Boxing is a renowned activity with a high attraction and retention rate worldwide. While spectators are drawn to the physical and performative aspects of the sport, many are unaware that training for the sport is extremely beneficial to one’s general, physical, and mental health.
Professional boxing, on the other hand, has been proven by many athletes to cause major grievous health consequences for those who participate in the activity.
Professional boxers are prone to various injuries which often result in long-term consequences. The easiest way to avoid these injuries and other hazards is to stay out of the ring completely, but those who dare to pursue this profession must be prepared for the immediate and lasting outcomes on the body and mind, which are a direct effect of the repeated blows.
Boxing has many more drawbacks than only the dangers of physical contact.
Professional boxers have a variety of health problems. They are prone to many hazards, including brain damage, facial injuries, hand and wrist injuries, and the possibility of blindness. Professional boxers are also prone to neurological ailments and mental health disorders.
This dangerous sport leaves athletes with a slew of complications long after they have retired from the ring. Even years after retiring, concussion symptoms such as dizziness and confusion might return.
Which Are The Most Common Injuries In Professional Boxing?
Professional boxing contests have a significant injury rate, especially among male boxers. The most common injuries in boxing are superficial face cuts and bruises. Each of these injuries is excruciatingly painful and has a significant impact on a professional boxer’s performance.
More specifically, types and frequency of boxing injuries described at the US Olympic Training Center (1981-1982) are of the head and face (20.6%), upper extremities (32.9%), back injuries (6.9%), brain injuries (6.5%), cervical spine and brachial plexus (5.1%), chest (3.8%) and kidney injury (0.2%).
According to one medical study, over 70% of injuries were related to the head, of which almost half of all injuries associated with this region of the body are linked to concussion (47%), while others head injuries are related to eyebrows (19%), nose (19%). Overall, the most common injuries according to this study are concussions (33%), followed by open wounds/lacerations/cuts (29%) and fractures (19%).
That same research also indicates that boxing injuries are less common than in other contact and non-contact sports, as well as that acute injuries sustained during training sessions, are less frequent and less grievous than those during the matches. The incidence of death or serious injuries in boxing is 1.3 per 10,000 boxers, which is twice less than in American football. The risk of injury is lower in the amateur sector than in the professional division due to stricter rules and regulations.
Chronic Brain Injuries In Professional Boxing
What is most worrying in this profession are internal head and brain injuries and the development of neurological disorders.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) occurs as a result of recurrent boxing-related brain trauma. It progresses gradually and usually begins towards the end of the boxer’s career or in the early years after retiring from the sport.
The severity of the disorder is linked to the amount of time spent boxing professionally and the number of traumatic injuries sustained. Memory loss, behavioral and personality disorders, Parkinsonism, speech and gait problems, and unusual behavior have all been linked to CTE in clinical studies.
The final stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathies in boxers is dementia pugilistica, also known as punch drunk syndrome. It occurs after 7 to 35 years from the commencement of a boxing career. It includes motoric, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. The syndrome is characterized by general cognitive dysfunctions that progress to dementia, speech difficulties, clumsiness of movement, progression of ataxia, dementia, convulsions, and completely developed Parkinson-like extrapyramidal disorder. Ocular abnormalities such as ptosis can occur.
According to the most recent studies, EVERY SINGLE BOXER suffers brain damage – the key appears to be that most are unaffected by it, but it is still there. As stated by respectable studies by British researcher Dr. A.H. Roberts, any professional boxer has a 100 percent probability of suffering from brain trauma – yet that trauma isn’t always crippling, and it doesn’t always lead to dementia.
If the estimates for the general population of boxers are accurate, a fighter’s odds of acquiring dementia pugilistica (DP) (also known as chronic traumatic brain injury (CTBI) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)) are about 17 out of 100.
In other words, all boxers displayed signs of chronic trauma, and 17 out of 100 boxers developed dementia as a result of fighting. The amount of time that repetitive concussive and sub-concussive strikes to the head were sustained appears to be the key.
In professional boxing, brain injuries are determined by how much damage the fighter sustains over their career. There are retired boxers with totally functional minds and those that slur or can’t operate effectively without the assistance of others.
Muhammad Ali suffers from a brain injury. Sugar Ray Leonard, on the other hand, does not. Both are former champion boxers with remarkable careers. I’m not sure if it’s possible to predict the chances of getting a brain injury.
Facial And Head Injuries In Professional Boxers
Unlike in amateur boxing, where a head helmet is used to prevent injuries, in professional boxing cuts on the face are common. The basic principle of a doctor’s treatment of a cut that causes heavy bleeding which could interfere with vision is the cessation of the fight.
It is common practice to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the injury site and cleaning with a local antiseptic. Minor cuts can be closed with a steri-strip patch or skin glue. In larger cuts, it is necessary to sew seams in layers. Hematoma, defined by the accumulation of blood within the subcutaneous tissue, rarely requires therapy.
