The armbar is possibly one of the best known submission moves from BJJ. The aim of the submission is to hyper extend the elbow until it will ultimately either dislocate or break the elbow of your opponent if he does not tap out in time.
For rehabilitation after an armbar injury, when a sports rehab professional tells you to rest, they mean REST. You need to treat the arm as if you have broken it and literally do nothing at all with it. Once pain has eased after approximately 1-2 weeks (if the injury is treated straight away), the muscles need to be loosened as they are in a state of tension to try and protect the injured area.
Self-massage of the forearm muscles, or seeing a sports massage specialist, will help to loosen these tightened muscles and release the tension on the tendons. At this stage, stretching the tightened muscles will also help recovery. This is treated in very much the same way as tennis/golfer's elbow, as a tendon injury anywhere in the body follows the same process — ice and rest, followed by massage and stretches to regain flexibility and release tension in the muscle and tendon.
Pain relief takes about 6 weeks, and if you want to train without worrying about the problem recurring, budget at least another 6 weeks of treatment and rehab.
If you're dealing with a BJJ armbar or elbow injury, get in touch to book a rehabilitation consultation.
