[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":182},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-/articles/injury-peace-love":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":169,"cover":170,"date":171,"description":12,"draft":172,"excerpt":173,"extension":174,"meta":175,"navigation":176,"path":177,"seo":178,"sitemap":179,"stem":180,"__hash__":181},"articles/articles/injury-peace-love.md","You're injured — now what? Part one: PEACE & LOVE",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":161},"minimark",[9,13,16,19,22,25,33,38,41,44,48,55,61,67,73,79,83,89,95,101,104,108,111,114,117,122,127,133,155,158],[10,11,12],"p",{},"If you train jiu-jitsu long enough, this is a scenario you will likely encounter.",[10,14,15],{},"There is varied data on the subject, but two of the most recent analyses suggest an injury rate of 59% to 68% among practitioners.",[10,17,18],{},"Those numbers may sound high, and in actuality they are fairly high. However, the vast majority of injuries (77%) are reported to have occurred in competition.",[10,20,21],{},"Data, data, data, blah blah blah... Why does this matter?",[10,23,24],{},"As bleak as these data may seem, recognizing this pattern of injury can inform training practices to maximize safety and reduce risk of injury. Most injuries occur during competition, so an emphasis on skill development vs. winning the round in training can have a positive impact. Practicing submissions with an emphasis on control will serve us well, along with the adage \"tap early.\" Competition, submissions, and takedowns are the most injurious of circumstances. This information guides Stellar Jiu Jitsu in practice design, to mitigate injury risk as best we can.",[10,26,27,28,32],{},"Ok, ok, ok — I get all of that. But you're injured ",[29,30,31],"em",{},"now",", so none of that matters.",[34,35,37],"h2",{"id":36},"what-should-you-focus-on","What should you focus on?",[10,39,40],{},"PEACE & LOVE.",[10,42,43],{},"No, I didn't lose my mind, nor is this some 'positive thinking' tangent (though that is a component). PEACE & LOVE is an acronym detailing how to care for most injuries.",[34,45,47],{"id":46},"peace","PEACE",[10,49,50,54],{},[51,52,53],"strong",{},"Protect",": Avoid activities and movements which increase pain. You may even need to unload the injured area for a few days. While rest has a place, it should be fairly limited — think a couple of days to a week max.",[10,56,57,60],{},[51,58,59],{},"Elevate",": Get the injured area above the heart to help with swelling. This is particularly helpful the first few days.",[10,62,63,66],{},[51,64,65],{},"Avoid Anti-Inflammatories",": Wait, what? Yes, avoid them, at least for the first few days to a week. Inflammation is the beginning stage of the healing process; it is the accumulation of cells to clean up the injured area and start the cascade of healing. Minimizing inflammation too early slows healing. If you need something for pain control, go with a non-steroidal variation or ice.",[10,68,69,72],{},[51,70,71],{},"Compression",": An ace wrap can do here, or a sleeve with light compression. This minimizes bleeding, and can also help modulate swelling.",[10,74,75,78],{},[51,76,77],{},"Education",": Read this article.",[34,80,82],{"id":81},"love","LOVE",[10,84,85,88],{},[51,86,87],{},"Load",": Stressing the area through movement is critical to limiting deconditioning post-injury, as well as promoting tissue repair and remodeling. This is a combination of the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) as well as Wolff's Law (bone adapts to stresses placed on it, building strength to tolerate the stress).",[10,90,91,94],{},[51,92,93],{},"Optimism",": You are not a special butterfly. Wait, that's not it. But it is, actually. You are not the first person to be injured, nor the last. And on a long enough timeline, most injuries improve regardless of what action is taken. People get better. You'll get better. And if you read and apply these principles, you may get better a bit faster and not decline as much in the process. Injuries suck. They are tough to deal with physically and mentally, but it is true they get better. If you keep a good positive outlook, it actually