Auricular hematoma is typically the result of blunt trauma to the outer ear – the auricle. It requires emergency incision and bandage pressure and application of local antibiotics to prevent blood re-accumulation. If it is not treated in time, possible complications are perichondritis, infection, or necrosis. Cause of long-term loss of blood supply to the cartilage (connective tissue) of the ear leads to deformation of the outer ear structure called the “Cauliflower ear.”
A nasal bone fracture represents the third most commonly broken bone in the body. Often, if it is not treated in a timely or valid manner, frequently as a long-term consequence it becomes a cosmetic and functional disturbance. Initially, after injury, treatment of nasal fractures includes ice-cooling and head elevation. If there is no shift nose, straightening is often not necessary.
Lower jaw fractures are rare. The boxer complains of pain that is more pronounced when there is jaw movement, even when swallowing saliva; to difficulty moving the jaw, chewing and swallowing, and impaired jaw closure.
A blow with the palmar side of the palm to the ear can increase the pressure in the ear canal as well result in rupture of the eardrum. Bleeding from the nose is very common and most often occurs without rupture of the nasal bone.
Eye Injuries In Professional Boxers
Except for the frontal area, where injuries are most common, the orbit protects the eye quite well. A closed eye injury is one in which the continuity of the eyeball has not been entirely disrupted and is caused by a punch. Bleeding in the anterior chamber of the eye is the most common closed eye injury of the anterior portion of the eye (common in professional boxing).
The incidence of cataracts in professional boxers ranges between 5.9% and 15%. An open eye injury is one in which the eyeball’s continuity has been completely disrupted. The thumb of the glove can theoretically cause this type of injury, but it is uncommon in practice.
Shoulder Injuries In Professional Boxers
Muscle and tendon injuries in boxing are not uncommon. The mechanism of injuries can be direct shoulder trauma, fall of the boxer in the ring, traumatic hyperextension, and external rotation of the abducted arm. A more serious shoulder injury in boxing is shoulder instability. The recurrence rate of dislocations in professional boxers is much more common than in the general population.
Boxers, like many other athletes, are hesitant to seek treatment for shoulder issues because it entails time away from the ring. As a result, many boxers try to “fight through the agony” in the hopes of the injury healing on its own. However, this is the worst thing a fighter can do since it allows the injury to worsen, and problems that could have been managed non-surgically may then require surgery to repair.
Elbow Injuries In Professional Boxers
In boxing, dislocations and fractures of the elbow are unusual. Hyperextension of the joint combined with a missing blow is the most common cause of elbow injuries. Tennis elbow is the most prevalent elbow injury among boxers; it refers to a painful ailment in the elbow area, most commonly on the lateral side of the wrist, that occurs when the wrist or fingers of the hand are moved.
A sequence of consecutive micro traumas is the most common cause of injury. Recurrent trauma that overwhelms the body’s ability to repair tissues is at the root of all locomotor system overexertion syndromes. It’s critical to get started on treatment as soon as possible.
Nonsurgical therapy, which includes rest, cooling, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and, eventually, corticosteroid injections, is the primary option. The second part of treatment occurs once the pain has subsided, treating it by using kinesiotherapy. In case of failure of conservative treatment, surgical treatment is induced.
Wrist and Hand Injuries In boxing
The wrist is an important connection between the upper arm and the fist at the moment the boxer strikes a blow. That is why it is supported by a bandage or bandages.
It usually takes 4-12 weeks to return to boxing after a wrist injury. Injuries to the hand and wrist are the targeting of the hand-wrist region with a combination of endurance, strength, and stability or proprioception-based exercises is significant from a strength and conditioning standpoint.
Lower Extremity Injuries In Boxing
Injuries to the lower extremities are infrequent in boxing, and the majority of them may be avoided by properly positioning and inspecting the ring: whether the ropes are of sufficient height and tension, whether the floor is covered with appropriate material, and whether the floor is damp or slippery.
For all of its advantages, professional boxing is something of a double-edged sword.
What about recovery?
Physical therapy not only helps athletes regain their strength, mobility, and function so they can compete and train at their best, but it also teaches them how to avoid injuries by keeping a neutral punching posture, avoiding overtraining, and not ignoring pain triggers. Physical therapy aids boxers in returning to peak performance in the quickest and most efficient way possible.
In Summary
Professional boxing has been declared the most difficult sport in the world, i.e., the sport that demands the most of its competitors. Professional boxing has several health benefits, including enhanced cardiovascular health, increased overall body strength, improved hand-eye coordination, increased muscular mass, and increased stamina and endurance.
Professional boxing also has numerous mental benefits, including reduced stress, greater sleep quality, and the development of self-confidence.
However, boxing is, without a doubt, a game of chance. A boxer can withstand a flurry of punches while smiling back at his opponent, just as a single punch can kill him. Regardless, if you decide to box professionally to the point of risking getting knocked out or receiving a high number of punches to the head, you must first ensure that you are aware that you are endangering your long-term health and that the potential benefit you see is worth the risk.
