Hi I am a physio and a martial artist doing some informal research as to how many martial artists get injured and if they would be more inclined to do physio if their therapist had an insight in to MA? Please let me know if any one has any views, more than welcome! Thanx
I think it is vital that the physio has some insight into MA, or at least be a sports physio. When I broke my knee in karate due to improper and poor training practices the first physios and doctors I saw were going to consider me "cured" as long as the break was healed and I could walk relatively normally again. For me, that wasn't good enough. I went to sports medicine doctors and rehabed with a sports physio who had a background in kung fu. They understood what level of mobility and flexibility that I needed to be be considering myself "cured". The fact that they understood that MA was important to me and it was something that I wanted to be able to continue to do at a high-functioning level made all the difference in the forms of therapy I had and how hard they pushed me. If they treated me just as a middle-aged housewife who just needed a knee to go shopping with I would have never made the type of recovery I have. So, in short, yes - I am far more likely to seek physio out for injuries now if I know the physio is aware of my needs and the demands I make on my body.
Same as Mrs Owt here too. I had a damaged cartilidge in my second year of MA training - I tried to explain the techniques of my training and I remember that the physio showed little or no interest what so ever. She said I would need an operation and stop training altogether or live my life with a weak knee. I then approached a sports injury clinic and was immediately offered an appointment for a MRI scan - About four months from start to finish I was seen, diagnosed and treated and it was all National Health (not private) and although I do get twinges now and then (normally change of weather/seasons) I have a fully functional knee now and no operation. I would now only go to a sports injury clinic.
Same here. I have used physios in the past who have been content to leave injuries at the day-to-day level, rather than to push on so that you regain the strength and mobility you had prior to the injury. Also, I've found that some physios don't really understand how you might have sustained an injury if they don't know your MA. I remember having to explain exactly how I landed on my left shoulder from a height to someone who looked at me fairly incredulously. Don't know if they don't see you doing this sort of thing because you're female, or because of lack of knowledge of MAs other than karate.
Anyone notcing a pattern here? Have torn ligament 3 times in the same ankle over the years (notice not one injury attributed to TKD - Basketball, Football and Paintball all responsible..... damn ball games! ) NHS Physio was great but just rehabed me back to 'Normal Walking', I appreciate they have a lot of peopl to see and limited resources. After 3 sessions of sports physio I've been stronger and more confident than ever in my foot. Plus the physio wanted a deminstration of all the actions I needed to perform on the opposite ankle in order to get an idea. She came (comes) back to me with detailed info on what moves, where and why which really reassured me that my money is being well spent. Have currently got acccess to sports specific equipment to rebuild my balance which was all helpfull. If I'd had this advice earlier I wouldn't have had to suffer soo much pain. In short, not neccessarily experience, but appreciation for what I do in order to have part of my livelyhood (TKD performs part of my income) would definately sway me toward one physio over another. P.s. Why aren't all physio's sports physio's
I've always had the best treatment from chiropractors and massage therapists that had personal knowledge of martial arts, even if they didn't have a lot of experience with the particular style(s) I trained in. They understood that "normal function" for me was not the same as "normal function" for granny blue-hair or joe six-pack. They also understood that my ability to tolerate discomfort and aggressive treatment was "abnormal" compared to most, and that they could suggest efficiently effective treatment methods that others might find unrealistic. It's a type of personal familiarity that I would advertise if I were a therapist of any kind.
Thanks! Thanks very much guys, really appreciate that, helped me make my mind up! My instructor is opening up a larger do jang with a chinese health clinic in the next two years and I have been offered the oppertunity to open a specialist physio clinic within the same practice! Not only will I be able to teach MA by then but also rehab any injuries specific to MA! PS Not all physios are sports physios because not all injuries are sports related, you get your falls, work related and medical cases that require physio too. Most of us have a bias, and mine is sports, even thought i work in the community at present!
