We've all had them, and if you havent I envy you.
I have a broken toe and look like missing a third week of training (not good for the fitness, skills or belt line)

Interested in what do you do to speed up recovery.
Any secret remedies youd like to share?

Anyone else convalescing?

Well I think for a broken toe, you just need to wait for the bones to heal. But I'm no doctor anyway.

For my normal injuries ie. bruised feet and bruised legs. I usually just massage them for about twenty minutes, after class. That usually stops them from swelling up too much.

I just wish that the leg guard that GKR supplies actually comvered the lower foot, because that's where I always get hurt the most.

just wondering what toe matt? then maybe there is something that can help the recovery, but like brodius says you will need to wait till the break heals, even then training has to be taken slowly so you give it time to knit properly,or so my limited training has taught me, i'm not current at the moment but i was a diving first aid- recovery/occupation first aid certifide in both. another few things i must get around to renewing.

Having pulled a calf moscle at training two weeks ago I am finding the recovery process slow, massaging the bruised area helps. I do a few heal lifts (standing on tip toes) each day and can still feel the tear but as the muscle gets warmer the tension starts to diminish, at this stage I cannot stoop down with all my weight on my injured calf. I to feel the waist line expanding and losing flexibility it's very frustrating but I'm sure it won't be the last injury of this type. I did mine during sparring, having been involved in free sparring for about 30mins then stopping for about 10mins and continuing points sparring but lasting only about a minute before injuring my calf muscle. One thing I have learn't is to stretch and stay mobile during sparring breaks and the challenge will be to keep it out of my head and not think it will happen again and lose confidence which at first will be hard I think. Any tips on treating this type of injury would be appreciated.

One thing with toes especially is that you have to let them heal cos if you aggravate it then it will just take longer... much much longer.


Mick

found THAT one out the hard way mick

not a lot that can be done for toes. I guess Im more wondering if anyone takes anything when they are injured? I hear Glucosamine is good for bodgy joints.

i have this chinese external medicine that a friend put me onto that works a treat.

it's called woodlock and is designed for joints, muscles and blood flow (ie preventing bruises)

ive been using it on and off for the past few months and notice that its immediate effects are short term (instant but lasts only 30 minutes or so) but it's long term effects are great.

unlike deep heat and other such balms it works towards fixing the problem not just relieving the pain NOW.

when i stop using for a couple of weeks i notice the pain coming back
when i use it daily i have no pain at all.

it costs around $20 for 50 mL but you only need the TINIEST amoount for it to work.

i swear by it and so does my friend.

Awesome. Where can you buy that stuff, Woodlock, from? Is it available without a prescription?

no prescription

its just like buying deep heat only better

it IS hard to find though
chinese medicine is always hard to find

if you live in WA i can help you, otherwise i'd have to do a lot of searching
check out any chinese herbalist or martial arts store even.

im sure you can find it

Okie dokie. Thanks.

There's one chinese herbalist in Aitken Drive Winthrop. Dunno the number, but it's along the road

Where's Aitken Drive Winthrop?

it's in WA

my wife was told to get wood lock by her doctor the one that sticks needles in you for her bad back, i used it when i started training again for my calfs that had tied up badly. the indications on the box read and i quote, as an aid for the temporary relief of minor aches, pain of muscles,joints,rheumatism and sprains.

it is ok i guess but it is much like deep heat ect it's only benift is it warms your muscles up before training, and wood lock seems to get a bit deeper in, on the instructions it says to put 2-3 drops on the area and massage in for 15 minutes this will help blood circulation, mmmmmmmmmm ok i think the massaging does that so no wood lock need for that part.

it is not a cure i repeat it is NOT a cure, this reason i didn't post earlyer is i wanted to check out the stuff before i posted. i have asked a friends wife that is in this sort of thing (actually makes her owne oils ect for the family among other things of benift she is real handy to know) and i asked my gp, the same response came back every time great stuff, but if you have anything but a minor problem this cann't help you on it's owne,one tip if you are going to use it both recommend massaging the area for 4/5 mins before applying the stuff this will help it get in deeper.

for the people that like to compare the ingredients of things here is wood locks
campor 4.5g
menthol 17.0g
menthyl salicylate 15.0g
turpentine oil 6.0g
seems alot like other heat balms maybe this has been tweeked here and there but basically the same, well that's the way i read it in black and white

hey...
no one said it was a cure.

