Welcome to my little corner of the internet. If you've ever read the Five Love Languages, you know what I mean when I say my language is gifts. If you haven't read it, basically, the book says everyone feels love in slightly different ways: some people like verbal affection, others prefer touch, gifts, time or acts of service. When you have someone in your life who really understands your language, it makes everything feel just a bit better. A few years ago, I had a friend who intuitively knew my love language, and she was always surprising me with little gifts – my favourite was one afternoon when she "kidnapped" me and took me to get a massage. If you know someone who loves gifts, check out the ideas in my blog. I want to guide and help people who need ideas and inspiration. Enjoy reading.
Massages and Other Personal Treats as Gifts
MMA Physiotherapy and the Prevention of Injury
Noa Hubert
The Rise of Hybrid Fighting
With the increase in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), martial arts are becoming a fun and exciting way of exercising and increasing personal fitness. Mixed martial arts, the hybrid style used in the UFC and commonly known as MMA, encompasses various fighting styles from across the globe. Whether it's Muay Thai from Thailand or Jiu Jitsu from Brazil, MMA and martial arts specific clubs can be found in just about any major city in the world.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: The Flexible Art
One of the most popular and used fighting styles is known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). It's a grappling art closely related to the Japanese style of Judo, with a greater emphasis on ground submissions. In order to allow participants to successfully submit an opponent, flexibility training is incorporated into each session to ensure a grappler is able to out maneuver his or her opponent. A lot of emphasis is placed upon increasing joint strength and range of motion, particularly in the legs and hips which play a huge role in defensive stances. As with any sport, this brings with it a degree of risk that can result in injuries caused from placing excessive strain on joints and muscles. To help to combat this, many larger clubs have incorporated physiotherapy departments that help to educate individuals and provide support to allow them to continue to train safely.
Physiotherapy in MMA
Organisations such as the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy offer advice and guidance on how to minimise the risk of injury and increase mobility should an injury occur. Prevention is therefore seen as the best approach to take, with many BJJ clubs investing lots of time in dynamic stretching and sports specific movements prior to training. Should an injury occur, the protocol RICE should be followed as soon as possible and for up to 72 hours afterwards. RICE stands for rest, ice, compress and elevate, with the intention of reducing swelling and pain to allow the injured person to recover in the shortest time possible. On occasion, when an injury dictates that a muscle cannot be used for a prolonged period of time, a physiotherapist may provide various exercises to strengthen the muscle and help it to function effectively. Often these exercises use the body's own weight or resistance bands to slowly develop muscular strength and endurance.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Physiotherapy is a profession that continues to support not just MMA, but every other competitive sport currently played. Whilst a registered professional should be sought after in order to provide accurate and safe advice, the simple principles of prevention and the protocol RICE can be followed by everyone.
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