Category: Safety Studies

Ringside Doctors Publish Peer Reviewed Position on Licencing Older Fighters

May 9, 2024

Last year the Association of Ringside Physicians published their consensus statement on medically clearing older fighters to compete. This week their position was published in the peer reviewed journal The Physician and Sports Medicine. The paper is titled Care of The Older Fighter: Position Statement of the Association of Ringside Physicians. The abstract, along with … More Ringside Doctors Publish Peer Reviewed Position on Licencing Older Fighters

Study – CTE Linked With Repeated Brain Rattling, Not Individual Brain Injuries

April 18, 2024

The latest study shedding light on CTE causation was published this week in the Journal of Neurotrauma. In short the study suggests CTE is caused by repeted brain rattling activities and not individual concussions or even individual moderate to severe brain injuries. In the study, titled Lack of Association of Informant-Reported Traumatic Brain Injury and … More Study – CTE Linked With Repeated Brain Rattling, Not Individual Brain Injuries

Declining Postural Balance “Significantly Associated” With Suspected CTE in Fighters

March 1, 2024

Presently CTE can only be diagnosed after death. But there are criteria for diagnosing suspected CTE in the living which is useful for research and other purposes. It is called Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome “TES”. A recent study was published researching athletes with and without TES and seeing how they performed on double leg balance testing. … More Declining Postural Balance “Significantly Associated” With Suspected CTE in Fighters

Unsettling Truth – Winning Fighters Found To Have More Long Term Brain Issues Than Losers

January 27, 2024

If you have a good fight record you probably will have better long term brain health than fighters with a losing record, right? This was the hypothesis in a recent study. Turns out the answer is no. In fact fighters with a better win/loss ratio had greater measurable brain harm than fighters with a losing record. The recent … More Unsettling Truth – Winning Fighters Found To Have More Long Term Brain Issues Than Losers

Study Calls For “Concerted Effort” To Improve Brain Health Awareness in Combat Sports 

January 1, 2024

The death and injury rate in boxing and other combat sports remain high and there is significant room for improvement of brain health knowledge for participants in these sports. That is the conclusion of a recent study diving into the injury and death rates in boxing. In the study, titled The spectrum of acute and chronic … More Study Calls For “Concerted Effort” To Improve Brain Health Awareness in Combat Sports 

Is Sport Structured Brain Trauma Child Abuse?

December 12, 2023

How old is old enough to consent to brain trauma? I’ve tackled this subject here previously. Its a worthwhile conversation. Last month a paper was published in the Journal of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy addressing this topic in detail. The authors go so far as to argue that full contact/combat sports amount to child abuse … More Is Sport Structured Brain Trauma Child Abuse?

Study – Hook Punches Have Higher Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury

December 7, 2023

An article was published this month in the journal of Studies in Sports Medicine looking at brain injury risk from both linear (straight) punches and rotational (hook) punches. In short the authors found that straight punches likely lead to less brain damage risk and hook punches lead to more. The authors concluded as follows: “the … More Study – Hook Punches Have Higher Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury

Study – Breaking Down Boxing KO/TKO Rates By Sex, Weight Class and Experience

November 26, 2023

A study was published this month in the Journal The Physician and Sports Medicine drilling down into the KO/TKO rates in boxing based on various factors. In the study, titled “Knockout rates across the states as a way of predicting injury and knockout based on fighter sex, weight, or experience” the authors reviewed 6 months … More Study – Breaking Down Boxing KO/TKO Rates By Sex, Weight Class and Experience

RCPA Admit CTE is “Caused” By Repeated Brain Rattling

November 8, 2023

Following last years groundbreaking admission by the US National Institute of Health that CTE is in fact ’caused’ by repeated brain rattling another leading medical institution, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia, have just published a Position Statement making the same blunt admission. In short the RCPA note that repeated brain rattling, particularly from … More RCPA Admit CTE is “Caused” By Repeated Brain Rattling

Study – Chokeholds Do Not Result in “Statistically Significant” Cognitive Symptoms Compared to KO’s and TKO’s

October 7, 2023

An interest study was published in the Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation reviewing measurable cognitive differences in MMA fighters that lost via chokehold compared to those that lost via KO/TKO and a control group that lost by neither. In the study, titled Mixed Martial Arts: Comparing the King-Devick and Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5 … More Study – Chokeholds Do Not Result in “Statistically Significant” Cognitive Symptoms Compared to KO’s and TKO’s