CTE is a part of combat sports.  In fact the disease, which used to be called dementia pugilistica (ie “punch drunk”) has its origins traced back to boxing. MMA is not immune from CTE.  It is a real risk. Several athletes likely have the disease with fighters such as Gary Goodridge being diagnosed with CTE … More MMA Has First Proven Case of CTE

Adding to this site’s archives of safety studies in combat sports, a recent article was published in the Journal of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Research further noting the connection between neurological system impairment and the frequency and severity of subconcussive head impacts. In the article, titled “PROTECT THE PLAYER, PROTECT THE GAME: SUBCONCUSSION AND CHRONIC TRAUMATIC … More Subconcussive Impacts – Frequency and Magnitude Matter

Mild traumatic brain injury is sometimes referred to as an ‘invisible injury’ as there is often no objective evidence to help diagnose the damage done. Instead a diagnosis is made based on a host of subjective complaints.  Repetitive concussive and sub-concussive blows are linked to CTE.  This disease also cannot be diagnosed with certainty in … More Study – Biomarkers Could Help Identify CTE Risk in Athletes With History of Brain Injury

In the last decade there has been great progress in public understanding that concussions are a form of traumatic brain injury, not simply ‘getting your bell rung’. Current studies are showing, however, that sub-concussive blows over a prolonged period are equally troubling and a recent article published in the Journal of Neurosurgery Clinics of North … More CTE Severity Linked to Number of Years in Contact Sports, Not Number of Concussions

One topic I often revisit is the reality that gloves in combative sports such as boxing, kickboxing and MMA do a great job protecting from superficial injury but likely lead to an increase of traumatic brain injury and CTE. This week I had the pleasure of picking up a hard copy of Jason Thalken’s “Fight … More Let’s Talk Physics, Gloves, Combat Sports and Brain Trauma

Adding to this site’s archives of combat sports safety studies, The Journal of Sports Health published a data review concluding that MMA combatants suffer an in competition injury rate between 22.9 and 28.6%. In the recent study the authors reviewed 35 years of publications detailing injury rates in MMA or thier component sports.  The data … More Study Review – MMA Participants Face 22%-28% In-Competition Injury Rate

In my latest review of safety studies in the world of combative sports, a recent article was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine finding concussion ‘preventing’ sports equipment has ‘no effect’. In the recent study, titled “Current State of Concussion Prevention Strategies: a systemic review and meta-analysis of prospective, controlled studies” the authors evaluated 14 studies … More Study – Concussion “Preventing” Sports Equipment Of “No Effect”

Adding to this site’s archived summaries of studies addressing safety issues in combat sports, a recent study was published in the Journal of Neuroradiology canvassing the extent of objective white matter disturbance in the brains of amateur boxers compared to a control group. The study, titled Reduced White Matter Integrity in Amateur Boxers, posed the … More Study – White Matter Disturbance In Brains of Amateur Boxers