Leg Lock Injury Case Study
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Joint locks are one of the primary attacks in Jiu jitsu and submission grappling. It’s not uncommon for a joint capsule to get overstretched, leading to the joint “popping” during training or competition. These “pops” indicate overload of the stress capacity of the joint and result in to trauma to the joint or musculature. Jiu jitsu athletes are notorious for just ignoring these repetitive microtraumas to their body. Traumatic joint “pops” and joint capsule stretching will eventually catch up to any grappler.
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Case study: This black belt relied on having “flexible feet” when defending foot lock submission attempts. Unfortunately, the accumulation of stress and build up of aberrant fibrotic tissue along his ankle over the years of relying on his flexible feet have since compromised his ability to withstand leg attacks.
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Here you can see that the black belt has very poor rotational control, especially with inversion. PALPATION revealed mechanical tension / aberrant fibrotic tissue along his posterior tibialis.
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Intervention involved functional release to the post tib and PAILs (positional isometrics), applying controlled stress to the tissue to create adaption, with the goal of building tissue resilience and restoring appropriate motor control to the joint.