80% of boxers have some sort of brain damage

[grubbogoppoly]

I think there is something to be said for both types of training. I have done both types(within the same art, but both types of sparring). I did find that you CAN learn from light contact sparring, but it takes more concentration and creativity(which is why most people don't benefit the greatest from it). Most people end up just going through the motions. If you use your imagination and know that you would have gotten hit and figure out what you need to do next time. However I think the learning process for full contact is much quicker. If I get hit I either learn how to block or get out of the way. Pain is a great teacher. You either learn, quit, or kill yourself trying. Oh yeah and you have to go light contact in some types of sparring. Some things simply can not be done with full force. You also learn control (emotional and physical). Again you can learn that from both types as well. Harder to learn control in full contact though.

[dkm]

Originally posted by Thai Bri
Throwing "light contact" strikes is a very different mechanism to hard ones. You are literally training yourself not to hit hard.

true

[MMouse]

Can't be any worse than some of the hits football and hockey players take.

[Thai Bri]

True. But do they satnd in front of each other and throw constant, non stop hits?

[hEmPY]

DAMN
Why I afraid to shake hands after fight more den dis info???

[Koboxing99]

80% of boxers have some sort of brain damage

That is a very general statement. I could say 100% of boxers have some sort of hand damage. Does this mean that all of our hands are useless?

Is there any more details in the article or any references?

I have seen the figure of nearly 90% of PROFESSIONAL boxers have some sort of brain damage before.

[ScarChest]

Brain Damage

This is stupid.

Everything causes brain damage.

Every time you look at a bright light you cause brain damage.

If you don't overdo it, there is no reason to be concerned.

[Pound4Pound]

All I can say is...if boxing causes brain damage...just make sure you're the one causing it! It's quite obvious future problems are possible, but it doesn't mean it's an 80% chance. Learn to move and block.

[MMouse]

The figure of 80% is also more than likely taken from professional boxers. I can't see your average guy who boxes for fun/self defense and spars or competes occasionally having many problems...........unless he sucks and uses his face for blocking like Rocky.

[speedbag]

Boxing & Brain Damage... read the research.

Just a few words from the research front on this subject:

entire report (very long ) can be found at:

http://www.ama-assn.org/meetings/public/annual99/reports/csa/rtf/csa3.rtf

( hint: a medical dictionary wouldn't hurt. this research is a report to medical personnel. )

+++ paraphrased parts for this group below++++

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL ON SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS

Subject: Boxing Injuries


Resolution 404 asks:

That the American Medical Association (AMA) ask its Council on Scientific Affairs to review any of the medical presentations from the First Medical World Boxing Congress that might improve the health and safety of boxers from the United States as well as boxers from all countries of the world

........ served as the impetus for the Council on Scientific Affairs (CSA) to update its previous report on brain injury in boxing. The current report examines recent evidence on the relationship between boxing and the occurrence of chronic injuries, particularly ocular and neurological injuries, and the possible risk factors for their development. Repeated subconcussive and concussive blows to the head cause varying degrees of central nervous system injury, ranging from moderate neuropsychological impairment to a dementia syndrome in the most severely affected individuals (also referred to as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or dementia pugilistica). Because it is generally believed that the frequency and severity of boxing-related head trauma underlies the development of chronic neurological injury, and because amateur and professional boxing differ in their conduct, outcome studies on professional and amateur boxers are analyzed separately in this report.

Methodology

Articles for this report were selected from a MEDLINE search of the literature from 1966 to December 1998 using the key words “dementia pugilistica” and “boxing,” cross indexed with the terms “injury,” “brain injuries,” “ocular,” “retina,” “prevention and control,” “etiology,” “neuropsychology,” and “legislation and jurisprudence.” A total of 248 articles were retrieved. Studies that examined acute changes in brain function immediately after a knockout or bout were excluded from analysis.


World Boxing Council’s World Medical Boxing Congress

In April 1997, the World Boxing Council sponsored the First World Medical Boxing Congress, devoted to seeking ways to provide “optimum medical conditions for safety within boxing.” Proceedings of the Congress were not published, but a series of recommendations were offered for implementation and distributed to attendees (William S. Weil, MD, personal communication, June 1998). Those designated as highest priority are listed in the Appendix.

