Medical Questions » Sports Questions » Question No. 940
| Question: | I am very worried about my son who has started boxing at a local club. I don' t think this is a suitable sport for him, and I am concerned that he may be injured. How safe is boxing? |
| Answer: | The aim of boxing is to render your opponent unconscious, or to injure him sufficiently that he is unable to continue. It is not surprising that a significant number of the participants in this activity suffer from permanent brain, eye and other bodily injuries that destroy the quality of their life, and shorten their life span.
Even in the amateur arena, with short bouts and headgear being worn, the acceleration forces applied to the head by a punch cause the brain to rattle around in the skull like a dried pea in a pod. During the 1980s, 7% of amateur boxing matches in the United Kingdom were won by a knock out, and that amounts to a lot of brain-damaged people.
Every episode of unconsciousness associated with a head injury leaves some permanent damage, but it is not necessary to be knocked out to become ' punch drunk' . The famous Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) was knocked out only once in his career, but he now suffers from advanced cerebral degeneration, and is barely able to care for himself.
If a boxer is found to be brain-damaged, it is too late to stop him from further fights; the damage is already permanent. The outstanding feature found at autopsy in the brains of dead boxers, is the massive number of altered nerve cells spread throughout the brain, which must have significantly altered the thought patterns and activity of the boxer in life.
Injuries occur in most sporrs, from fractures in rugby to injuries from a hard ball in cricket, and even golfers strain backs and joints, but no other sport comes close to the trail of wrecked bodies and premature death created by boxing. No other sport has the stated aim of damaging the opponent, and in the other martial arts such as judo and karate, deliberately injuring your opponent can count against the competitor. I would urge your son to consider one of these other martial arts.
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