all i said was the more i use it the less i feel pain

if i dont use it for a long period of time the pain comes back. (hence NOT a cure)

of course prolonged use of it would help to heal an injury...
like you said, it improves the flow of blood, which helps towards healing.

we're talking injuries here not permanent ailments like arthritis.
of course if you do suffer from something like this there is little to cure the problem, but lots to alleviate immediate and even short term future pain.

ok go back to your first post susan it reads, unlike deep heat and other such balms it works towards fixing the problem not just relieving the pain NOW.

ok so maybe i surfed to much when i should have been at school, but fixing and cure sort of mean the same thing to me taken in the context of your post, but granted deep heat and othe balms work towards the same result, so as i said same breed of dog just different markings.

and the reason i posted it was not a cure, was because i printed you post out and showed it and the wood lock to the people i mentioned. they where the ones that read it and told me to post the reply, so people didn't get the wrong idea from your post and make there injuries worse.

your reply was right on the mark but, and cleared up the missunderstanding :thumbwink:

back to my tree now i have another person throwing things at deano and i

hey no need to hide fang

it does look badly written

what i write and what i mean generally NEVER add up
just ask everyone who knows me

by 'fixing' the problem i meant more along the lines of aiding towards healing an injury.

pulled muscles can only be fixed by rest, BUT this woodlock stuff helps that healing process (and i feel) more than deep heat or tiger balm does as it penetrates deeper into the muscle etc

there is another medicine i use called "dit da jow" (spelling?)
this is specifically for improved blood flow which helps to heal bruises but mainly developed to PREVENT or lessen the bruising in the first place
i find it has a positive effect on muscle injuries and such too
only thing is this one smells absolutely AWFUL!!!!!

as far as arthritis goes, prolonged use of woodlock hides the pain for prolonged periods of time (in me anyways) it doesnt heal it.

if i dont use it im in pain almost every day
if i use it when i feel pain i feel the pain when i agrovate the area
if i use it daily i dont feel the pain

thats good enough for me...

more dribbling but i hope you get the idea

That's what happens when western meets chinese herbals. Everything is analysed Many chinese herbals which if being analysed producing illogical results can be beliefs from many many generations. They're superstitious, but the medicine still does wonder. The wonder, if scientifically unproven, happens with the power of belief (placebo effects). The belief that the medicine does wonder gives them the extra healing. Boy, how I love psychology

oh I know you now, well....narrowed it down anyway. Not many people left knew me as a white belt. Which Dave, btw??


but back on topic, MYSRH got me thinking about the whole "west v east" medicine argument. Ive never thought ignoring conventional medicine as some do is a good idea, but then I never ignore "natural" medicine either. I guess coming from a family with medical people and studying in the field for a while you get turned against non-conventional cures, but there is so much evidence out there about natural medicines effectiveness it cant be ignored.

Any thoughts?

I dislike going straight for the pills whenever anything goes wrong. It weakens your immune system and causes diseases to get stronger.

I'll take pain killers if things get too bad but on the whole I prefer to stay away from conventional drugs as much as possible.

i was told by a person that was into sports medicine he was actually a sports physio, that it is a pretty good move to take pain killers before you train for none serious injuries, because the lack of pain lets you stretch and work the injured area, but to make sure straight after training you treat the injury in the proper way.

doing this he reasoned would get the injury to heal faster as you are working it, and lessen the chance of injuring something else because you are trying to work around the pain of the injury.but as i said this is only recommended for none serious injuries, ie corkies, general soreness ect, if it is a broken toe like matts or a tear of anysort this is NOT the treatment to use, so plse be careful if you decide to try it, and if in doubt always see someone that really can tell you what is up with your body.

i'm with deano on the popping pills thing

i dont like doing it and unless im in a LOT of pain WONT do it.

if there is a natural way out of it, i'll go that way.

i hear glucosamine is good for arthritic pain ???
any thoughts on that one?


***
off topic again

i dont think there is ANYONE out there that knew all of us as white belts that i've helped with kata.

and if there is i'd like to know which kata and how???

In the interests of keeping my muddled brain able to follow one topic at a time the "who is fang" posts have been split and relocated to the "off topic" forum. http://www.gkr.net.au/forum/index.php?showtopic=215

My brother had a knee reconstruction due to a footy injury at age 17 and he basically has no cartlidge left. The doctors told him to take glucosamine but he didn't find it gave him any benefit. Mind you, his knee was pretty bad; it might work better for lesser injuries.