Ocular Complications of Boxing

Acute traumatic ocular injuries such as contusions, lacerations, and fractures of the orbital floor occur in boxing.9 The latter result from direct blows that cause local damage. Direct infratemporal blows that impact the globe also can cause direct damage to the sclera and underlying ciliary body and retinal tissue. Orbital impact sends shock waves through the eye leading to retinal tears or rupture of the anterior and posterior lens capsule and subsequent opacities, traumatic maculopathy, and macular hole formation. Direct compression reduces the anterior-posterior diameter of the globe, distending the equatorial sclera and imparting traction on areas of the vitreous base. This can lead to vitreous detachment and peripheral retinal damage. Macular pathologies and angle recession can be associated with delayed and sometimes severe irreversible loss of central vision. ( more in report )

Brain Injury in Boxing

Although accurate mortality figures are not available historically, at least 650 deaths have been attributed to boxing from 1918 through 1997. Despite the fact that athletes engaged in the sport of boxing run the risk of suffering acute brain injuries that can cause death, the same is true of many other sports. In fact, death from boxing is infrequent, and the mortality rate from boxing-related injuries compares favorably with other sporting activities.

Boxing-induced brain injury may be either acute or chronic. Acute brain injuries in boxing manifest as concussion or traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, most commonly subarachnoid hemorrhage and subdural hematoma. The latter is the most common acute boxing injury causing brain death and mortality. Other types of intracranial hemorrhage are epidural hematoma, usually occurring in conjunction with fracture of the temporal bone, and rarely intracerebral hematoma. Repeated concussive or subconcussive blows to the head appear to be associated with the development, at least in professional boxers, of chronic neuological injury, the symptoms of which are variable.

Acute Brain Injury – The brain can move slightly within the cranial vault. It is suspended within the cranial vault by the attachment of its blood vessels and some nerve fibers to the dura mater, the outer layer of which is attached in several places to the periosteum of the inner surface of the skull. Additional cushioning is provided by the cerebrospinal fluid in the subarachnoid space.
When the head is struck, movement of the brain within the skull lags behind due to inertia. Sudden rotational (angular) acceleration of the head imparts shearing stresses in proportion to the force and direction of the blow, the acceleration of the head, and the inertia of the brain. Bridging veins can be stretched and torn during this process leading to subdural hematomas. Rotational and gliding movements of the brain can tear blood vessels (intracerebral hemorrhage) or axons (diffuse axonal injury) within the brain. The extent to which the latter occurs in boxers is unknown. Rotational acceleration is not prevented by the use of headgear.

One kinematic analysis of the mechanical properties of a boxing punch from a professional heavyweight estimated a peak force on impact of 0.4 ton delivered at a velocity of 8.9 meters/sec, which represents a blow to the head approaching 0.63 ton. The latter is equivalent to swinging a padded wooden mallet with a mass of 6 kg at 20 miles per hour. Force is transmitted to the skull (causing transient deformation), which can cause contact trauma or focal contusions in the cerebral hemispheres beneath the point of cranial impact. Observational and cross-sectional studies have found that serum concentrations of enzymatic markers of central nervous system neurons and astrocytes are significantly elevated in boxers immediately after completing bouts, perhaps signaling acute damage to these cell types and disruption of the blood brain barrier.

After concussive (“knockout”) blows, boxers may fall into the ropes or to the ring mat. When the back of the moving head strikes a stationary surface, rapid impact deceleration occurs that can cause contrecoup contusions of the orbital surface of the frontal lobes and the tips of the temporal lobes, as well as gliding contusions in the cortex and subcortical white matter.

Chronic Brain Injury - In recent years, attention has been focused on the long-term neurological sequelae of boxing and the accumulating evidence that repeated head trauma causes a spectrum of neurological dysfunction in professional boxers. Interest in the occurrence of chronic neurological injury in boxers has received more public scrutiny recently with the well-publicized difficulties of modern boxers such as Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Jerry Quarry, and Wilfred Benitez, among others. ( much more )

Clinical features of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) include motor dysfunction, psychomotor retardation, memory lapses, lack of initiative, and personality changes that may precede by several years the progressive development of a dementia syndrome. In early stages, boxers suffering from CTE may exhibit dysarthria, tremors, mild incoordination and memory lapse, and decreased attention to complex tasks. In more severely affected individuals, prominent cerebellar signs (ataxia, dysathria) and/or extrapyramidal dysfunction occur (tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia). Mental speed is slowed and more prominent deficits appear in memory, attention, and executive ability. In late disease, motor deficits are prominent, and neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia occur

( much more in report on specific brain injuries..)

Studies in Amateurs

Several studies have addressed the question of possible chronic neurological injury in amateur boxers. Four of these studies were prospective.

