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Hey All! Thanks in advance for any info & assistance! So I've been training for 9 months. At about month 4, I got kicked during sparring in the upper ribs just below my pectoral muscle. It didn't feel broken but was just super tender for a few days. After that it just settled in to a low ache, but then the low ache never went away. It would feel like it was starting to fade, but every time I'd go to practice muay thai I feel like I'd re-up the injury a little bit. It ended up lasting for probably 10-12 weeks until I took 2 or 3 weeks off from training after my first fight. Getting back in to training after the fight it was gone! Hurray! But then I got kicked again about a month ago and its the same story, just a constant low ache that never goes away. Its frustrating because I feel like I'm always holding back a bit during training and I'm always trying to protect that spot during sparring. I've heard and read about all kinds of little injuries from muay thai, but never something like this. Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone have any tips/exercises I might do to help it go away? Thanks a lot!

I'm curious to hear about what people do to recover. I believe in regular training and definitely into the "there is no overtraining only under recovery"-approach. However due to not getting proper recovery, mainly not enough sleep, I've struggled with all kinds of illness, fatigue and muscle strains. But to go to the gym 6 days a week even if I'm tired and fatigued has its wins and helps me to learn. And to battle my own mind. Sleep seems to be number one parallel to nutrition. Enough protein seems to be key for me. And warm showers after sessions. I can't say a particular supplement other than BCAA has done any magic trick. But I also do a lot of massage and have done regular chiropractic treatments in the past. I'm a yogic and used to do do a lot of yoga. When I stopped (because muay thai took over my life) my body felt it, getting stiffer more prone to injuries etc. and instead I opt for weekly thai massage and sauna. I've received the expert advice that body work (massage and the likes) is great for getting the muscles in order, the way they move under the skin etc. But I'm also constantly being told by trainers and fellow students to not get a thai massage more than 2/monthly. Because of toxins being released and so on. But massage has really helped me with my muscle issues. And it "feels" right. Curious to hear other people's views.

I just fought two fights in two nights, then drove 7 hours back down to Pattaya with very little sleep and not really eating properly for the three days I was traveling. The fights make me sore and you I have some dings, but the traveling and eating and sleeping really is what makes me tired. I don't really take pain-killers. We have Ibuprofin in the house but I'm sore all the time, so I don't take it for soreness as I would be eating them all the time. Instead I rely on this post-fight medicine that Thai fighters swear by, "yaa nam la damphon," which is essentially a laxative but it flushes out your whole system and makes you heal up from bruises and soreness much faster. I took the medicine upon arriving back home last night and a little more this morning when I woke up, just to really flush out my body. The way laxatives work, however, is to pull water from out of your body to your intestine, so it's really important to drink a lot of water when you take this medicine, so you don't get dehydrated. My weight dropped down from the travel, fighting and not really eating much (or training), so I'm recovering with some salt (the salmon is quite salty), quality protein and some easily digestible carbs of honeydew melon and a tortilla. You can put your body through a lot. Being tired and sore is okay, just make sure that you take care of yourself when you're asking a lot of your body - my trainer at Lanna, Den, used to always say, "eat good, sleep good." That's really the whole of it, other than drinking a lot of water also.

Before I started muay thai, I fight in sanda rules ("chinese kick-box", also with throws and leg grabs). I was always afraid to kick the body, because in sanda we rather use our feet, not shins, when we kick, and it was so painful when I accidentaly kicked my opponent's elbow. And my friend's foot broke actually by this: she kicked, and her opponent used elbow as a guard. I started muay thai, I've learnt to kick with my shins, and slowly I started to be "brave" enough to kick to the body. It's still painful when I kick an elbow, but my shins became harder And now... We had sparring at training (2 weeks ago), my training partner was a beginner man. He didn't know how to defense, or catch leg, he just moved instinctively. I teeped him - he pushed forward his elbows ---> extreme pain in my foot. Next day I couldn't stand on my injured foot, so I went to a hospital. X-Ray, diagnosis: IV. metatarsal bone is broken. I can't walk, just with crutches, it means a month "rest". I hate it, I'm worried if it will be normal again, etc... So, okay, I never experienced this, when I spar or fight with a non-starter opponent. I never used my elbow to defend a teep. But really... You can't strenghten up your feet. And I don't want to be afraid to use teeps. How can you avoid this?

I had my first interclub fight on Saturday (I'm hopefully going to write more about that at the weekend!), and I got a really hard kick to the ribs. I am still in quite a lot of pain, although I don't think they are broken..... So, I'm assuming this is a pretty standard injury (until you get better at blocking) so I'm after some tips/advice about how to deal with it. I'm keen to get this right as I fly out to Thailand in 2 weeks and really want it to be better by then!