so if I didn't finish the last set, so what. At this point I should have known my body was telling me something because I never think like this, I always finish set. Even if I have to take several breaks, I always finish the set. I never gave my tailbone another thought.

I had a good class, went home ate, and decided to take a shower. I turned the shower water on, jumped in the tub, and I was quite relaxed... until I turned around to let the water hit my back. The moment, I mean the VERY second, that water hit my tailbone I almost screamed! I jumped to the other end of the tub and clenched my fists while the burning sensation slowly subsided. Burning sensation doesn't fully describe what I felt. It felt like I was being branded with a hot iron. I turned off the shower and jumped out of the tub to take a look at my tailbone in the mirror. What I saw *cringe*. I had no skin above OR BELOW my tailbone! It was raw and not raw in a scrap kind-of-way. It was raw in a I think I see bone kind-of-way. I guess it was numb from continued movement is why I didn’t feel it before. I don’t want to be too graphic but when I showed my wife she made a prison reference.

Well, I didn’t sleep that night because any movement caused the skin to pull the wound open. I barely got dressed and went to work. It took me 5 minutes to get in or out of my car. I had to tell people at work that I hurt my lower back. After 2 or 3 days it slowly scabbed over. When I say scabbed over, I mean that a large THICK scab formed above AND BELOW my tailbone. I think you get the picture but I could type “above” and “below” 100 times I don’t think that it depicts what this felt like.

Now after 2 weeks I can laugh about it now. (So far) this is the dumbest thing I have ever done to myself.

Please tell me I'm not alone in doing things like this.

[joesteph]

I can't say that my recent injury is the scare yours is, GeoGiant, but here goes:

During December, I became bolder with jump kicks (for distance, not altitude) against the WaveMaster, and hitting BOB harder and harder. The BOB I used at the dojang for my last class before the Xmas-New Year's break is kind of beat, so the dummy turns. Undaunted, I kept striking hard at BOB's "back," which has less padding against the post than the front does.

I was doing a lot of hard punching, and while doing shovel hooks, felt a pain in my left hand. I kept up the punching, and my hand felt sore at the end of class, but I shrugged it off. Mother Nature gave me the pain warning, and then I think it's called pherenomes that kept me going. Or free will.

I saw the doctor on Friday, and he believes that the pain I still have in my hand is damage to a tendon. I thought a tendon would be injured by strain only, but he said hard blows can do damage, too. My ring finger knuckle is fine; it's the connection from the finger joint into about an inch within my hand--following the tendon line--that's inflamed.

I'm taking an anti-inflammatory and I'll be back in the dojang tomorrow. I'm actually lucky, since I can still do karate, but there are punching limitations I have to incorporate for my left hand.

[Soheir]

GeoGiant: I don't get, How? How could that happen?

[joesteph]

I saw the doctor . . . and he believes that the pain I still have in my hand is damage to a tendon. I thought a tendon would be injured by strain only, but he said hard blows can do damage, too. My ring finger knuckle is fine; it's the connection from the finger joint into about an inch within my hand--following the tendon line--that's inflamed.

I'm taking an anti-inflammatory and I'll be back in the dojang tomorrow. I'm actually lucky, since I can still do karate, but there are punching limitations I have to incorporate for my left hand.

Just had a cortizone shot today in that spot an inch within my hand, right into whatever joint is there. Had to be done. Can't go on with limitations forever.

[Lupin1]

I was practicing my mawashi uke the other day and thought I was doing ok with it so I tried doing it hard and fast just for fun and misjudged where I was putting my hand and drove my (slightly too long to be safe) finger nails right into the soft part of my arm above my elbow. For a few seconds I thought I somehow got some large pieces of soggy paper caught under my fingernails. Until I realized my botched block had taken a good amount of skin with it. I've had to wear long sleeves the past few days to hid the deep red gashes on my upper arm... :-/

[Groinstrike]

While getting out of my vehicle in the gym parking lot this evening, i slipped on the ice, tried to catch myself on the steering wheel of the car and proceded to fall on the door latch inside the car. It took a pretty large sized chunk of skin with it and hurt like crazy.

