Martial Arts & Boxing Injuries

Martial arts can lead to a wide range of injuries depending on the style of martial art that is being practiced. Some of the common martial arts injuries include:

Concussion: A concussion can result from styles of martial arts that focus on striking and throwing. These injuries can cause headache, dizziness, nausea, imbalance, poor concentration, and memory problems. These symptoms can last for days, weeks or even longer. An athlete should not return to play while symptoms of a concussion are present until he or she has been medically evaluated.
Head/Eyes/Ear/Nose: Minor injuries such as facial cuts, bruises, and lacerations may occur from striking and grappling. However serious injuries such as injury to the eyes, mouth or teeth, fractures of the nose, face, and skull may also occur.
Neck: The most common injuries to the neck include bruising and abrasions. Loss of consciousness may also occur in styles of martial arts such as jujitsu, judo and mixed martial arts which allow choking techniques.
Extremities: The most common injuries to extremities include cuts, bruises, sprains and strains. Less commonly, fractures and dislocations may also result when styles of martial arts use throwing and joint locking techniques.
Skin: Skin infections are common in athletes taking part in contact sports such as wrestling and martial arts. These injuries need to be assessed and treated by a health care provider prior to returning to play.

The following measures may help prevent injury during martial arts:

Before participating you should have a pre-participation physical examination and clearance.
Before selecting a martial art you should understand the inherent risks associated with different styles of martial arts.
Always perform martial arts under the direct supervision of a qualified instructor.
Perform warm up and cool down exercises.
Ensure that you wear safety equipment such as headgear, mouth guard, gloves, groin protector, chest protector, padding, and/or bracing for your style of martial arts.
Discuss any concerns about injuries or prevention strategies with a sports medicine professional.

Boxing Injuries

Boxing is a dangerous sport and can lead to serious health problems among boxers. Some injuries caused by boxing include:

Head injury: Head Injury results when the boxer sustains a direct blow to the head. The impact is similar to the effect of being hit with a 12lb padded, wooden mallet moving at 20mph. Direct blows can cause fractures of the head and face, brain tissue damage, nerve injuries, bleeding, and hematoma (large blood clot within the brain). Studies suggest that professional boxers often suffer from cumulative brain injuries resulting in Boxers’ Encephalopathy or “punch drunk” syndrome with symptoms such as weakness in the lower extmities, unsteady gait, slow muscular movements, hand tremors, alteration in speech, and mental dullness.

Body damage: Injuries such as cuts, bruises, injuries to teeth, dental problems, fractured ribs, internal bleeding, and damage to the internal organs may occur.

Eye injury: A direct blow to the eye may cause injury to retina, retinal detachment, and retinal hemorrhage.