PrehabFitness.TV: An inside look to Mark Munoz's injury

PrehabFitness.TV

An inside look to Mark Munoz's injury

In the video linked below, Mark states he will probably be out of the octagon until June 2012. Quite often in the sport of MMA, the elbow will have accumulated trauma from the contstant pounding to the joint from punches and strikes with the elbow. This not designed to be a consistent weight- bearing or impact joint. Therefore, constant forces to the area will eventually wear it down. Bone chips often break off into the joint space and impact the normal joint movement.

This can become painful, and if not addressed, create even more damage to the joint itself.
So why the "long" wait to returning to the octagon? Anytime there is an injury to a joint, muscles shut down and strength and stability to the whole limb is lost. Having surgery to "fix" the problem actually creates another new injury to the site. There is soft tissue damage from the scalpel and arhtroscopic tools and often new tissue damage from scraping bone spurs away and smoothing out the joint surface.
Rehabilitation will first consist of restoring normal range of motion to the joint and decreasing swe

lling. As the pain subsides, then gentle strengthening can begin. Soft tissue healing for a normal, healthy adult takes 6-8 weeks regardless of what physical shape you are in. Scar tissue must be formed and stretched appropriately. As much as we humans would like to think we can decrease this time frame, it cannot be changed with any drug or modality.
Because of the multifaceted nature of MMA, total shoulder, core and arm strength must be addressed. Pain from the initial injury and surgery will limit how much the surrounding muscles turn on due to an immediately disruption of the brain's connection to the injured site. It is our natural way of protecting the injured site. Normal muscle response to training takes 6-8 weeks before the muscles fibers actually change and growth is seen. Any increase in strength before that time is cause by an improved connection from the brain to the muscles exercised, not from muscle growth itself.
Due to a high stiffening rate with elbow injuries, normal pain free movement can take up to 2-3 months, if not longer. Then you have to add time onto that for the high intensity full body training required for an octagon fight. Many times it takes up to 8-12 months to feel 100% and, therefore, while June may seem far away, for a fighter of this caliber, it is the necessary minimal time for healing and proper preparation.
As for the question as to whether this will drop him down in the rankings, well that is completely up to how well he rehabilitates and trains in preparation for his next fight. If history tells us anything about the future, I think the fans will not be dissapointed.