Guest post by Dr Kickass, Mike Piekarski, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Former MMA Fighter, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. Follow him on instagram.

This was a great article by @athletesmd who looked at injury patterns and risk factors for jiu jitsu athletes over a 3 year period.

Key Findings:

The knee was the most common injured joint (27.1%), followed by the shoulder (14.6%)

The most common mechanism of Injury were submissions (23.4%), defending a takedown (16.9%) and defending a guard pass (13.8%).

Most common submissions that lead to an injury : Armbar (22.4%), Kimura (12.6%) and Heel Hook (11%)

Most injuries occurred in rolling (77.6%), followed by drilling (11.4%) and competition (9.6%).

Risk factors for injuries – older age and being an active competitor.

Most common behavioral changes after an injury were stretching more (20.4%) and nothing (18.7%)

Injuries are an unfortunate aspect of jiu jitsu, with a high incident rate of 68.8% keeping a jiu jitsu athlete out for >2 weeks due to an injury in a 3 year period.

Overall this article presented very important and educational content for the jiu jitsu athlete.

Most jiu jitsu athletes try to return to training after an injury haphazardly with no plan or direction. Return to the mats coaching is something that most healthcare professionals are terrible at. If you are struggling with injuries or injury management feel free to DM me to develop a plan.

Reference:
Hinz, M., Kleim, B. D., Berthold, D. P., Geyer, S., Lambert, C., Imhoff, A. B., & Mehl, J. (2021). Injury patterns, risk factors, and return to sport in Brazilian jiu jitsu: a cross-sectional survey of 1140 athletes. Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 9(12), 23259671211062568.