Bruising Easily

[Wushu24]

Hello,
I just started full contact sparring, and I have come away surprisingly with massive bruises (this is with protective gear [hands, feet, shins, chest, head]) and noticed no one else had bruises quite as bad as me. Growing up, I don't remember getting bruises easily, but it seems times have changed. I'm even getting bruises on my shins where I'm wearing shin guards. Most of the other bruises are along my forearm area. What can I do to alleviate or reduce the bruising while continuing in sparring? And once i have bruises, what can I use (that is easily bought in a grocery store, no chinatown where I live) that will reduce the time they exist? Are there any vitamins or minerals that help reduce bruising in general? Thanks!

[Maestro]

u get bruises because the affected area was struck by something denser then your body.. it doesnt neccesarily mean you bruise easily..the people you sparred with could just be more powerful then you.

if u want to avoid getting bruised you need to get stronger, the best way is to condition yourself, for instance in my system we are famous for the iron arm/bridge, we train iron arm with many methods..mostly 3 stars strikeing, kiu sau hand and qi gong. real iron arm is a little different, for instance, in small golden bell we hit the arms with a canvas bag filled with mung beans(begginner) then gravel, then iron shots, which of course is supplmented with qi gong which is different from my system of hung ga but still qi gong...

also in SGB you do a version of a hindu pushup just a little different..so how does this all pertain to you..well, if u want denser bones and muscles/tendons u should look into training that i talked about above. the same goes for the legs

as for healing from bruising, dit da jow is really good, but its mostly just for a herbal healing effect and as a lubricant for when you massage. if you want to get rid of bruises which are just dead stagnant blood/tissue, you need to massage the bruise deep, and remember to always massage hard, and deep, and massage towards your heart so the bad blood is filtered out

[LeiYunFat]

Get some muscle on yourself and make sure that you aren't a hemophiliac.

[doc]

Well, for one, you're a woman. I don't mean to be sexist or anything, but my girlfriend bruises when I hold her upper arm. She's small and delicate, and I'm a bit of a monster. Beauty and the Beast doesn't come close to describing us.

It's like anything else, a matter of force between two objects. Her upper arm is no match for the strength in my hands; if I squeeze too much, she bruises. And if I touch her while teaching her to box, she gets colorful.

Then again, so does my Muay Thai coach, who doesn't seem to want to work out with me anymore, LOL.

Two things come to mind. For one, you might be prone to bruising, for many factors, one being that you're less muscular with less dense and less conditioned tissue. I have no scientific basis to make this following comment, but I've noticed that people who tend to be more along the lines of vegetarians, tend to bruise more easily. Nutritional status, and vitamin status, tend to play a role in bruisability. The more fat you are, the more "protected" you are; really thin people tend to bruise more easily. A poor intake in Vitamin C can lead to more easily rupturable capillaries, with subsequent bruising (scurvy).

There are other, more serious concerns, that can lead to this. Various blood clotting disorders and platelet disorders can be an issue; these need to be checked for by your local physician. More "out there" medical disorders such as the various purpuras, liver disease, Cushings disease, cirrhosis, some autoimmune disorders, Von Willebrands, leukemia, aplastic anemia and hemolytic uremic syndrome, can be first recognized by a condition of easy bruising.

Medications can also cause "bruisability"; such as taking aspirin or plately clotting inhibitory agents (Plavix). Blood thinners, such as Coumadin, of course can cause this. Certain nutritinal substances, such as fish oil and garlic, can help trigger this increased bleeding ability, due to their "blood thinning" nature. Steroid use can lead to bruising by its action on blood vessels, as can different formulations of birth control pills.

You should get worked up by a local physician, to make sure that none of these more bizarre causes of bruising are present. If all is clear, and you've been given medical clearance stamp of approval, then good nutrition, slow conditioning, and a proper work out partner should be considered.

[Maestro]

i didnt know she was a girl i hadnt even thought of checking..

i take it super easy on the girls in my school and the ones that like to think they are just as tough i take it easy on them aswell..and they still complain, lolo

imo if your getting bruised up alot with full body armor while SPARRING..not fighting but sparring? you definately need to examine what it is your doing, because you dont sound healthy enough to be sparring let alone preparing for competeing or something or ring fighting? i dunno your reason for sparring people but most do it so they can be proficient in a sport or event where u fight 1 opponent in a environment with rules. personally i dont think sparring is going to make you any better a fighter then say drilling forms, makeing sure your techniques are solid and your foundation is sound.

fighting makes you a better fighter, whether it be in a ring or on a rooftop, but thats not the same as sparring..sparring is not fighting, when u step up to someone who has the intention of ripping your head off it is NOT the same thing as a sparring partner who wishes to help you and vice versa

[Wushu24]

Thanks for all the replies. Let's see if I can add a few details to all this.

