Are injuries this common?

[u/xoknight]

Month 2 of judo since I picked it up with no martial arts experience.

Right now I have:

-cracked right toe bone (<not broken in half, just cracked> completely my fault, tried for a ko uchi and accidentally full force kicked my opponent in the shin)

-pain in left calf

-pain in right ankle

-lower back pain (from being slammed onto the tatami going up against a 100+ kg opponent)

-bleeding fingers

-pain in finger joints

-pretty sure I heard my right shoulder pop today trying for a tai otoshi and I lost all power in my right arm for a good 5 minutes, is back to normal now though

-pain in high left rib cage

Obviously have started taping my fingers and toes, and yes I have my cracked toe splinted and I am making sure to rest it and not agitate it. I am taking practices off recently to make sure it heals.

Just wanted to see if these types of injuries are common and typical in progression.

[u/tegularius00]

Have you done any other sports regularly? Do any strength training? Because if not, you've gone from being inactive to doing one of the most physically demanding activities there is - grappling with other humans.

So small injuries, aches, and pains are common when making that adjustment. They should slow down after a few months when your body becomes accustomed to the stress you're putting it through.

It's really worth dialling in on whether you're experiencing pain, or it's an ache or soreness. If you're in actual pain then you should speak to your doctor. But if you're sore, that's par for the course and something you'll get used to.

[u/xoknight → u/tegularius00]

Yes, have gone to doc, said to just take it easy and rest. Can’t really do much with a cracked toe bone unless it’s splinting it and letting it grow back.

In regard to sports, no. In regard to physical training, yes. Run 5km laps and upper body and core work outs.

Only problem is that I am still quite thin, trying my absolutely hardest to bulk right now, got 2 kg up in a month.

[u/obi-wan-quixote → u/xoknight]

To answer your question, no, it’s not this common. The problem is you’ve gone from no impact (other than running) to full contact. If you were to suddenly take up rugby, boxing or Olympic weightlifting, you be experiencing similar pains. Though weightlifting is safer because of the nature of progressive resistance and the bar doesn’t ACTUALLY try to escape, it just feels that way sometimes.

You’re not used to an open loop activity (meaning unpredictable forces and timing) and also not used to needing stability against dynamic forces. It’ll come with time, but in the meantime there are exercises you can do to help bulletproof yourself and make you more resilient

But it’s pretty natural. If someone went from zero to running 5km a day they’d find themselves feeling a lot of aches and pains too. Running is a full contact sport too.