Adding to this database of combat sports safety studies, a paper was published this week addressing how long it takes fully locked in chokes applied by trained individuals to lead to full loss of consciousness against resisting opponents.  (Full disclosure- I volunteered as one of the “sportive choking experts” helping analyze the data). The study, … More Study – Locked In Chokes Take 9 Seconds To Full Unconsciousness

Adding to this site’s archived combat sports safety studies, a recent thesis was written delving into the incidence of lacerations and head injuries (brain injury) in amateur boxing bouts with and without headgear. In the literature review, titled Comparison of incidence of selected injuries in amateur boxing with and without formerly mandatory head gear, the … More Study – Headgear in Amateur Boxing Leads To Far Fewer Cuts but Substantially More Head Injuries

In the latest addition to this site’s archived posts documenting safety issues in combative sports, a study was published today in the journal of The Physician and Sports Medicine analyzing the safety of chokeholds. In the recent article, titled The Safety of Sportive Chokes: A Cross Sectional Survey Base Study, the authors analyzed surveys from … More Study – Chokes in Combat Sports “Appear to be Safe”

In the latest study addressing health and safety consequences from rapid extreme weight cutting in combat sports, the Journal of Translational Medicine published results noting that rapid extreme weight cuts caused skeletal muscles to be “damaged to a significant extent” in judokas. In the recent study, titled “The effects of rapid weight loss on skeletal … More Study – Rapid Weight Cuts in Judo Athletes Causes Muscle Damage

The Professional Fighters Brain Health Study   continues to generate some of the most interesting data and insights into the harm combative sports athletes expose themselves to in their vocation. The latest data shows a relationship between earlier age of first exposure to boxing and MMA and documented brain damage. In the recent study, titled The … More Study – Earlier Exposure to Boxing and MMA Competition Linked With Increased Brain Damage

The Professional Fighters Brain Health Study is generating some of the most interesting data and insights into the harm combative sports athletes expose themselves to in their vocation. The most recent revelation from this ongoing study is that the pattern of brain damage appears to change in active vs retired fighters. The latest study, titled … More Study – Observable Brain Damage Different in Active vs Retired Professional Fighters

Adding to this site’s combat sports safety study archives a recent article was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research analysing win/loss ratios and rapid extreme weight cuts. In the study, titled Weight-Cutting Implications for Competition Outcomes in Mixed Martial Arts Cage Fighting, the authors reviewed the weight cuts, weight gains and competition … More Study – Excessive Rapid Extreme Weight Cuts Linked to Higher Loss Rates in MMA

Adding to this site’s archived combat sports safety studies, a recent article was published in International Journal of Neuroscience discussing the exact physiology at play when a person becomes unconscious from a vascular neck restraint (think rear naked choke).  In the study, titled There is more to the mechanism of unconsciousness from vascular neck restraint … More Study – The Science Behind the Rear Naked Choke

Moderate and severe brain injuries can be seen via diagnostic imaging.  Concussions can not be seen via imaging but by definition come with clinically significant symptoms which themselves should be a red flag for athletes that they have suffered harm from brain trauma.  Sub concussive brain trauma, on the other hand, remains diagnostically elusive.  A … More Study – Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Shows Promise in Imaging Sub Concussive Brain Trauma