“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.”
~Blaise Pascal
I got my purple belt in Jiu Jitsu not that long ago, but five days before testing I herniated the C6/C7 disc in my neck. I didn't know that initially, I just knew my arm felt like it was going to fall off. Like a lot of athletes, you get banged up, strain muscles, pull thing, tweak things, pinch nerves, and whatever else...you just push through. I treated this injury like any other, I just tried to push through. Because of my upcoming Purple belt test I was going to give it some rest and see if it would heal up, but as the days went on the pain in my arm got worse. Unfortunately I couldn't get on the mats for my purple belt test, so I watched from outside the cage (our matt is in a cage). I was still given my belt and told I owed a test which I will be thrilled to go through!! It's now been a month and change since that injury took me off the matt and I will likely not be back on the mat until January. An MRI revealed a herniated disc which could end up with surgery, but I am hoping to avoid that. So, now what?
Well, this isn't my first time with an injury that has taken me off the mat, I broke, dislocated, and tore a ligament in my pinky...yes, all at once. It required surgery and took me off the mat for 8 weeks total. I thought that was a long time. I've already been out a month and the chances are I'm looking at two more at a minimum. That's a quarter of a year. I found ways to train then, and I'm finding ways to train now. I can't get on the mat at all and this time around, I can't really run. Often times when I have an injury I can run to keep in shape if I miss more than a week. This time I cannot, and I can't just muscle through it. So what an I doing?
Being injured stinks, no doubt, but it is also an opportunity. See the opportunities and exploit those. Don't quit, just shift your training and get back to it as soon as possible.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJohn Byrne is a pastor who has been spouting off his opinions his entire life (just ask his mom). This little blog is his venue for continuing in this tradition. Archives
June 2023
Categories |