Full contact martial arts after surgery?

[nonsense]

Hey guys!

I'm a long time lurker on these forums and they have been incredibly valuable for me. Knowing what's up with me and that there is a way to handle it was huge. So thank you all!

I won't bore people with my story as it is the typical one - started when I was 12-13 (I'm 24 now), the beach was no longer fun, my posture got effed up, etc. I will have saved enough for a surgery with Karidis at some point in February and will try to get the surgery done asap.

Thanks to this forum I've got an idea of what the recovery would be like. What I was wondering is how long before I could do full contact martial arts? We're talking mainly grappling and some Muay Thai occasionally. I've always wanted to have this handled so I can finally do the things I like without that horrible embarassment. Also, is there any long term loss of flexibility or anything like that?

Cheers!

[sjwsjw]

Good question. I'm 5 weeks post and people that don't know about my surgery trying to hug me can get a little bit tense sometimes lol. I think most people wait 6-8 weeks before starting to lift even light weights at the gym so around 10-12 weeks depending on the stage of your healing sounds realistic? Let's face it it's not something you can be careful doing. Personally I'd wait as long as I felt I had to, everyone heals different. I'm 24 also, a few extra weeks healing has gotta be worth the long term result.

[tpuk]

If you are going to pay out £4k + for an operation, you prob shouldn't be concerned about this stuff. Just healing properly instead.

My feeling was to leave things longer & not worry about it rather than push things & negatively impact my post-op results - there is enough worry as it is.

I just went for a run yesterday with the compression vest on at approaching 8 weeks...felt fine - but I still would not be doing any full contact martial arts

I think you should do what you can pre-op. have the op and then recover slowly & build up to something like that.

[jmdc]

Im 8 weeks post op and will be going back to full contact kickboxing next week. It feels like i will be ok as long as i dont take any direct contact to the chest. I imagine grappling may require a bit longer to recover but then again people heal at different rates.

[wingman]

Well done for making the decision to go through with this, never an easy one so have nothing but admiration for those who do.

I had my surgery 27th September, and started lifting weights around 4-5 weeks after that (albeit fairly light to start with, quickly got back into my normal swing of things at 8 weeks). Even now, however, I do not feel 100% and I am still massaging a few times a week, there's a tiny but of pain every now and then and would recommend leaving it 3 months post op to get into full contact martial arts.

If however you have recovered differently to I and feel you are ready earlier then go for it. You can garner an awful lot from this forum, most of which is exceptional in terms of guidance, but I assure you your recovery will be different to everyone else's.

Play it by ear,

Best of luck!

[nonsense]

Thanks for the replies and support guys! I was thinking of giving it ~3 months, but wanted to make sure that's not too early.

I'm having the surgery next week and I'm very excited (and a little nervous). Is there anything I should be bringing on the day? Also, I think someone was saying something about wearing cotton underwear or something like that. What was this about?

And I just want to say thanks once again! These forums really made the situation feel better. 

[thetodd]

You just need a big shirt (really big and baggy) that fastens from the front because you wont be able to lift your arms up in the air to put a tshirt or whatever on. And a big coat to go on top of it, your mobility is really poor after the op, the nurse or someone else will probably need to help you get your stuff on.

If you are going with Karidis, then they give you like a pair of cotton pants to wear. i didnt wear them but people have since said they were told they had to. But yeah everything is given to you really. All you need to buy is bio oil for massaging and pineapple to help with the swelling post op

[3rdTimeLucky (Dave)]

It all depends on how you recover, I regularly train weights, go kickboxing and have done occasional grappling sessions. So I'll keep you updated as to when I start again as I had my op at the end of January.
Things will be tight after your op so really its a case of when you get your full range of motion back. Grappling which requires alot of isometric strength I reckon would be avoided for at the very least 6-12 weeks. Wouldn't want to feel the strain of arm bar or even put on a submission very soon! However I aim to be kickboxing again in a couple weeks (6 weeks post op).
But physically I feel better each week and did a bit of heavy lifting yesterday when I was moving a sofa, but really what is going to be a problem is pushing things more so over your head.

Good luck, I hope it goes well for you.

[3rdTimeLucky (Dave)]

Okay, coming up to 6 weeks post op now, full contact Martial Arts is still out of the question, however I feel there being no problem with doing cardio including bag work, weight training (avoid direct chest work and see how you feel with chinups/ pull ups), body weight exercises (easy on the pushups if you're still swollen and sore).
However for me I'm still wearing the vest, and I think that any impact on your chest will be too much at this stage, even leaning against something like reaching over the edge of the sofa can cause a painful burning sensation.
Will keep you updated.

[nonsense]

Thanks Dave!

I'm thinking of giving it three solid months. I'm at 33 days post-op (with Karidis) now and my chest is still quite sensitive. Things are generally looking good, a bit of scar tissue, nothing too horrible, but what's driving me insane is the fact that the left side and the right side seem like they have nothing in common. I can't figure out if I'm just screwed up genetically and the muscles on my right side have a completely different shape and look to the ones on the left.

I got 16 grams of gland removed from the right side and 19 from the left. 250ml of fat each side. How does this rank? Was I just being lazy?

[jay adams]

I know it's been a bit since you guys have posted on this topic, but I'm wondering if you were able to resume training yet? How did it feel when you started back doing bag work? Seems like striking would put a lot of stress on the pec's. If you guys are still around please let me know.

[Paa_Paw]

I really don't belong here, I'm an old man who lives on the coast of Southern California in the US. The title of this thread caught my eye and I could not resist having my say.

When I read the title, the very idea hurt.

[3rdTimeLucky (Dave)]

Okay so I'm at week 17 now, at week 8 I was doing light to moderate exercise, cardio press ups and what not I can't exactly remember when my first kickboxing session back was but I would say around 8 - 10 weeks. If you're going to be doing any grappling you're going to have gauge how sensitive your chest is and that is what ultimately will dictate whether you feel ready or not.
If your chest hurts - don't do it. But I would say you could get back in the gym lifting weights, even benching at around 8 - 12 weeks.