[bushido_man96]

Ouch. While I was digging for a book in my son's room this evening, which is covered with all kinds of dangers on the floor, I managed to slip and begin to fall. Since everyone in the house was sleeping, I didn't want to wake everyone, so I tried to start catching myself on whatever I could get a hold of. That was the craziest fall I have ever taken. I managed to see everything I could grab onto on the way down, while somehow slowing myself enough to only slightly hurt myself, grinding my left shin on something on the way down to my backside. I tried to grab the bookcase, then the dresser, but managed not to find a hold anywhere. Somehow, I slowed myself some, though. Then, I was so mad afterward, but couldn't let fly with a slew of explitives because I didn't want to wake anyone. So there I was, in silent anger, biting back explitives....man I hate that.

And it wasn't even training related....

[Lupin1]

This wasn't a training injury, but I've got a "boy that was dumb". Last week I punched my kitchen table with more of a hammerfist style blow (more of a "slam your fist on the table", but with the strength of a punch) and nearly broke my hand. I still think I may have a boxers fracture, but there's no swelling and it only hurts right below the knuckle of my pinky finger if I touch it or hit something. Dumb.

[mindsedgeblade]

This wasn't a training injury, but I've got a "boy that was dumb". Last week I punched my kitchen table with more of a hammerfist style blow (more of a "slam your fist on the table", but with the strength of a punch) and nearly broke my hand. I still think I may have a boxers fracture, but there's no swelling and it only hurts right below the knuckle of my pinky finger if I touch it or hit something. Dumb.

That sounds familiar...

I'm sure we've all long since learned how to make a fist, and how to hit with the first two knuckles. Well, last week I was driving my gf to work and we got into a fight. Rather than take my anger out on her, I did basically the same thing. Hit the two weak knuckles on the horn button on my steering wheel.

I have the dubious benefit of prior stupidity, so it didn't do any real damage to me or the truck. She on the other hand, did the same thing several months prior, and her hand was sore for weeks.

[yamesu]

I can't say that my recent injury is the scare yours is, GeoGiant, but here goes:

During December, I became bolder with jump kicks (for distance, not altitude) against the WaveMaster, and hitting BOB harder and harder. The BOB I used at the dojang for my last class before the Xmas-New Year's break is kind of beat, so the dummy turns. Undaunted, I kept striking hard at BOB's "back," which has less padding against the post than the front does.

I was doing a lot of hard punching, and while doing shovel hooks, felt a pain in my left hand. I kept up the punching, and my hand felt sore at the end of class, but I shrugged it off. Mother Nature gave me the pain warning, and then I think it's called pherenomes that kept me going. Or free will.

I saw the doctor on Friday, and he believes that the pain I still have in my hand is damage to a tendon. I thought a tendon would be injured by strain only, but he said hard blows can do damage, too. My ring finger knuckle is fine; it's the connection from the finger joint into about an inch within my hand--following the tendon line--that's inflamed.

I'm taking an anti-inflammatory and I'll be back in the dojang tomorrow. I'm actually lucky, since I can still do karate, but there are punching limitations I have to incorporate for my left hand.

I've done a very similar thing...

I was punching into a wall-mounted-bag after an advanced Kyokushin class one friday night, and as I shovel-hooked, found my wrist collapsed half way through impact.. anyway it started to ache immediately!!!

I iced it straight away and proceeded to the hospital (no GP's open at that time of night) to have x-rays done. The doc told me that I had hairline fractured my wrist. After explaining about my training what had happened, he told me I was lucky that I had done so many wrist strengthening excersizes over the years, as the tendon appearded to have stretched so much it actually fractured the radius bone below the tendon/bone, instead of snapping the tendon.

This meant only 6 weeks out of action instead of 6 months of physio-therapy!!!

In another "DOH" moment... My second week of trying to learn to backflip, I came down onto the mats a bit hard, and collapsed my lower leg, giving me a melon-ankle and circa six weeks out of training action!!!...

I may not be the smartest cookie to begin with, but these are the types of mistakes I learn VERY quickly from! Haha