The Dangers of Boxing Injuries

Head, Eye, and Body Damage From Boxing

Updated April 25, 2018
A man prepares his boxing stance
Alberto Guglielmi/Stone/Getty Images

Any activity that involves blows to the body, especially the head, is risky. Boxing's controlling bodies and the government have made some attempt to put into place a number of regulations, such as the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, that seek to minimize the dangers. But boxing can and does have some serious effects on the health of people, mostly men, who are involved in the sport.

Risks in Boxing

Boxing ranks high as a dangerous sport. Although the number of boxers who have died as a result of the sport is not accurately known, it does, however, appear that death rates are much lower than in some sports, horse racing for instance. The difficulties of finding out exact death rates are affected, for instance, by differences in regulation between amateur and professional boxing, illegal boxing events, the way regulative bodies worldwide function, lack of long-term studies and medical inaccuracy in relating apparent minor injury to later medical events. Here are some injuries that occur because of boxing.

Head Injury

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons says that 90 percent of boxers sustain a brain injury. Boxing may account for fewer deaths than some other sports but the numbers of boxers suffering brain damage are believed to be much higher than recorded.

It is not surprising that head injury is so common in boxing. It is estimated that when a boxer gets a direct blow to the head it is like being hit by a 13-pound bowling ball traveling at 20 mph, which is about 52 times the force of gravity.

Being hit on the head can cause fractures to the bone of the head and face and tissue damage in the brain.

A blow can damage the surface of the brain, tear nerve networks, cause lesions, bleed, or produce large clots within the brain.​

The degree of damage suffered by boxers will depend on professional or amateur status. Professional boxers suffer from the cumulative effect of damage to the brain, often resulting in punch drunk syndrome. The evidence of damage suffered by amateur boxers is less clear cut, with a number of studies finding no evidence of cumulative brain damage.

Body Damage

Other injuries to the body from boxing include cuts, bruises, broken teeth, dental problems, broken ribs, internal bleeding, and damage to internal organs.

Eye Injuries

Although protected by hard bone on the side, eyes are very vulnerable to direct hits from below. Damage to the eyes in boxing can result from direct contact or from shock waves set up in fluid contents. Depending on the force of the blow damage may result in injury to the retina, retinal detachment, retinal hemorrhage, and other injuries.

Ex-Boxers More Vulnerable to Disease and Deterioration in Old Age

Ex-boxers are more vulnerable to natural aging of the brain and diseases of the brain. They may be more likely to suffer diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Boxers' brains are smaller and the surface gray matter is thinner. The ventricles within the brain enlarged because of the decrease in the brain's white matter.

Medical Examination and Safety Standards

In the United States, legislation has gone some way to providing boxers with protection from exploitation and with health and safety monitoring and health insurance (e.g. The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, The Mohammed Ali Boxing Reform Act). Many medical professionals believe that further legislation is required to further protect boxers, especially professional, in this sport. Many would like to see boxing banned altogether.

Sources:

Bernick C, Banks SJ, Shin W, et al. Repeated head trauma is associated with smaller thalamic volumes and slower processing speed: the Professional Fighters’ Brain Health Study. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015;49(15):1007-1011. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2014-093877.

Corrales G, Curreri A. Eye Trauma in Boxing. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 2009;28(4):591-607. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2009.07.004.

Heilbronner RL, Bush SS, Ravdin LD, et al. Neuropsychological Consequences of Boxing and Recommendations to Improve Safety: A National Academy of Neuropsychology Education Paper. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 2009;24(1):11-19. doi:10.1093/arclin/acp005.

Sports-related Head Injury. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. http://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Sports-related-Head-Injury.