Essay On Brain Trauma And Boxing

Brain injuries and boxing goes hand in hand. It has been a variety of incidents in the sport of boxing to cause a person to have severe head trauma. There are many different head injuries a person can have and they all have different symptoms. The main head injuries that most boxers have are Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), Dementia pugilistic, and concussions. As they continued to research this, they have found that these head injuries can cause a long-term side effect on a person’s life. Now many people are trying to find ways to prevent these injuries from happening since people’s lives are at stake. A variety of people think that they should become more defensive boxers, but many fear that a lot of their fans would turn on them and

think their style of boxing is boring and not very entertaining.
Concussions are common in contact sports. Usually, most people recover from concussion within a week, but a small amount of people have continuous symptoms. Almost seventeen percent of people who experience constant concussions develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain. Currently, how powerful of an impact cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Martland was the first person to acknowledge CTE in 1928. CTE has been extensively recognized in boxers, but was first called “dementia pugilistica” by Millspaugh. About eighty five percent of boxers, who fought when they were younger, are diagnosed with CTE. Some of the symptoms of CTE are a decrease in attention, concentration and memory. How severe the disease is connected with how long the sport has been played and how many injuries sustained from the sport. Boxing is more commonly related to CTE and, usually, the effects of CTE, last longer in boxers.
As boxing rose in popularity with the American public, medical investigators continued to try to determine the true nature and extent of CTE. British neurologist Macdonald Critchley published two important studies on head trauma in boxers in 1949. His most significant discovery was his observation that brain damage produced by repetitive trauma could lead to personality changes. Damage to particular areas of the brain, like the frontal lobe, can cause changes in personality. The executive functions, of the brain, can be damaged from trauma because constant trauma disrupts neural communication. This causes a loss of control of your reactions and emotions. This loss of control can be occasional or it can be frequent.
In 1969, British physician A.H. Roberts concluded that the amount of exposure to trauma is a key variable in eliciting chronic brain damage, and he speculated that a small degree of brain damage may occur with every fight. Usually, the effects become more evident at the end of a boxing career. Diagnosis can be difficult because the amount of trauma, that causes impairment, is unknown. Further, according to BBC Health, brain damage may happen immediately, which could be fatal, or it can occur gradually over time due to sustained trauma to the head.
The majority of deaths, related to boxing, are from head traumas. Between 1950 and 2007, there 339 boxing related deaths. Sixty four of those deaths were associated with head trauma and 15-40% of ex-boxers have symptoms of chronic brain injury. Notable people that have had boxing related head traumas are: Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Mike Tyson. Most boxers learn of their brain damage once they have retired and Muhammad Ali was no different. He started experiencing symptoms that are common in brain injuries like, tremors and slurred speech. Dr. Luis Villaplana compared boxing to experiencing whiplash on a daily basis. That type of, constant, effect on the head can cause major damage to the brain.
In the mid-1800s, boxing was outlawed in most American states because of how dangerous it is, and, at that point, the relation between boxing and head trauma was not commonly known.

Calvin Inalsingh, the head of the World Boxing Association’s medical advisory committee, admits that “boxing is the only sport in which the objective is to render blows to the head and body of the opponent so as the cause the opponent to be incapacitated.” The whole point of boxing is to inflict brain damage and as more medical knowledge comes to light, many believe that boxing will banned sometime in the future. Many people believe that boxing is too unnecessarily dangerous, including medical experts.

Banning boxing is becoming an expanding topic. In England, boxing is on the verge on being banned on ethnical grounds. Ethnically, many people do not believe that it is legal to possible kill someone, intentionally. In many sport, there are chances of brain trauma, but the sole purpose of this sport is to injure someone else. Deciding at which point that brain trauma outweighs social benefit is the current argument when it comes to banning boxing. Because there is no proven, direct association between boxing and brain injuries, the argument is at a standstill in

America.
As more and more cases of CTE in professional boxers come to the public’s attention, the World Boxing Association (WBA) has to do more to protect its players. Shivana Inalsingh, a clinical Integrative Reflexologist proposed boxers incorporate complimentary health care therapies such as Energy Medicine, Clinical Reflexology and Sacro Cranial Therapy to enhance the healing process. Chronic brain injuries are linked to irreversible brain damage. The success of these therapies is debatable at best and professional associations are slow to implement enhanced protection policies. Brain injuries is lower among amateur boxers because they are required to wear head gear. However, professional boxers are not required to wear any protective gear on their heads so chances of brain injuries is higher. A recent study by Swedish researchers showed that despite the fact amateur boxers wear protective headgear they are still prone to developing dementia pugilistic. The 3 Knock Down rule and new 6 week mandatory suspension for players that have been knocked out as new sanctions by the WBA in attempt to curb brain injury. The WBA is also looking into boxing gloves that could prevent brain trauma. These gloves would be made out of a type of good cushioning that allows for softer hits to the head, to reduce head trauma. Unfortunately, most efforts to protect players have been futile.
Brain injuries are incredibly serious because they are hard to detect, which is why most people are not diagnosed until they retire from boxing. There is also technology that is being created to help diagnose brain injuries better. A neuropsychological assessment evaluates the relationship between the brain and behavior. This assessment can measure brain function. With the help of neurologists and physiatrists, people with mild brain injuries can, possibly, be helped
Although, there has not been definite information on the causes of head trauma, there are strong relations between boxing and head trauma. Slowly, we are learning more about the brain and the trauma that it is subjected to. There is extensive research being taken to find the correlation between boxing and brain injuries. Furthermore, medical experts are attempting to interpret how much trauma a brain can take and the warning signs of brain injuries, in the early stages. The sport requires a lot of physical contact, primarily to your head. There have been multiple studies to show the connection that boxing has on the brain. Also, there are preventative measures being taking to protect people from brain injuries. Since, the sport has not been banned, there will be continuous studies on how boxing relates to head trauma. But when does shielding the brain become more imperative than playing the sport?