Mike Piekarski is a BJJ black belt and a qualified PT who is a clinical orthopedic specialist. He is a regular on instagram under the handle doctor kickass.
In his most recent post the doctor shared an image which shows general recovery rates from BJJ related injuries. It should be noted that these are general recovery times and not medical advice.
Each injury sustained will be different, for example one ACL tear might be far deeper and at a worse angle than another. This could potentially add on months of recovery time. In addition to this, your age, overall health and commitment to rehab is going to have a big impact on how fast you are back on the mats.
Dr Mike showed the average recovery times for certain injuries are as follows:
AVERAGE Healing Times:
* Muscle strain (Grade 1) 0-2 weeks
* Muscle strain (Grade 2) 2 weeks – 3 months
* Muscle strain (Grade 3) 4 weeks to 6 months
* Ligament sprain (Grade 1) 4-30 days
* Ligament sprain (Grade 2) 3 weeks to 3 months
* Ligament Sprain (Grade 3): 7 weeks to 1 year
* Tendon (Acute tendinitis): 3 weeks to 8 weeks
* Tendon (Laceration): 5 weeks to 6 months
* Bone: 5 weeks to 3 months
* Ligament Graft: 3 months to 2 years
He outlined the biggest 2 factors of returning to BJJ training are time (meaning that the surrounding tissue has had enough time to heal properly) and whether the practitioner is able to perform all of the movements BJJ requires with power, mobility and stability.
