Team Doctors Treatment and Training Center

The Armbender - Winter 1988 
The Official Publication of the World Armwrestling Federation

When to "Bow Out" of Competition from Injury

by Dr James Stoxen DC

     Double elimination tournaments are obviously the only way to host armwrestling competitions. However, oftentimes, if a long-term strainful match or a sudden hypertension injury occurs, one could be left with a weakened link of tissue within the joint region. Oftentimes, upon the next match the weak link can sever or break leading to a permanent disabling injury and an end to one's armwrestling career. The optimum recommendation I can give you is to have a talk with the meet doctor if one is in attendance.

     I cannot stress to you meet directors enough the importance of having a meet doctor in attendance at all meets. If you have any trouble locating a doctor to volunteer, drop me a line at my office and I will assist you.

     Sports injuries in armwrestling are usually so complex that it is impossible to develop a standard protocol to determine whether one should go on to another match. In this article I will give you some helpful hints you will find useful regarding your match decisions.

     You have no idea how difficult it is to tell an injured athlete not to compete following injury. I usually let the athlete convince himself by asking him "How did that feel at the end of the match?"

At times the heightened enthusiasm if the event can cause the athletes mind to fog to the true extent of his condition. Another common occurrence which results physiologically is that tissue damage chemicals can coax various morphine like substances inherent in the nervous system which travel directly to the injured site to kill pain. These morphine-like substances called endorphins are the bodies natural pain killers and are very powerful. Oftentimes, they are so powerful that they can hide the pain messages which are necessary to assist you in determining the extent of the damage.

     Many times athletes apply ice therapy to the injury between match, and this is obviously a fine idea. Ice is helpful in decreasing the amount of inflammatory reaction. However, cooling can cause a numbing of the very pain which is signaling you to discontinue the competition. The athlete is left with a false sense of well being and he will go back in the trenches unprepared.

     If no doctor is present you've got to do the job of evaluation yourself. Before observing the region, remove all protective coverings to expose the skin and texture and joint region. This will allow you to palpate the skin texture and more deeper regions. Some things to look for are changes in surface temperature -- hot being the result of inflammation and cold being the result of loss of circulation. Always remember to compare from the left side to the right side. The opposite extremity will provide a normal, hopefully to compare a possible abnormal to.

A function check should be based primarily on evaluating the basic motions inherent to the armwrestling task. Probably the most common sense method of evaluating the arm is to pull with a friend on the side. Put the arm through light amounts of stress and add increments of tension till you are at full capacity. This will prevent you from competing cold with maximum stress all at once. If you feel week or any pain you may consider forfeit and return next match with a healthier arm.

     Most injuries occur because we don't have a clear understanding as to the strength of the supportive tissues. Another reason that I feel occurs the most often is that we don't respect the bodies warning of pain.

     Many times the body detects potential problems in various regions. The key to long term successful athletic competition from the point of view of a physician is to heed the warnings of the pain. Wouldn't it be fantastic if the body had a sophisticated computer network designed to give you messages such as WARNING! Pain sensors in the distant portion the right biceps have an 85% chance of tearing if the muscle is stressed.

The network already exists: it's the nervous system. Each one of us has one, but only the most intelligent athletes know how to use it.

     At a major Powerlifting and armwrestling meets, I meet the injured athlete who should discontinue competition due to injury. Most discontinue competition due to injury when I make the recommendation. Sometimes due to the heightened nature of the competition and the great amount of preparation for the event the athlete boasts that they will lift till something rips. I actually heard an athlete say that to me and then both of the tendons of the quadriceps muscles ripped from the bone and the athlete went crashing to the floor only to have the surgeon reattach them with ligaments from other parts of his body. He did eventually walk again. Some time later that year.

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

Please use your better judgment and heed the warning signs.

Good luck and safe pulling!