This week the Congressional Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection will hear from witnesses providing background information on the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in the context of debating whether to expand the Ali Act to the sport. Among the witnesses to be heard will be Dr. Kristen Dams-O’Connor, who is an Associate Professor of Rehabilitation … More What Congress Will Be Told About the Safety of Mixed Martial Arts

Update October 9, 2017 – Bloody Elbow’s Iain Kidd discusses the below study here doing a good job of pointing out its strengths and shortcomings. _______________________________________ It is difficult to stress the absurdity of regulators allowing rapid extreme weight cuts in mixed martial arts and other combative sports. In short, two men or women of … More Study – 24 Hours Post Dehydration MMA Fighters Have Reduced Athletic Output

Common sense tells us taking hits to the head it bad but for those who choose a career in combative or contact sports (and also for those that regulate these sports) the elusive question is how much ‘mileage’ is too much? A recent study, published in the Journal of Radiology, shows some promise in getting … More MRI Study Shows Promise Tracking Brain Damage in Fighters

Adding to this site’s combat sports safety study archives, a recent study was published in the South African Journal of Sports Medicine looking at injury rates in an African MMA promotion and concluding that the injury rates are higher than those noted from US based competitions.  The authors noted Overall injury prevalence appears to be as … More Study – Previous MMA Injury Doubles Risk of Injury in Following Fight

Combative sports, like all contact sports, have inherent dangers and it is important for stakeholders to work together to create best practices to minimize these. To this end an informative article was recently published in Neurologic Clinics. The article, titled, Neurologic Health in Combat Sports, takes an in depth look at the current state of … More Neurologist Calls for Uniform Minimum Standards For Combat Sports Neurologic Safety

In my ongoing efforts to highlight relevant safety studies addressing combat sports,  a recent study was published in the Journal of Neurology documenting decreased brain volume with associated cognitive dysfunction in professional fighters. The recent study, titled Longitudinal MRI and Cognitive Change in Professional Fighters, is part of the Professional Fighter Brain Health study which … More Decreased Brain Volume and Cognitive Dysfunction Documented in Professional Fighters