Injuries are a common finding in the sport of MMA. Many of the injuries occur during the training/sparring sessions. I’ll be discussing some of the more common injuries that occur in this sport.

Most recently Sean Sherk pulled out of his UFC 104 bout with a shoulder injury. His injury is stated as being a Grade 2 AC Separation. Let’s take a closer look at this type of injury and see the effects it has on returning back to the gym.

AC or Acromioclavicular Separation is a common injury in wrestling and MMA. It’s often a result of direct trauma such as landing on the shoulder from a take down, judo throw or when the arm is outstretched trying to soften a fall. The AC joint is the connection between the shoulder blade and the collar bone. These connections are held together by ligaments. Ligaments basically hold bone to bone.

The category of AC Separation is graded from 1-6. Grade 1 is considered a mild sprain, Grade 2 is a tear of the AC ligament with an intact coracoclavicular ligament, Grade 3 is a complete tear of the AC and coracoclavicular ligament and Grade 4-6 being more severe. The most common Grades are 1-3.

In the case of Sean Sherk, his is categorized as Grade 2. He has torn his AC ligament but not his coracoclavicular ligament. The recovery time for this can be anywhere from 2-4 weeks depending on the athlete. This type of injury is diagnosed by an X-Ray and physical examination. Swelling, pain, bruising, decreased shoulder range of motion and a small bump is the usual physical examination findings. The treatment protocol is to rest the shoulder usually wearing a shoulder sling, ice the area, take anti-inflammatory medication and undergo physical therapy. This is a very painful injury and will take the athlete out of training for some time.

What does this mean to a MMA fighter? It means, that they will not be able to do any type of wrestling, jiu jitsu or sparring with that injured shoulder. Needless to say, this will greatly inhibit the ability to properly train for a fight. My fighters that I treat for this type of injury, are greatly limited in their training for at least 2 weeks. They can do some cardio work and some work on their uninjured shoulder but they are not allowed to do any full contact wrestling, jujitsu or sparring. Once the pain and inflammation is greatly reduced, emphasis on rehabilitating that shoulder is crucial.

If you have this type of injury from a full contact sport, it is best to get medical attention to rule out any types of fractures that may have possibly occurred.

About me:



Dr. Michael Choe is a licensed Chiropractic Physician and Certified Acupuncturist in practice for over 12 years. He has been involved in the sport of MMA for many years and has treated some of the fighters from UFC, WEC, and IFL. He is currently the Team Chiropractor for Wreck’em All Fight Facility in Volo, IL and FLO MMA in Palatine, IL. Contact info: www.drmikechoe.com

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