“The Bare Essentials Guide For Martial Arts Injury Care and Prevention” by Trish Bare Grounds should be read by all martial art instructors and coaches, and is a handy reference to have at hand in any school. I’d encourage anyone involved in martial arts to give it a read, but especially instructors and coaches. The book contains basic knowledge, and many martial artists that are the level of instructor or coach will be familiar already with some here, but that does not mean it shouldn’t be reviewed and kept handy for a reference. It wont’ turn you into a doctor, but will provide the fundamentals which should be known by instructors and coaches.
The first chapter is on injury prevention. It makes sense, prevention is always better than treating an injury. The bulk of this chapter is on stretching. There are some basic guidelines for stretching, and some of the most common stretches are illustrated. No where near as complete as texts that focus solely on stretching, but good information nonetheless. There is also some good advice regarding equipment, workout surfaces, proper footwear, protective equipment, and jewelry in regards to injury prevention.
Chapter two focuses on strength and conditioning. The second edition expanded on the first edition that was less than 10 pages. However, much more information on this topic is found in other sources, but it is good to be included here because strength training and conditioning can help prevent injuries.
The third chapter is on eating to compete. Basics on eating geared to competition. Some good tips, but again very limited compared to resources that focus solely on eating and performance nutrition.
Chapter four was injury care, and this is one of the chapters I bought the book for. The chapter contains taping techniques for the ankle, feet, toes, shins, knee, elbow, wrist & hand, and fingers & thumbs.
Chapter five continues with the things I wanted from this book with care of injuries. Topics include discussions on sprains, strains, ruptures, types of fractures, ice & heat, and just all around good advice on how to care for a plethora of basic injuries. Like some of the earlier chapters, additional information was added to the second edition.
Chapter six was about some common conditions that may affect athletes. It was fairly short and provided some basics regarding asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and seizure disorders, and migraine headaches. If you have a student with one of these conditions, I’d suggest learning more than this book provides, but this does at least give you a little knowledge.
The seventh chapter contains some forms and information for school owners, including what your first aid kit should contain. Chapter eight is a few pages long and provides some information on organizing a sports medicine team for your tournament. And for the second edition there was a ninth chapter on pregnancy and the martial arts added before the conclusion.
I’m a firm believer that instructors and coaches should learn about injury care and prevention, and this book provides a good start. A couple of the chapters don’t provide nearly as much as other resources probably already on many martial artists’ book shelf, especially on stretching. However, the chapters on taping and injuries are must reading and not found in that many other sources. While I think the book could have gone a bit more in depth, I still think it is a very good resource and recommend it to all martial artists and especially those coaching or instructing.
The Bare Essentials Guide For Martial Arts Injury Care and Prevention by Trish Bare Grounds
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