The Armour Archive

I came back from the Insula Draconis Coronet tournament last Saturday just gone midnight.

At about 2am my lodger came stumbling in slightly drunk with his face the wrong shape. It turns out he and a complete stranger had disagreed over which of them had the superior hand to hand combat skills and they ran a quick test to resolve the issue.

My lodger came second and had his jaw broken in two places to remember it by.

He is a casual member of the SCA and I am wondering if any here has had their jaw broken in such a way and returned to heavy fighting? If so, how long did it take you?

Man that sounds like a set up for a bad movie or tv show

Dude I can so out mall ninja you!

Wouldn't this fall under the purview of a professional physician?

Your lodger sounds like a Darwin Award winner.

Guy Dawkins wrote:Wouldn't this fall under the purview of a professional physician?

I am not sure whether a doctor will be able to tell me whether anyone on the forums has returned to fighting after a broken jaw and how long it took them. If you think it will help I could make an appointment?

Sorry, I could not resist!

Overall yes it would but I am trying to get an idea in my head now for how serious this sort of injury is. Obviously, I will not get a bang on assessment but it 50 people have broken their jaws and they were all back fighting within a month then I can tell him to relax. If 50 people have all had their jaws broken and have never been able to fight again then I can tell him to tense up slightly.

Eynar wrote:He is a casual member of the SCA and I am wondering if any here has had their jaw broken in such a way and returned to heavy fighting? If so, how long did it take you?

Why wouldn't he be able to? Once the break has healed it will be stronger (at least so they say...) than before. He might need a different helmet, or to pad it differently, but I wouldn't expect anything else to change.

Its a case by case basis depending on how the bone heals and how the muscles recover.
Recovery time can vary greatly I would sugest talking with the DR once things have healed up a bit on the paticulars of SCA combat and progress being made.

I would suspect some modifcation may be nessicary. Much like the folks with TMJ.

I had a buddy a few years back who's jaw had been broken and he still fought, although with a different chin strap method than the rest of us. So, yeah he should be able to continue fighting (SCA) after he heals up.

Great, thanks.

losthelm wrote:Its a case by case basis depending on how the bone heals and how the muscles recover.
Recovery time can vary greatly I would sugest talking with the DR once things have healed up a bit on the paticulars of SCA combat and progress being made.

I would suspect some modifcation may be nessicary. Much like the folks with TMJ.

They make changes for people with TMJ? What do they do? And as long as he does what hes supposed to and the jaw heals properly. He will be just fine to return fighting.

Cheers,

One of the local people started with pro force lightning head gear and built the helm around that.

Some people with TMJ use a mouthguard others just use a standard 4point chinstrap.
It realy depends on the person and their armour.

Jestyr wrote:Your lodger sounds like a Darwin Award winner.

He was in a fight, drunk. Be nice.

Why? Getting drunk and getting into a fight IS Darwinian. It's a stupid thing to do. I ought to know; I've done it.

Bob

But with all that SCA fighting, how did he lose?

Leo Medii wrote:But with all that SCA fighting, how did he lose?

He didn't have a trash can lid and a broomstick?

Assuming reconstruction with a maleable titanium plate, he could be eating painlessly in about 6 weeks. The average is probably 12 and if he is a smoker, diabetic or has blood or other health issues it could easily go 24. A lot depends on health and anatomy.

They may need to wire his jaw shut which is never fun. (reportedly)

I am thankful that I got over my broken bone stage as a child and have never broken my jaw. My helm very rarely interacts with my jaw except when I step in on a spearman who was trying to politely kill me and I screw up his range.

Sean

Leo Medii wrote:But with all that SCA fighting, how did he lose?

I'd bet money he got his jaw broke on his shield side. Or the side his shield should have been on!

Uric