This week Texas’ athletic commission is in the spotlight again after some bizarre stuff following UFC Austin. At the event Joaquin Buckley was declared winner after his opponent, Albert Duraev, was examined by a doctor right before the beginning of round three. Following examination the bout was called off. Texas declared the official result as … More Yeehaw! Let’s Talk Weird Texas MMA Rules!
The sports world is filled with a lot of science but also a lot of ‘bro-science’. The former being data driven analysis with conclusions shifting based on where the data points. The latter being conventional wisdom which is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. One ‘bro-science’ belief held by many in the world of both collision … More Study – Early Hard Hits Don’t Toughen Athletes Up. They Weaken Them.
A recent study was published looking into whether brain changes were evident after only a handful of repeated subconcussive impacts finding the answer is yes. In the recent study, titled Repetitive sub-concussive impacts induce inflammation implications for innocuous head impacts in sports, the authors conducted a series of experiments on rats. They designed a device … More Animal Study Finds Microscopic Brain Changes After Only 10 Repeated Subconcussive Impacts
No bite in combat sports will ever be more infamous than Mike Tyson’s serial biting of Evander Holyfield in 1997. Adding to this site’s database of regulatory precedent, this week the New York State Athletic Commission handed out a 6 month suspension and $10,000 fine to a boxer who attempted a similar infraction. On June … More Attempted “Mike Tyson Bite” Leads to 6 Month Suspension and $10,000 Fine
Combat Sports have no consistent standards of what brain imaging is needed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. From national federations, to State and Tribal Commission to Provincial and even Municipal Commissions and in some cases to no commissions at all there is profound inconsistency in health and safety standards in combat sports. Hoping to improve this … More Ringside Doctors Publish Consensus Statement on Fighter Brain Imaging
One in 5,000 pro boxing bouts end with a fighter dying from brain trauma. A shocking statistic. But one recently published by the the Association of Ringside Physicians in their Journal of Combat Sports Medicine. In the study, titled “Mortality Resulting From Head Injury In Professional Boxing Revisited” the physicians reviewed reported worldwide mortalities from … More One in 5,000 Pro Boxing Bouts End in Death by Brain Injury
Two questions. How old should kids be before being allowed to participate in full contact martial arts (be it boxing, MMA, kickboxing etc)? How much should kids (or their parents) know about brain trauma within these sports before they are truly making an informed decision to participate? Society regulates the ability of kids to consent … More How Old Should Kids Be To Consent To Brain Trauma?
CTE is more common than many doctors recognize. As a disease without a cure some people wrongly believe nothing can be done to assist when suffering from this progressive disorder linked to repeated brain trauma. If you are combat sports athlete and suspect you are suffering from the disease making sure your doctor is familiar … More Helping Your Doctor Help You With CTE
Boston University and the University of California San Francisco are calling for men and women over 50 who have over 5 years experience in contact sport (including boxing, MMA or full contact martial arts) to volunteer for research to help shed light light on (and hopefully be able to better treat and prevent) long term … More Former Contact Athletes Needed To Research Long Term Cognitive and Mood Problems
Adding to this site’s data base of combat sports safety studies, a recent article was published in latest edition of The Journal of Eating Disorders finding ‘alarming’ weight cutting behaviours that can “have serious ramifications both short- and long-term and even cause death” in youth combat sports athletes. In the article, titled Patterns of Weight Cycling in … More Research Finds “Alarming” Rapid Weight Cutting Practices in Youth Combat Sports
Combat Sports Law 