Concussion incidence in MMA
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There is a high correlation between repetitive blows to the head and brain trauma therefore it is reasonable to expect a high incidence of concussion in MMA. However how risky is the sport?
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@concussion_doc recent posted about the topic. A recently retrospective study (Curran-Sills 2018) examined the incidence of concussions in MMA over a 5 year period. Of the 343 bouts (amateur/professional) observed there were 162 injuries, 101 of those injuries were reported concussions!
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That is 14.7 concussions per 100 AE (athlete exposure). Each bout was categorized as 2 AE. Based on the statistic the author theorized that an MMA athlete may experience 4.4 concussions in a 10 year period.
Comparison: Hockey (27.6), Football (2.2), Rugby (0.8).
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[IMPORTANT NOTE] This data is in regard to competition only. The rigors of training for a fight, including hard sparring, are not included. In the early days of the sports there were camps that had notoriously tough sparring. Recently there has been a trend among camps to reduce the amount of hard sparring done in fight camp.
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Concussion awareness/education in the MMA community needs to improve to allow for adequate recovery for the athletes. In my opinion baseline concussion testing should be mandatory for each state. At the moment California is the only state in the US that requires a neurocognitive component to be granted a professional MMA license. .
Reference:
Curran-Sills, G., & Albedin, T. (2018). Risk factors associated with injury and concussion in sanctioned amateur and professional mixed martial arts bouts in Calgary, Alberta. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 4(1). e000348.