"As a full time Jiu-Jitsu coach and competitor my body and especially my back has been put through a lot. As a result I have been battling low back pain for the last few years. When Ben approached me at a Jiu-Jitsu tournament with a new muscle relief tool I was eager to try it. After a few minutes on the QL Claw I knew it was going to help me relieve my back pain. I've recommended the QL Claw to my own students and they have also found relief in their pain as well. The QL Claw is such a cool and effective tool and I always look forward to using it before I wrestle."
- Wade, BJJ Black Belt & Coach at Stronghold Athletics
MMA & Back Pain
Some of us just can't imagine life without competition. The idea of sitting around, reading, and gardening sounds like actual hell.
And we love to put our body, mind, and spirit to the ultimate test.
Enter MMA.
MMA is one of the most demanding, violent activities for the lower back. If you're here with back pain and your spirits are low because a doctor told you to get off the mat - you're in the right place. God-willing, if there's a way back to the cage we will find it.
How To Get Back Into MMA/BJJ with Back Pain
Myself and several others you'll read about in this post have bounced back from the worst of back injuries. I first want you to know it is possible.
Second, I want to share our approach. We use a 4 step process to recovery - it looks simple but take it seriously, this helped me overcome 4 years of pain:
- Massage
- Stretch
- Strengthen
- Habit Correction
*All applied uniquely with the goal of getting you back into MMA.
Step 1: Massage
Why Massage:
The first step is to get your body and muscles out of spasm. Chances are, you feel fragile, delicate, like any sudden movement could literally bring you to the floor. You also probably feel abnormally stiff, relative to when you were at your most flexible. And to top it off, you probably feel weak.
All of these are symptoms of the muscles in and around the lower back in spasm. The lower back is a complex connection hub for many muscles including the back, glute, and hip flexor complexes - and all of them tend to lock up and guard when the body senses the lower back is in danger. This is actually a good short term bodily reaction because it protects the spine, but weeks, months, and years later it can still be present and leave you in a lot of constant pain.
Now, massage.
I love massage to release muscles out of spasm - one of my favorite mantras is release muscles, relieve pain.
Effective massage applied to the targeted, predictable muscles that cause back pain when tight (especially from martial arts) has the potential to relieve your pain altogether.
How To Massage:
We recommend a tool like QL Claw to massage and release the muscles you need. QL Claw was designed to target all muscles that contribute to lower back pain when tight, including the following which are needed here:
- Quadratus Lumborum (deep lower back muscle)
- Gluteus Medius/Minimus (upper buttock muscle)
- Psoas (hip flexor)
- Iliacus (hip flexor)
For MMA & BJJ folks, I recommend this cadence of massage:
- Day 1-4: massage 3-5 minutes, per muscle, per side, 2x each day
- Day 5-8: massage 2-3 minutes, per muscle, per side, 1x each day
- Day 9+: Use as needed. You will have a good feel for your body by now
Most folks feel better halfway through this cycle and bail because they feel better. However, some people (and probably you Mr. MMA back pain) need more volume to undo the havoc they've wreaked on their muscles over the years.
Steps 2-4: Stretch, Strengthen, Habit Correction
Steps 2-4 are incredibly case by case. I helped Andy, a BJJ black belt and MMA fighter (in the video above) with a highly tailored regimen that you can find at the links below:
- Andy - Regimen 1 (Weeks 1-8)
- Andy - Regimen 2 (Weeks 9-12)
- Andy - Regimen 3 (Weeks 13-20)
- Andy - Regimen 4 (Fine Tuning)
The most triumphant part - Regimen 3 was prepping for Andy's return to the cage and MMA, at the 2023 World Amateur MMA tournament in Serbia. His first fight in 5 years since throwing out his back, and he won his first match!
Good luck - you got this. If you don't know what steps to take next, comb the Regimens above and see what Andy did. Back pain doesn't have to be forever, let's get you back to life.