There are many components that a fighter of MMA must stay on top of to remain proficient, while continuing to be progressive in training. If you were to list all of them, none of them hold the weight and importance of health. There are countless pitfalls in training that can cause serious health problems, and there are ways of preventing all of them. Proper safety gear and proper techniques, are high priority. Most physical injury can be prevented, provided your training is under the watchful eye of a good trainer, but it’s the dangers that you can’t see that are the most devastating. You may love your gym and all it’s members, but sicknesses such as staph infections do not discriminate or choose it’s victims by how kind or clean they look.
What is staph? Staphylococcus (commonly called as Staph) is a group of bacteria that causes a multitude of skin infections among humans. Over 30 different types of Staphylococci can infect humans, but most infections are caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococci can be found normally in the nose and on the skin (and less commonly in other locations) of 20%-30% of healthy adults. Most common, the infection starts with a noticeable redness, swelling and pain in the affected area. Sometimes it begins with a skin sore or a collection of pus, known as an abscess, boil, or furuncle. As the severity increases the patient may develop fever. A staph infection can bring the strongest fighters career and health to a standstill. Just ask Mo Lawal who recently contracted a serious staph infection in his knee, which had undergone multiple surgeries for a torn ACL. Better yet, check out the picture below of the Kevin Randleman staph infection, in which the infamous Pride and MMA star was in a battle for his life.
Kevin had this to say,
“I was in critical condition for almost three weeks and I am two weeks out of the hospital now … pain is just part of the healing, and it hurts a lot…. I had two organs shut down again. I think what I needed to do was to stop enduring the pain and go see the doctors earlier.”
I think all of us should take his advice when dealing with sicknesses such as these as well as physical injuries common in MMA. Lastly, how can we prevent this from happening all together? Well the responsibility rest on the shoulders of the individuals of gyms, and their hygienic habits, as well as the gym’s dedication to upholding sanitation standards. Here are some tips:
1. Keep clean always. Shower prior to and after training. A good investment to up your defense ability is to use products like Defense Soap. Always wash your hands!
2. Wipe excess sweat away when possible. The transfer of sweat from individual to individual during training can increase the chances of you contracting an infection. Sanitation wipes and a good mat cleaning solution are key.
3. Keep an eye out for your gym sanitation habits. Any gym that you train at regularly should be doing all they can to keep the environment sanitary. If they get upset with you for asking about their techniques you should probably consider changing your membership. For real!
4. Keep your gear clean! No one is gonna do it for you. Just imagine how dumb you would feel to find out that your own slobbish habits caused you to infect yourself with Staph! Happens all the time.
5. Don’t wait if you see something out of the ordinary such as a pimple, or feel unusually weak after finding one on yourself. See a doctor! If not for yourself, then for the love of the sport. It’s every martial artists’ responsibility to respect their health as well as the health of those around them. Martial Arts are in existence to make YOU and those around you, more capable healthy human beings so don’t jeopardize the health of your teammates.
6. Educate everyone! We can’t live in a bubble, but preventative measures will always be more favorable than the possible alternative of an outbreak, and possible death (if left untreated). Train hard, smart, and clean. Knowledge will always alleviate fear, so don’t be afraid to educate your members if you yourself, own and operate a gym.
Like this article? Follow us on @fauxsociety for the best news and updates.
