Jessica-Rose Clark Battle

UFC Fighter Jessica-Rose Clark Reveals Her Battle With Crutches After Foot Injury

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Jessica-Rose Clark has credited an "alternative" crutch called the iWALK2.0 for helping her to recover more quickly from a severe foot injury.

The Australian fighter injured herself during training in March and snapped the ligaments in her right foot – known as a Lisfranc injury, which is notorious for having a long recovery time and is common among sports stars, particularly NFL players. The injury forced Jessica-Rose to withdraw from a scheduled fight with Talita Bernardo, due to take place in May.

Jessica-Rose, who competes in the women's Bantamweight division, said: "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, that it would be a long recovery and that I had to stay off it 100%. I train daily and absolutely love my job, so this was tough news to take."

The first fight Jessica-Rose had to overcome in her recovery was with her crutches. She said: "It was horrible. I couldn't do anything – even 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 a fight and various events I was supposed to attend because I didn't want to be in a busy environment with lots of people when I was on crutches."

Jessica-Rose struggled for four weeks before a joke about needing a peg leg caused an influx of messages suggesting that she get an iWALK2.0. At first, she thought it was a joke but when she realised it was a real device regularly used by other athletes, she decided to give it a go. She said: "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 iWALK2.0 I was able to do simple tasks like cleaning my house – which is pretty vital as I have two dogs that shed a lot!"

But the biggest benefit for Jessica-Rose was being able to train again. She said: "I'm always concerned when I can't train and my injury took away the one thing that I really love to do – I couldn't even put weight on my foot let alone be athletic, it was super hard. With the crutches all I could do was upper body work. With the iWALK2.0 I could resume my training because I could box and move around more, and I could do more technical work."

Jessica-Rose credits the iWALK2.0 with accelerating her recovery, which meant that she spent two weeks less in the cast than expected. She still has a long way to go but with the cast off she's passed an important milestone, physically and psychologically. She said: "There have definitely been times over the last couple of months when I've had a rough patch, thinking about what I've lost and what it's going to take to get me back to where I was before I got injured. But I'm staying positive and focused."

Jessica-Rose isn't the only UFC fighter to have used the iWALK2.0. Tyron Woodley famously defeated Kelvin Gastelum despite breaking his foot. He wanted to be ready for his next fight and used the iWALK2.0 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 added: "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."