Prospective Studies - The largest prospective study involved 484 active amateurs who completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, and were evaluated on standard motor exercises, EEG, and auditory evoked potentials.49 More than 80% of subjects were re-examined 2 years later and compared with a group of boxing club members that had no bouts. Boxers were impaired at baseline on measures of memory, perceptual/motor function, and visuoconstructional ability. Impairment was correlated with the number of prebaseline bouts, but no additional decrements were detected over the following 2-year period. Both actual bout and sparring exposure were analyzed separately, although the cutoff for high exposure in this study was only  10 bouts.

Two other prospective studies tested the neuropsychological responses of amateur boxers. One examined 86 active, young amateurs (mean age 16.7 years) with a mean of 17 bouts and compared them with a group of rugby and water polo players.50 No changes were detected immediately following bouts or at various lengths of follow-up that ranged from 6 months to 2 years. The other study was similar in design to that of Stewart et al49 but the boxers had greater bout exposure. Twenty amateur boxers aged 16 to 25 years (mean 20.5 years) with a minimum of 40 bouts (mean 78) were compared with 20 controls matched for age, socioeconomic status, and years of education using a battery of neuropsychological tests designed to test memory and speed of functioning.51 The same battery was readministered 15 to 18 months later after a mean exposure to 12 additional bouts. In this study there was no evidence of significant boxing-induced neuropsychological impairment, although boxers performed worse at baseline on the finger-tapping test for the nondominant hand. After the exposure interval, this difference persisted and boxers also deteriorated on the finger-tapping test for the dominant hand. These results could simply reflect the consequence of repeated blows sustained by the hand and fingers, and not be indicative of any central dysfunction. Boxers’ performance was similar or better, compared with controls, on the other tests.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

the full report runs 22 pages with bibliography, results, summaries and proposed recommendations. Also has comparison to other sports, such as;

"In a small case control study, 19 active professional boxers licensed in California were matched with a group of basketball and baseball athletes on the basis of age, ethnicity, and education.44 Subjects again were relatively young (mean age 23.4 years) with a moderate degree of amateur (mean 53 bouts) and professional exposure (mean 14 bouts). A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery found that boxers performed more poorly on most tests and exhibited deficits in memory. Boxers also exhibited abnormalities on neurological screening tests. Dysfunction was correlated with the number of professional bouts, but not amateur bouts."

Other listings of interest:

http://www.bragmanhealth.com/books/sports/ch19.html

If you ARE serious about research studies, reports and findings about injuries from Boxing or Martial Arts ( or any other health related subjects...) try a search on "PubMed", a service of the National Library of Medicine, includes over 14 million citations for biomedical articles back to the 1950's. These citations are from MEDLINE and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

Type in your desired subject in the "FOR" window. If you don't think that BOXING is a subject of interest, this one word will yield 42 PAGES of independent studies!

Get a pot of coffee and read awhile.

Hey, TIM, check these out:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
#16 Kravitz L, Greene L, Burkett Z, Wongsathikun J.

Cardiovascular response to punching tempo.
J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Feb;17(1):104-8.
PMID: 12580664 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

#27 Guidetti L, Musulin A, Baldari C.
Physiological factors in middleweight boxing performance.
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2002 Sep;42(3):309-14.
PMID: 12094121 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Good luck, guys and train safely

[SOUTHPAW]

Neurological damage in boxers

Hey SpeedBag...great post. It was nice to see someone else that reviews the medical literature on our sport (not much out there currently). In the old days we used to call a guy "punch drunk" or "punchy" nowadays there is an attempt to legitimize the injury that occurs. defenitions such as dementia pugilistica and chronic traumatic encephalopothy are probably closer to accurate. I am actually in the process of completing a research study of my own and will be attempting to publish my findings as well as redefining the defenition as "Syndrome of Repetetive Neurological Insult" which I believe to be a more accurate definition.
Look guys, the bottom line is this: BOXING IS A CONTACT SPORT!!! You must be smart and protect yourself. Wear headgear when you spar, avoid "gym wars" and all out hard sparring on a year round basis, get frequent medical check ups, and know when to say that you have had enough punihment in the ring.

[osopardo]

Boxing Shmoxing! Any activity where you expose yourself to the possibility of being hit on the head has got to have its deleterious effects!

This is precisely the sort of thing that makes me think I should restrict my training to calisthenics, firearms and running!

Or, as an old buddy of mine used to say; "Let's you and him fight!"

[JKD-Escrima]

that's why I train with little kids.

[osopardo]

that's why I train with little kids.

a.k.a. Kramer Karate

[JKD-Escrima]

hey, we're all at the same SKILL LEVEL!

seriously though, I'd bet 80% of people in general have brain damage.
ever been to Wal Mart?
the Post Office? the DMV?
exactly.