No Link Between Amateur Boxing, Long-Term Brain Damage

[GorDoom]

No Link Between Amateur Boxing, Long-Term Brain Damage


FRIDAY, Oct. 5 (HealthDay News) -- There's no strong
evidence linking amateur boxing with long-term brain
injury, according to a team of sports doctors and
clinical academics who've reviewed 36 studies on the
issue.

Of those studies, 15 (42 percent) concluded that there
was some sign of boxing-related chronic brain injury
in at least some boxers. However, the quality of
evidence in these studies was poor, the review authors
noted. Of 17 better quality studies included in the
review, only four (24 percent) found any indication of
chronic brain injury in a minority of boxers.

Overall, studies that identified a possible link
between amateur boxing and long-term brain injury were
of poorer quality and design, said a team led by Dr.
Mike Loosemore of the Olympic Medical Institute at
Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, U.K. Few of the
studies were of sufficient quality to conclude
anything other than a weak association, the
researchers noted.

The review was published online Friday in the British
Medical Journal.

There is ongoing debate about the safety of amateur
boxing, which is growing in popularity, noted the
review authors, who said they did not seek to endorse
or oppose the sport.

In an accompanying editorial, University of Melbourne
neurologist and sports physician Paul McCrory
suggested that boxers now have shorter careers and
reduced exposure to repetitive head trauma, making it
less likely that they'll develop long-term brain
injury.

More information

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons has
more about sports-related head injuries.

[PeteLeo]

Interesting and uplifting article. Of course, the positive findings on the medical front were far and away the best part of the article, but it was also nice to read that amateur boxing is growing in popularity again. PeteLeo.

[gazot]

I love boxing but if you think being hit in the head doesn't damage the brain then you must have been hit pretty hard already yourself.

[walshb]

It has to have some impact and I certainly wouldn't agree with the report completely.
Saying that, the amateur scene is so well regulated and protected. I think
the standards are very high and the use of the headgear alone is a great
advantage in reducing the effects of hard head shots...

[DscribeDC]

I would imagine that shorter bouts and the "points" scoring system reduce the physical damage as opposed to, say, professional boxing, but yeah, it's kind of hard to believe that getting hit in the head -- headgear or no -- doesn't have long-term health effects. This study has a whiff of denial to it.

[walshb]

I would go so far as to say that even sparring, which is quite intense
in the amateur and pro game, has to have effects on a persons brain.
In sparring, you are wearing bigger headgears generally, and heavier
gloves. So it's sparring and actual competitive fighting combined. I wonder did the report
take this into account?

[wpink]

I say look at Meldrick Taylor, Ali, Thomas Hearns....etc...

[PeteLeo]

Of course, all of those guys had extensive pro careers, too. PeteLeo.

[Michael Frank]

I'd like to see a study focusing on just the KO victims of Teofilo Stevenson. We'd see whether getting one's bell rung, often with just one or two punches, leaves a lasting effect. Probably not all of his opponents went on to pro careers, in which case a true amateurs-only study could be done.

I'd guess these opponents do have brain damage; hope I'm wrong.

[DscribeDC]

Headgear would have no effect on the brain being bounced around in the cranium by a punch, which is what produces dementia.

[diggity]

I thought brain damage was from feints so this is all news to me