If you’ve trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for long enough then you may be well aware of the risks related to the sport and arthritis. In short, BJJ can create and increase your chances of getting arthritis and this is not a myth. The good news is that there are certain precautions that you can take to avoid arthritic pain or reduce it massively. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see older, veteran grapplers taking these precautions whilst training.
What’s more good news is that you don’t really hear of anyone quitting due to arthritis. Nonetheless, for those who want a longer life on the mats, there are a few rules to follow. By taking these simple steps, you can increase your longevity significantly and look after your long-term health both in the gym and outside of the world of BJJ.
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How does BJJ cause arthritis?
There are several reasons why BJJ increases your chance of getting arthritis. Perhaps the biggest culprit is with your fingers and specifically gripping in the gi. There is a specific term for this that is called ‘death grips’ that is commonly associated with white belts. This describes when someone is stuck in tunnel vision and grips the gi incredibly hard.
Whilst this may give you an advantage momentarily, these grips cannot be sustained and will eventually burn out. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see newcomers moaning about tendonitis and finger pain. If you train like this with an emphasis on strong grips, sadly you may lean towards getting arthritis as a result.
The second most common reason for arthritis in BJJ isn’t due to gripping. Instead, it’s based on injuries that are probably less intentional. For instance, if you break your arm by a throw or armbar and don’t rehab it correctly, the joint may not heal properly. This means that after a while, the bone may stiffen up, especially during colder climates. The more you use this joint in BJJ, the more it will get worn down and sore.
Eventually, it will lose a lot of movement. Of course, this isn’t just applicable to arms. It applies to most joints in your body, including toes, feet, knees, hips, ribs, back, neck, elbows and fingers. Sadly, at some point, the reality is you will injury one of these areas. The key is to look after it correctly. Although this is bad news, read on to see how to lessen your arthritic pains.
Looking to the future
In BJJ, arthritis is often associated with older grapplers. Whilst this is true, it should act as a stark warning to those who are young and more willing to ruin their bodies. You may have been told often to roll light and to rest properly by those with experience. Sadly, a lot of people ignore this. However, thinking about it logically, why would you somehow bypass arthritis and get away with it? The reality is that you won’t. So, instead of having a short-term approach, you should look to the future and appreciate that your body is important and protecting it is key.
Perhaps the biggest advocate of this message would be John Danaher. For all his knowledge and wisdom, he has a crippled hip. This is from years of BJJ and martial arts. His pain is so chronic that after several surgeries, he has to walk with a cane and has a bad limp. His start student Gordon Ryan claims that Danaher’s knowledge far surpasses his own. However, sadly for Danaher, his body is too destroyed. This shows that you should take arthritis seriously, even as a youngster.
Changing your rolling style will lessen your arthritis
Moving away from a grip-based game
Often, you will see older grapplers gravitate towards no gi as they get older. This isn’t a coincidence and is usually a conscious decision. The reason for this is that after many years in, they feel that the gi is just too hard on their fingers and forearms. Whilst it may sound extreme, some drop the gi completely and start training exclusively in no gi. However, it doesn’t have to be this extreme. One way to avoid burning your fingers out is to minimize grips completely, even in the gi.
For example, instead of playing spider guard or with lapels, you treat the gi as if it was no gi. This may give your opponent’s an advantage, but over time you will adapt and should do ok. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to give up on lapel chokes and you may choose to occasionally make gi grips. However, the point is to move away from relying on grips. Typically these guards include spider, worm, lapel and lasso styles that are all heavy on the hands. The beauty of BJJ is that you can play various games and styles. From passing to guard, you can get buy without focusing on gripping the gi and it isn’t essential.
Further, if you insist on using gi grips then you can aid your prevention by taping your fingers. There are various methods to do this but the idea is to stop your fingers from bending too far and offering support. You may be surprised at how tape can help decrease the feeling of strain on your fingers, which is why it’s a popular sight in BJJ. Similarly, you can also improve the efficiency of your grips.
As mentioned, death grips are not ideal, however, intelligent, efficient grips are. Next time you roll with a black belt, look out for their grips. Subtle nuances such as the hand angle or finger positions can add power without compromising your body’s safety. This is a skill to learn and can considerably reduce the risk of arthritis. This philosophy is based on prevention, now we shall look at cure.
Using supplements and taking rest
Perhaps the most famed forms of recovery are fish oil tablets and protein. Fish oil keeps your bones supple, whilst protein keeps your muscles strong which will in turn protect your bones. As a result, you will prevent arthritis. Further, you can add other supplements such as curcmin to your diet that fights of inflamation. Curcumin is considered by some as a miracle pill that can help ward off pains due to its super healing qualities.
The positives of these supplements are that they’re all very cheap. We’re not talking about stem cell therapy here. The average batch of fish oil that lasts a month will cost less than $5. If this is the price of keeping you healthy, then it sounds like a good deal. On the other hand, one issue with supplements is that they aren’t magic.
As the title says, these are literally used to supplement your diet and not work as some kind of potion. The result is that you will have to be patient with supplements and not expect results overnight. Be careful not to buy into bogus pills either. These can be expensive and ineffective, so make sure you do your research before purchasing.
The second piece of advice is to literally rest when you feel pains in your limbs. For instance, if you have a notoriously bad knee then you can take a few days off. BJJ will still be there when you return, but otherwise, you risk the chance of overtraining and really harming your joints.
Further, if you feel pain in the gym then you can simply sit-out. Whilst your ego may not like this, your long-term health should justify short-term feelings of annoyance. Again, if you feel pain after a session, then you can even put ice on the sore spot. This will reduce inflammation and aid recovery.
Talking of recovery, stretching and yoga will also help massively. If in doubt, go and talk to a physiotherapist. These people are dedicated to finding sore spots and showing the correct stretches to help improve your body in this area. For instance, with tendonitis, you can successfully stretch the ligaments out by elongating your hands. This makes the tendons warm and avoids them from becoming stiff, which is key in defending against arthritis. The main takeaway here is to take it easy and to train smart.
The final solution, surgery
This is the option that no one likes to hear, albeit it can be very effective. No one enjoys surgery for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, surgery is something you may have to consider. This should only be done as a last resort, but ultimately you should know if your body feels bad. Surgery basically ignores prevention and cure and resets the body.
This may not always work as you hoped, but it can significantly recover your body. In BJJ, surgery is commonly used on the neck after years of chronic pain. If approached with the correct rehab, you can seriously improve your neck mobility and avoid potential arthritis.
Perhaps the main issue is that people rush to return too quickly after surgery which undoes the positive work. Sometimes as well, some people’s bodies just don’t respond that well which may be due to genetics, but the results are the same. However, if you are desperate then surgery is a good option. There’s no shame in having surgery as you age and generally, most black belts have had at least one operation. This is a testament to how brutal BJJ can sometimes be on the body and shows the long-term sacrifices.
A combination of the above is best in fighting arthritis
For some, the battle against arthritis may be the hardest roll of their lives. However, by combining the above, you can drastically increase your quality of life. In brief, this means improving your diet with supplements, changing your rolling style to avoid hard grips and also getting adequate rest to avoid re-injuring yourself. By equipping yourself with these qualities, you will undoubtedly increase your training life. With this in mind, if you are struggling with arthritis then give them a go, you have little to lose…
