ave been boxing since i was 15 but over the past 3 years i keep picking up injuries ave had injuries like a bulging disk in my back torn ligaments in my knee torn rotator cuff twice is it time to give boxing up
Its time to work on rehab and prehab more, strengthen your body and your joints, and take the time to give yourself more longevity in the sport. 3 times a week do some basic strength training, 3 times a week do some lower and upper body mobility work, and 3 times a week do some specific prehab work for your problem areas like knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist, etc. For mobility work, I reccommend Joe Defranco's Agile 8 for lower and Simple 6 for upper body, do these two 3x weekly whenever you have the time. Google it, easy to find. For prehab, buy a resistance band and make things easier for yourself. Do TKEs (terminal knee extensions), external rotations, face pulls, band pull aparts, band pullthroughts (you can look up all of these on youtube). For strength training see what you can do with your current injuries, nothing to exacerbate them, it depends on the severity of your injuries and if you can do any of the regular compound lifts. If they don't hurt, they might well help you. Start light, always, and err on the side of caution with the weights or technique if you are not sure if you are doing something right. take a vid and show me if you like, I could help. you want to be doing something for your legs, something for your back, and something for your upper body, in layman's terms. if you can do any variation of squat, or deadlift, or press, stick with them. accessory work the same, from good mornings, back extensions to pullups, rows, dumbell presses, weighted pushups. Things that get injured are either too weak or abused with poor technique or not given time to rest. In your case its a mixture of all three maybe, as with boxing you are only ever rotating your shoulders inwards with punches, your knees are only ever used in an upright static position I would imagine, but I'm not sure how you would have gotten your back injury? how old are you now?
You gotta fully heal your back first......... you can go ten years without healing your back or you can do it within weeks.
See a real Sports Physio that deals with top flight Boxers. You may have inbalances somewhere around your hips, weaknesses in certain supporting muscles or general inflexibility in places. The Physio will know the core muscles that either need to be strong or flexible for Boxing and will be able to say what is causing the series of injuries. They'll then give you a specific plan. I had a foot/arch problem that was caused by my lower back being tight. I was like what the hell has my back got to do with my foot!?!?! One injury untreated can lead to another e.g. you limp as you hurt your knee, but keep on fighting through. Then because you're limping other muscles in the back and hips are getting tight as you're compensating to stay upright. As the muscles in the back and hips are tight/hurting you now have to use your shoulders and arms more to compensate and throw with power. Now you're at increased risk of tearing the rotor cuff etc. You shouldn't be quitting due to injuries at early 20's and you can be sorted. I can't stress enough though, go to a Physio that knows boxers and has a good reputation. Then it will probably take just one or two sessions to sort you out (assuming you complete all the exercises he gives you).
There are things you can do to help the pain go away in the short term such as a chiropractor. However, there are other things you can do to you body to make the pain go away for good. There are some very interesting books out there about eating the right way to put things in your body that naturally fight inflammation. In addition to this, there are certain stretches and body exercises you can do that can help stretch and work the right areas of your body that will help it naturally work the right way to avoid daily pain. Taking advise from a chiropractor that provides exercises from the college book is not what I am talking talking about (she actually made me copies). I recommend exploring on amazon.com or places that sell health books. there is a lot of new information out there that I do not think people are utilizing to help fight this problem.
not doing your exercises can actually make things worse. there is a general idea from most people that back pain will heal if you stop exercising. moderate exercise is recommended as long as you are not straining the back during your workout. if you feel like the pain is being caused by your workout than you need to analyze your workout to see if its too much work or doing the work wrong. You might need to try mixing up your workout routine until the pain goes away. Some people do not realize they are lifting too much with their back instead of properly bending at the knees. This is contributing to pain. Also, how you stand, keeping good posture is also necessary to avoid back pain. If you are having knee and back problems I would try to swim or try mixing it up on a bike. Lastly, if you are favoring one side due to a knee problem than this could also lead to back pain. I spend almost two hours a day working on the core. This is really important in boxing especially for people that have a lot of injuries in this area.
Do you "cycle" your training? I know a lot of guys who just 100 at the gym all of the time. I have started to realize that not only do you need daily rest, but many people need "intensity" rests. Try going through periods where you focus on duration, flexibility, skills (shadow boxing)/theory, and secondary movements. Maybe being in "training camp (2+hrs in the gym and cardio)" AND holding down a full time life for decades could add up.
Hey mate, the pain goes away but giving up remains forever. Keep that in mind. Try to get off training for a few months or go see a doctor till your back is fully healed. Don't train/or exercise if you still have the back pain. If you are planning to give up the gloves say this to yourself, do you truly love the boxing game? Is it something that you want to do? Are you passionate about it? If you are then keep going, don't let the pain hold you back. Boxing is good for fitness, but if you want to do it competitively it's a lot of hard work and determination to go far.
I know that feel bro. I've only fought twice this year so far. Hurt my neck, got stitches, hurt my wrist. Feelsbadman.
Ok, that sucks if you're injured that much. But I've had 25+ fihts in less than 3 years so to only fight 2 times so far in 2011 is crappy.