“Now it’s been 2 years and my back hasn’t bothered me since. I’m training normally, I don’t even think about my back when I’m training, I invert all the time, do berimbolos, whatever, it doesn’t bother me. 100%, we got back to what we wanted to do.”

With big long-term goals of winning as many major world BJJ competitions as he can as a black belt, Joss was obviously devastated when his back froze up and was told by a private physio that he had a disc bulge and may never get back to training at the level he was. 

“She wasn’t optimistic at all, so I was pretty devastated after that appointment. I basically thought my career was over before it even truly started.”

We started working with Joss in early 2020 after he got in touch looking for a second opinion from a bjj-specific physio about a disc bulge that was completely debilitating. Here’s his story of recovery and how he got back to training 100% within 4 weeks working with Grapplers Performance. 

We believe in active rehab.

At Grapplers Performance, almost never do we suggest you should rest and do nothing for any period of time. We believe in active rehab and that you can heal nearly any injury while still training in some capacity. Get in touch if you’ve been told to rest for an extended period by a doctor or PT. We will hop on a call and let you know if we can offer a faster, active rehab plan.

You can keep up with Joss is up to on Instagram @jossrogerayres. Catch one of his classes as Carlson Gracie London! He just won gold at the Mauricios Gomes Legacy Competition and is competing in the IBJFF London Open in a week and a half. Help us wish him luck!

If you’re currently stuck on the sidelines, nursing an injury or tweak, get started by giving our free injury rehab guides a try HERE.