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This week we have stories from our listeners. These are stories about getting injured and overcoming the injury. This episode is packed full of great advice for anyone who has been injured, or if you have a teammate that has been injured. It is important to know what to expect and the advice will help get you back on the mat my friends.

Devin Pirata-(14m20s)

Devin was in his junior year of high school wrestling when he sustained what he thought was a shoulder injury. The injury came back in to play years later when he was a blue belt at a hard training camp. He experienced intense pain in his right arm and shoulder. Devin soon lost a lot of muscle mass due to atrophy. He found that he had a complete herniation of c5 and c6 and was told by his doctor that he would never train BJJ again. After neck surgery he was able start training in three months and has since regained the muscle he had lost from the atrophy. Devin occasionally has a stiff neck, but he has no major lasting effects. Devin also gives some great advice for anyone who is going through a similar situation.

Michael Green- (34m40s) Michael suffered a torn labrum from a keylock submission while drilling. This is a very rare situation in BJJ that someone gets injured during the drilling portion of the class. About a month later Michael went to his doctor, he was told that he would need surgery to get better. Michael credits his full recovery to taking his time in getting back on the mat and doing the proper rehab.

Mike- (45m19s)

Given enough time most of us doing BJJ will get ringworm. Normally it is no big deal and can be treated with an over the counter ointment like Lamisil. Mike got ringworm on his scalp. He was given a topical treatment which actually made things worse. It drove it deeper into his skin. It then appeared to go away and come back even stronger, with a resistance to the medicine. He was eventually able to get rid of it with tea tree oil. Mike also talks about how this gave him a condition where he was very sensitive to ringworm and would get it even if he was not on the mat.

Jim- (59m50s) Jim’s back was injured as a young man. About 25 years later his doctor told him that he had a major problem with his back from his old injury and it required surgery. He found the best surgeon he could to do his spinal fusion. Jim gives us a valuable warning about researching surgery online and the people who tell horror stories. BJJ has actually helped him get back into shape and strengthen his back. Jim recommends being in the best shape that you can be in and finding the best surgeon for the job. We then talk about breaking the addiction to the prescription pain killers.

Arielle- (1h23m55s) Arielle shares a recovery story of when she injured her knee. She had a full thickness tear in her ACL, MCL and a partial tear of her meniscus. Her teammates did the drawer test to her leg and they knew that she had torn her ACL. She was on crutches for two months and slowly got back on the mat after about 5 months. Arielle did yoga to help get her knee back to health. After almost a full year she feels that her knee is 85-90% back to normal. Arielle also gives some really good advice about overcoming the mental side of the injury. Check out Arielle’s gym here.

Dusty Grant- (1h42m26s)Our friend Dusty tore his ACL and medial meniscus during his first BJJ competition. The drive home was over 2 hours and his knee got very sore sitting in the car. Dusty got some bad advice from his first doctor and then he went to a specialist and his injury was confirmed. Dusty was off the mat for a little over a year. Today his knee usually feels great, but it is a little stiff sometimes. He credits his recovery to doing the rehab that was prescribed. Dusty is in a great 5-piece metal/hard-rock band called Empire Falling. He also let us play the song “Guilty” for the closing music. Check out Empire Falling here!!

FujiSports.com is giving a listener a free rash guard. There are two rash guard to choose from. The Robo and the Moko.

Quote of the week: “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.”

Article of the week: “Separation Anxiety: How To Instantly Improve Your Guard Game” by Stephen Whittier on http://40plusbjjlive.com/