Bump after bruising

[Raindrop]

Last training I busted some veigns in my lower arm (from kote strikes apparently) and it swell up to twice its normal size (I have tiny wrists/lower arms so the difference between the two arms looked insane lol). Now nearly a week later it's still swollen and there's sort of a hard clump now. It's still bigger than normal and it hurts when I touch it, moving my wrist still hurts. The top of my hand was really blue/purple that's sort of going away now but there's still a hard lump at kote level on my lower arm, which hurts when I push it.

I've had countless of bruises from karate but none of them had swollen so much and left a hard bump afterwards. I did get a nurse to look at it to make sure it wasn't broken, she said it's just busted veigns and very bruised muscles and tissue so it just needs to heal by itself.

Does anyone else have experience with these kind of "bumpy" bruises? I now bought a wrist protector that I can wrap around my right wrist that also fits nicely into my kote to prevent these kind of bruises in the future. I just wonder if anyone knows how long it might take for the bump to heal. I have some "bumps & bruises" gel that I put on it but I have no clue if it works or if that's just the natural healing process.

Also, in general, when it comes to minor injuries like this, is it acceptable to stand aside when we gotta do certain excercises during practice? Like in my case I wouldn't let someone strike my kote until it's healed a bit more. It kinda sucks for the other person then, though, cause they can't practice properly on me, so that's why I'm wondering if I should just suck it up, since it's only gonna hurt but not really damage anything anymore (since I'll have more protection now).

Oh and another question: I have 2nd grade RSI (getting it treated but it takes months) and when we do 200 men no uchi in a row or more, afterwards my arms go numb and I have no strength in my hands/fingers anymore for a couple of minutes. I know that's cause the blood is returning to my hands/arms cause my messed-up "iron-cable" shoulders cut that off during all the men uchis. Does anyone have any cool tips how to "wake up" your arms quickly (kick-start the blood circulation) so I can continue pratice quickly after the men drills? It's like my arms are frozen stiff and then we gotta continue pratice and I can barely grip my shinai. ^_^; It goes away after a while but it bothers me that I can't do proper tenouchi right after.

[JCM]

Ouch!

Hard to tell, it depends on the severity of it, I had veins burst in my knuckles a couple of times, it kills for about a week, then is back to normal. You body should reabsorb it. But it really depends on the individual, I don't bruise easily and they tend to go away quickly, other people I know gets huge purple bruises so easily you wouldn't believe it.

Put your arm up, explain to your Aite and step back. You should not train on an injury!. It migh be good to tell your Sensei/Sempai before the class so they might tell everyone when you line up at the start.

Massage the arms gently for a bit to start circulation again, I read Barry Sheene used to do this every morning due to the bad circulation on his legs (from repeatedly braking them).

[Alison2805]

I once had a nurse "blow" a vein in my arm during a blood test - I had a golfball sized lump full of blood come up on my arm. It hurt like hell too. You can get it to reabsorb and heal faster by getting heparinoid cream from your local drugstore (thats the type, not the brand). That stuff is also brilliant for blisters and general bruising.
Ive never had RSI, so good luck with that one!!

[emitbrownne]

I had the same thing about 6 months into practicing kendo, a chap practicing nito gave me a whack.. the bruise ended up floating down my arm by about 5 inches. :eek:

The bruise and the lump was there for about a month, maybe a little more.

It still feels weaker than my left arm nearly 7 years later. Ever since I have worn a wrist guard (in the form of a kids soccer shin guard) for protection.

Take it easy, and let it heal. Dont just suck it up... you have the rest of your life to do Kendo.. so let it heal and practice when you are stronger.

In our class if someone has a problem for whatever reason, they discuss it with the instructors and they try and find an alternative. If none can be found, its time to stand aside and enjoy watching others do Kendo.

[Raindrop]

Thanks guys, I thought I was a freak of nature to get such a huge bump on my arm. I bruise VERY easily, I always have bruises from the most ridiculous things.

I will take it easy next practice. It was worth it though, that practice where I got the bruise was the best practice I had so far ^_^. And next time I'm more prepared (wrist protection). I showed it to a Karate sempai and he also said to take it easy so I didn't block with it during practice today.

LoL, my better half keeps yelling at me for getting hurt ^_^; "Why can't you do yoga, like other women?" xD

[Alison2805]

Tell your better half that none of the guys in the dojo seem to have a problem with you doing kendo. Those cute, fit, kendo guys.... :D

[NoNameKleenex]

Tell your better half that none of the guys in the dojo seem to have a problem with you doing kendo. Those cute, fit, kendo guys.... :D

Strange. . . . nobody wants to be anywhere near me after class . . .


Raindrop, I've only been in Kendo for a few months, but I've been in Shotokan and Goju Ryu for a couple years each. The one thing I learned from that is if you're injured, there's no shame in taking it easy until you're healed up.

Years ago I hurt my knee pretty badly, did the tough guy thing and chalked it up to "training", but now I have to be careful because it'll start to lock up on me if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing. I wish I had paid attention back then because it comes back to bite me in the butt now :)

Anyhoo, hope you feel better soon.