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WALKER: Team Curran MMA Training Blog - Injury Setbacks in July
Aug 2, 2012 - 11:40:05 AM WALKER: Team Curran MMA Training Blog - Injury Setbacks in July

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By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Columnist

July was a very slow month for me in the gym overall, as we had family birthdays, weddings and other matters to attend to most of the month. My time spent in the gym was mostly spent chatting with the fighters and realizing my lack of stamina on the treadmill now that my body has become accustomed to not being on them as often. That's the funny thing about fitness – if you fall out of your routine for even a couple of weeks trying to get back into it seems impossible. I was getting back into my routine pretty strongly towards the end of the month until I suffered an injury that's going to keep me out of classes until late August, and probably keep me off the treadmill until the start of next week. The injury itself was a freak happening and rather than suffering it AT the gym, it happened on my way to the gym.

Yes, I am implying that I injured myself in my car on my way to the gym, as a matter of fact, I injured myself turning about 70 degrees to the right to plug in my iPod at a red light. As I turned I felt a sharp pain dig deep into my side and felt a strange pop – I thought nothing of it, probably tweaked something and drove on forward to the gym. When I got to the gym I changed and hopped on the treadmill – figuring if I pulled or tweaked a muscle I could tough it out, but 20 minutes in I was in so much pain that I thought I was going to fall right off the damn thing. So I jumped off, changed back into my normal clothes and headed home to relax my sore ribs – going about my normal day until things got a bit more out of hand. Amidst my Friday game night with my friend Dan my side began throbbing worse and worse – and to make things stranger I started to get the chills too.

So I finally bailed on game night and texted my wife to make sure she was home to let me into the house – and as soon as I got home I just collapsed onto the couch. My side was on fire with pain and in a strange twist I was running a pretty nasty fever. My wife ordered me to bed and I laid there shaking with the sweats in awful pain until I fell asleep. The next day when I finally got to the doctor (yes, there is open doctor's offices on Saturdays here) they told me it looked like a strained or partially torn oblique – so I was sent home with directions to “rest my chest”. The weekend passed and then on Monday it kicked into overdrive again. The pain was insane; I couldn't breathe, I couldn't eat, and I could barely move, so I drove myself to the emergency room thinking they had misdiagnosed me. As soon as I arrived the doctor ordered x-rays, blood draws and an IV inserted into my hand – which promptly shot blood across the room (I won't lie it was actually pretty cool).

The verdict after four days of pain was finally in. I had what is commonly called a “separated rib” – which is when the bone tears free from the cartilage that attaches it to the breast bone. The doctor had to pop it back into the right place, which sent pain shooting through my entire body, and I spent the entirety of Monday lying on my opposite side, in bed, bored. I know a lot of you are wondering what relevance this has to my training and to MMA, but that's something I will answer right now. Imagine being a professional fighter in training camp, when suddenly a new pain shoots into your body; You don't know what it is, but you know that it's not normal. What do you do? How do you handle this scenario? What if it's going to make you miss your next fight, and a paycheck for your family?

The thought is disturbing; especially since we have seen some fighters go through near death experiences like Brock Lesnar did, fighting for his life while doctors scrambled to figure out what was wrong with him. If you ever read Lesnar's book DeathClutch, it will tell you one of the most terrifying stories of being sick and stuck in the middle of nowhere – the man is truly a freak of nature. Similar goings on have been frequent at the gym; Jeff Curran has had to pull out of his flyweight debut in XFO due to a hand injury he sustained, and the last I spoke to him he still was unsure of the extent of the damage and was awaiting the results of an MRI. It's a very disappointing time for Jeff, since his debut at flyweight was the beginning of his road back to the UFC; however, Dan Lardy - the promoter at XFO - told me he hopes for Jeff's debut to only be delayed about a month. It has been a chaotic month of July, and my August will actually feel its effects as well, but for now I march forward in the name of learning and fitness a member of Team Curran who come hell or high water will resume training and resume getting my body back in shape.

Thank you all for reading, August should be an eventful month at the gym, with numerous fighters both professional and amateur fighting in the month. I will do my best to keep the blog as updated as possible due to the goings on at the gym and let everyone know the status of Jeff for his return to the cage and hopeful build back to the UFC.

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