is associated with better outcomes post-injury as well as faster recovery times.",[10,96,97,100],{},[51,98,99],{},"Vascularization and Exercise",": These two pieces go hand in hand. Good evidence exists for active approaches to injury recovery. That means you get moving. Cardio is fantastic here, provided it does not exacerbate your symptoms — meaning if you can run and you like running, run. If you can't run, walk. But I'm limping... Ok, ride the bike, hit the rower. You get the idea. As your symptoms allow, slowly work back into more involved activities: work on regaining your normal range of motion, begin strength training, and work on your balance, proprioception, and kinesthetic awareness. (Come to our Stellar Jiu Jitsu fitness classes and hear all of these things on repeat.)",[10,102,103],{},"The last portion is: sleep and eat well. 7+ hours of sleep, eat like an adult and not a garbage disposal, and stay hydrated.",[34,105,107],{"id":106},"a-worked-example-a-soft-old-man-dislocates-a-toe","A worked example: a soft old man dislocates a toe",[10,109,110],{},"I dislocated a toe a couple of weeks ago, so I'll use myself as the example.",[10,112,113],{},"No NSAIDs. Walking was a bit difficult for 1–3 days, so I went away from my usual minimalist footwear into a bit more of a cushioned and supported tennis shoe. I missed one day of training, mostly due to lazy people skipping morning class that Friday. This is the early PEACE stuff.",[10,115,116],{},"Here's how I like to think about when to move on to the LOVE stage. I really like for my patients — as well as myself — to be managing activities of daily living with no real issues. Meaning the tasks I have to do daily: shower, cook, clean, and take care of the home or my girls. For me personally, this would look like not limping and hobbling around, and no pain greater than 5/10. The injury was on Wednesday; by Saturday I was basically there. So, on to LOVE.",[10,118,119,121],{},[51,120,87],{},": I taped up the toe and trained on Monday, but avoided wrestling exchanges (remember from above — takedowns have higher injury risk). I also didn't try to \"win\" the rounds, but instead played the game at a pace I felt comfortable with, I'd say roughly 70–80% effort. Later that day I went back for my strength training. I had been doing jump rope for warm-up and box jumps for plyometrics, as well as usual squatting exercises. I wasn't up for those tasks just yet, so I did the bike instead of jump rope, skipped plyos, and did sled work instead of squats, as I could push the sled with no real complaints. Then I did my upper body work as usual. This is a trend I will likely keep up with for 4–6 weeks, maybe as long as 8.",[10,123,124,126],{},[51,125,93],{},": I basically ooze rainbows and butterflies.",[10,128,129,132],{},[51,130,131],{},"Vascularization / Exercise",": You saw a specific example of this in the 'Load' section. Work hard, don't irritate the injury. It's pretty simple. Modify as you need to. Don't expect things to be pain free, but they shouldn't be miserable either:",[134,135,136,143,149],"ul",{},[137,138,139,142],"li",{},[51,140,141],{},"0–3/10 pain"," — green light, work there.",[137,144,145,148],{},[51,146,147],{},"4–5/10"," — yellow light. Maybe you can do that, but assess your response following and the next day. If your symptoms don't linger, have at it. If you have a setback, you overreached.",[137,150,151,154],{},[51,152,153],{},"6+/10"," — that's not a great place to train. Back off and live to fight another day.",[10,156,157],{},"This is part one of a likely two-part series. This is a generalized approach and really doesn't get to the idea of returning to mat time. The next post will cover a bit more detail on returning to jiu-jitsu.",[10,159,160],{},"— Rusty",{"title":162,"searchDepth":163,"depth":163,"links":164},"",2,[165,166,167,168],{"id":36,"depth":163,"text":37},{"id":46,"depth":163,"text":47},{"id":81,"depth":163,"text":82},{"id":106,"depth":163,"text":107},"Recovery","/articles/peaceandlove.png","2026-07-22",false,null,"md",{},true,"/articles/injury-peace-love",{"title":5,"description":12},{"loc":177},"articles/injury-peace-love","DC4gdbmoAcZaBpZxfAOPNK8EtkfahaHpyuNiW73kNM8",1786049408531]