I'm in the military, so all though the possibility of some obscure disease is there, it is most likely not that (assuming the military checks for stuff like that before you're allowed in..they do a thorough exam & bloodwork, but for what, couldn't tell ya.) I'd consider myself fairly fit, and medium muscle definition (not skinny.) I eat tons of meat, not enough veggies, and tons of fruit. My workouts include running and weightlifting, and then practicing my martial art. I do full contact sparring because it's fun, I hold no preconceptions about it "helping" me on the street, and currently I don't feel a need to compete. I use the term sparring, not fighting, because I think fighting = no pads (or very little) and sparring = lots o pads.

I will still check it out with the local doctor to be on the safe side. And perhaps start a conditioning program for my legs & arms, got any suggestions for that?

P.S. In answer to M's question on sparring - I may use the term "sparring" (for above mentioned reason) but we were hitting each other full force, every man for himself reasoning. We do drills to learn from each other, spar to become better fighters.

[doc]

Get checked up first. Excessive bruising might just be a "normal" thing for you; remember, what happens to others is not necessarily normal for you. We all live on bell curve, and you just might be susceptible to bruising. I'm not sure how involved the military is with their examinations, so I can't make any reference to that. Basic bloodwork does not test for clotting factors or liver enzymes. Make sure that a proper workup has been performed before you start traumatizing your body again. If you're in the military, and you've been subjected to the usual training, more than likely something serious, such as hemophilia or leukemia would have already presented itself.

As for conditioning, here in Thailand they start with soft "heavy" bags, filled with rubber inner tubes, and work their way up to sand filled bags. Start easy, and progress slowly. And remember, if you have "delicate" tissues, beating the shit out of them to "condition" them is probably not going to work. Conditioning builds muscle and bone strength, not necessarily soft subcutaneous tissues.

[doc]

Oh, Vitamin C and E, magnesium, and zinc are all necessary for good healing, tissue strength, and capillary strength. Adequate protein intake of course is also important. A good daily multivitamin with minerals, such as Centrum, is always a good bet, regardless of how well you may think you eat. With today's processed foods, you never know what you're really getting.

[Maestro]

wushu..doc suggested muy thai conditioning..i do not suggest that simply because i care about my sensitivity in the legs, i dont know how they train arm conditioning but its probably similar..

if u notice, alot of fighters in NHB or MMA train like doc says, and every fighter ive met has a little maybe half inch or less tissue that is soft to the touch on their legs which is a serious decrease in sensitivity in the legs.. now if you dont understand bridgeing with the legs and arms your probably not going to care about the nerves and tissue of the legs, but muy thai conditioning seriously decreases the sensitivity in those area

like most fighters its essential to have powerful limbs to be a competent fighter..like yan ming says in the love edit, if you train martial arts "you can get hurt, very easily" in regards to how the shaolin train conditioning, i think they have the best method.

there are a million styles of iron body, i dont know if the shaolin stick to a particular style but my style comes from shaolin and it is small golden bell, this style incorporates conditioning of the whole body aswell as qi gong for every part. massage and qi gong btw take up about 2/3 of the training simply because of the reasons i stated above.

i suggest u look into iron body, you dont neccesarily have to do the whole system, because that is what iron body is, its a complete system in itself and takes a decade to master, after that its just upkeep. i know you say you dont have a shaolin instructor to help you, which is to bad, but you can learn enough to safely condition your arms and legs without looseing sensitivity of your arms and legs and without damageing the nerves in your legs in a seminar or from a couple hours with an competent instructor

the qi gong associated with iron body is advanced in some points but for the legs and arms it is relatively easy if you practice everyday and follow the rules of practice

[daodejing]

In tcm, easily bruising, is a symptom usually indicative of spleen qi defeciency. This can treated best with diet and herbs. Eat more cooked grains, no cold food for breakfast (especially chilled juices), don't eat anything at night (after 7pm)(especially anything with protein at night is a no no). Congee helps alot. Herbs help alot too.

Maestro is totally right about the dit da jow. The stuff works miracles. USE IT.

In addition, you might want to see a chinese herbalist about a formula/dietary advice, Si Jun Zi Tang is a good safe formula as long as you don't have high blood pressure or frequent bloody noses.

My proffessional reccomendation is to get some dit da jow, massage into bruises daily, eat congee every day for breakfast with no cold foods or drinks, do more conditioning, and if you're family has a history of blood disorders see a doctor. Otherwise, see an herbalist. Even if you do see an MD, see an herbalist as well.