11/09/2020
Injury Prevention Tips for Starting BJJ Later in Life
• By Heather Raftery •
It’s intimidating to start anything later in life. Whether it’s going back to school, launching a new business, or starting a new hobby, you have certain considerations that a younger person doesn’t. Because jiu-jitsu is such a physically demanding and dynamic activity, for those starting BJJ in their 40s, 50s, or even later, BJJ related injuries are hands down the biggest concern.
Weaknesses or imbalances in mobility, strength and flexibility are the root causes of the most common jiu-jitsu injuries, for any age group. As you age, these become even more of an issue. Rather than accept it as an unavoidable fact of life, know that there are things - mentally and physically - that you can do to help prevent BJJ injuries and allow you to keep up with those whipper-snappers on the mat.
As an older jiu-jitsu practitioner, you need to be aware of the physical limitations that age imposes upon your body. These will have an impact upon your ability to train, the quality of training you can expect, as well as your risk of injury. These limitations include:
👉 Diminished endurance - As you age, your body’s ability to utilize oxygen effectively will decline, which affect your physical endurance. According to research, an individual’s “maximal ability to utilize oxygen (VO2max)… tends to decline by about 10% per decade after the age of 30” . This means that you will tire faster than your younger training partners, and your movements will not only be slower, but also clumsier, increasing your likelihood of being put into a compromising situation.
👉 Decline in muscle mass – Your body will naturally lose muscle mass as you age. This is called “sarcopenia” and is likely caused by “decreased numbers of muscle stem cells, mitochondrial dysfunction, a decline in protein quality and turnover, and hormonal deregulation.” Research has shown that exercise can prevent, and sometimes reverse, this loss. As an older athlete, however, you need to be smart about how you exercise and what muscle groups you’re targeting.
👉 Increased difficulty in recovering – You’ve probably already noticed that after a grueling workout, or just a long day of general activity, it’s hard to get out of bed as easily the next day. As you age, your ability to recover is not what it used to be. This is due to the decline in cells related to repair and growth. If you try to keep up with the two-a-day training sessions like younger teammates, you’re not allowing your body to properly recover enough to withstand the stresses of jiu-jitsu training, and you’re putting yourself at greater risk of injury.
👉 Limitations from pre-existing injuries – Unless you’ve spent your life in a padded room doing absolutely nothing physical, odds are you’ve already experienced a few injuries in the past. Maybe you’ve fully recovered from them, but more than likely you’ll always deal with a flare-up or some irritation, especially when you overuse that body part. The rigors of jiu-jitsu training will quickly make you aware of any nagging injury you might have.
Because of these, it is critical that jiu-jitsu practitioners over the age of 40 incorporate prehab into their weekly routine.
Prehabilitation (or “prehab”) is founded on a comprehensive knowledge of the musculoskeletal system, and specifically aims to strengthen the muscles and joints, increasing flexibility, and improving range of motion and motor control. These can help to counteract the above limitations of aging.
Even when your endurance has failed you and you feel completely gassed, stronger muscles and joints and improved motor control will better equip your body to handle the physical stress of moving in a less-than-efficient manner. The prehab workouts themselves will help to slow the loss of muscle mass, particularly in those high-injury-prone areas. Rest and proper nutrition are the most important elements for recovery, but if you do choose to train when you’re not properly recovered, the improvements in your strength, flexibility, and range of motion obtained through prehab will give you that added bit of support to withstand rigorous activity without breaking apart. Finally, a tailored prehab routine will consider your pre-existing injuries, and work toward improving those areas, at the same time it’s targeting those general weaknesses and imbalances that haven’t yet manifested into an injury.
The key, of course, is committing to making prehab part of your training routine. You can’t reap the benefits if you aren’t doing it… or doing it consistently enough. Also, you can’t just follow any old one-size-fits-all routine you find on the Internet. An effective prehab routine will identify your particular weaknesses, incorporating them as target areas in a well-rounded, individualized routine.
This is wherein lies the strength of BJJ Prehab; utilizing a comprehensive preliminary assessment, it builds automatic, personalized programming, taking the guesswork completely out of the equation. Additionally, as you follow the programming, your routines are updated to reflect your improvements or any new areas of concern. The best part is that all the programming is designed by Mike Pellegrino, who, as a longtime black belt with a PhD in Physical Therapy, has accumulated a wealth of knowledge pertaining specifically to jiu-jitsu injuries. For example, through his experience, he’s identified the major trouble areas for those practitioners over the age of 40 are typically the knees, lower back and hips.
The most important thing to remember – both in your jiu-jitsu career, as well as dealing with injuries or working toward improving your strength, flexibility and mobility – is to be patient with progress. You can improve your weaknesses and counteract the limitations of age, but it takes work, and you won’t see results as fast as when you were younger. Feeling and seeing results takes time. However, with dedication and consistency in your prehab, you should expect to see a difference in your joints and muscles after 4-6 weeks. The better your body feels, the more you will be able to train and improve your jiu-jitsu. It’s a win-win.
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Written by Heather Raftery for BJJ Prehab
About the author: Heather Raftery is an Atos black belt, freelance writer and social scientist (BA in Journalism and Anthropology, MA in International Studies). She has written for FloGrappling, Jiu Jitsu Magazine, Fighters Market and BJJ Prehab.
