What boxing does to your brain.

By Sam Ryan

Boxing!

Quick overview of the sport. A sport where two people compete in a fight only using their

fists The fight consists of a set amount of rounds varying from 1-5

minutes Originated in Greece back in the ancient times There are 2 forms of boxing e.g. Amateur and Professional,

plus several different weight division, light weight, heavy weight, welter weight just to name a few.

Blue V Red

How the damage is caused? Boxing is a sport where two fit a powerful people try to punch

the other person more times to win a fight. Often there are knockout punches where one boxer receives a punch to the head and they pass out from the blow.

The majority of the punches are aimed and successfully landed on the head. Causing the majority of brain problems mainly because they are direct blows to the brain.

Injuries. In boxing, the head more commonly receives fractures to the

bone and also the brain receives tissue damage as a result of constantly being hit

The surface of the brain can be damaged and also nerve networks can be torn.

lesions and large clots in the brain are high risk injuries when competing in boxing

Non brain/head related injuries are broken bones, cuts and bruises and broken teeth.

Evidence According to The American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 90%

of boxers sustain a brain injury Researchers from the Technical University Munich done an experiment

that proved that 50% of the boxers tested had headaches, ringing in the ears, forgetfulness, impaired hearing, dizziness, nausea and difficulty walking after a fight.

10% of which had many of these symptoms even though they hadn't found in months

Up to 20% of boxers in general have neuropsychiatric symptoms, including tremor, Parkinson’s disease, memory disorders, dementia, depression, irritability, aggression, and addiction.

Boxers have levels of neurofilament light (NFL) 4 times higher than that of a non boxer. Neurofilament light is a sign of brain damage.

The Brain.

More Brain Facts Generally cells in the brain cannot repair themselves. The two main causes of death in boxing are : subdural

hematoma ( a rupturing of the veins between the brain and skull), and cerebral edema (a build up of water in the brain)

Dementia Pugilistica, also known as boxing dementia is a permanent injury received from constant blows to the head.

Mohammed Ali Mohammed Ali is a boxing great. He was one of the best boxers

in the entire world and most know boxer to ever have lived. The skills and power this man had in his day were too hard to

match for a very long time. He was unbelievable talented and today he is still one of the most looked up to athletes ever.

Mohammad Ali suffers from Parkinson's Disease. It is unclear of what caused his condition, but it is highly convincing that he did in fact get this way due to his long life as a boxer.

His story of Parkinson's disease is one of the more thought of bits of evidence that boxing does cause brain damage. Even though it hasn’t been proven.

Mohammed Ali

http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/02/muhammad-ali.jpg

Where the brain gets Damaged The cerebellum and the brainstem get shaken around from a punch is what usually causes somebody to get

knocked out. The punch causes them to hit against the skull resulting in a knockout. A concussion usually means you haven't been knocked unconscious but the wiring of the brain have been

knocked around too much and the signals send the wrong messages back to the brain. Symptoms of a concussions include: Confusion Amnesia Headache Dizziness Ringing in the ears Nausea or vomiting Slurred speech Fatigue

When a boxer dies as a result of having a big bout, it is usually from receiving a concussion and not taking the right safety step to recover. This is called the second impact syndrome. Its is where a boxer receives another concussion before the first concussion has recovered. The brain immediately swells cause the athlete to die. It is a result of having no control over the cerebral blood flow causing a massive cerebral edema.

The brainImage Reference

In Conclusion. If somebody was to ask me if boxing was bad for your brain I would

defiantly say yes. How could constant blows to the head be good for you in any way? There is plenty of evidence to support the question that “is boxing bad for you”.

Mohammed Ali for instance. Just because he is the most well known boxers with a permanent injury doesn’t make him the only one. Scientist have proven with a massive range of fighters whether they fight in amateur competitions of professional, that short and long term side affects are common in the sport of boxing.

Boxing hasn’t got a high death rate compared to other sports, but something needs to be done to lower and eventually stop the amount of long and short term injuries that the athletes are encountering in the sport.

THE END BY SAM RYANImage Reference