UFC Fighter Jessica-Rose Clark Reveals Battle With Crutches

When Ultimate Fighting Championship Star Jessica-Rose Clark Sustained a Severe Foot Injury While Training, Her Biggest Battle Was With Conventional Crutches

When Ultimate Fighting Championship star Jessica-Rose Clark sustained a severe foot injury while training, her biggest battle was with conventional crutches.

The Australian fighter snapped the ligaments in her right foot – known as a Lisfranc injury. It is notorious for having a long recovery time and is common among NFL players.

Jessica-Rose explains: “I was wrestling with my training partner and we both landed on top of my foot. The doctor told me I’d have to wear a cast for 10 weeks. I had to stay off my foot 100% so I would need crutches. I train daily, so this was tough news to take.”

Struggling With Crutches

The first fight Jessica-Rose had to overcome in her recovery was with her crutches. She says: “It was horrible. I couldn’t do anything – every day household chores were impossible, and I’ve never felt more immobile in my life.

“I went from training 4-5 times a day to not even being able to walk to the bathroom. I had to cancel various events.”

She struggled for four weeks before a joke about needing a peg leg caused an influx of messages on social media suggesting that she get an iWALK crutch, a hands-free crutch alternative.

She says: “I wish I’d known about it earlier, it would have made the first month a lot easier. Being on crutches drove me crazy but with the iWALK crutch I was able to do simple tasks like cleaning my house. This is pretty vital as I have two dogs that shed a lot!”

Training With a Foot Injury

The biggest benefit for Jessica-Rose was being able to train again. She says: “I’m always concerned when I can’t train and my injury took away the one thing that I really love to do. It was super hard.

“With the crutches all I could do was upper body work. With the iWALK crutch I could resume my training. I could box and move around more, and I could do more technical work.”

Jessica-Rose credits the hands-free crutch with accelerating her recovery, which meant that she spent two weeks less in the cast than expected.

She isn’t the only UFC fighter to have used the iWALK crutch. Tyron Woodley famously defeated Kelvin Gastelum despite breaking his foot. He wanted to be ready for his next fight and used the iWALK crutch so that he could continue training immediately.

As a result he recovered three weeks faster than scheduled and in his next bout he became the UFC World Champion.

Jessica-Rose adds: “I’d definitely recommend it. It made day to day living a lot easier and keeps you mobile which has a massive impact on your physical and mental health.”

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