Concussion denial: in mixed marital art (or UFC) fighting like bike helmet debate?

[shootingstar]

I have only read peripherally about the mixed martial art sport (MMA or branded now as UFC, or Ultimate Fighting). Of course the highly publicized women's match between Roussey vs. Blom was made a big deal. Where the tough, strong Roussey went down and lost in Nov. 2015.

After having recovered from cycling concussion accident a yr. ago, I can no longer watch any boxing or MMA sport. I don't even like see violent pushing in pro hockey. I don't watch football because I actually always found it boring. I'd rather watch basketball or baseball as team sports. No, I haven't seen the movie, "Concussion" with Will Smith. I'm not sure I feel like revisiting an injury, but for football, see all the terrible issues on money, greed, vulnerability of athlete's health and denial that are involved.

I am shocked by the level of denial in the MMA world on the high rate of concussion and permanent brain injury among fighters. I really do believe Roussey suffered a concussion in the lst round with Blom where her performance went down. It's SO obvious that's the reason. OUr brain cannot take sudden hard jerks with cereabral mass hitting against the skull. OUr cerebreal spinal fluid isn't much cushion at all.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...al-bouts-study

http://www.foxsports.com.au/ufc/earl...-1227638573809

All this denial, is similar to nay-sayers on bike helmet use. EVen worse, since MMA fighting, football, expressly involved manoeuvres that affect the head.
I understand some feminists celebrate all this tough, strong fighting. I get that. But honestly, the loss of brain functioning is not worth it. And I am a person who has recovered.

[rebeccaC]

I have only read peripherally about the mixed martial art sport (MMA or branded now as UFC, or Ultimate Fighting). Of course the highly publicized women's match between Roussey vs. Blom was made a big deal. Where the tough, strong Roussey went down and lost in Nov. 2015.......I understand some feminists celebrate all this tough, strong fighting.

I don’t see any value in MMA/UFC sport fighting but do see the strong advantages of the developing the body and mental awareness, the decisiveness, inner power, self confidence and harmony that comes with learning a self-defense style like Aikido. My parents helped me immensely by being very supportive of my becoming a student of Aikido in my early teens and I’d be supportive of my future children starting a self-defense martial arts learning journey early too. I've only had to use those skills twice in my life outside a dojo and both times to end a sexual assault attempt quickly and effectively, one with a knife used and both led to an arrest and conviction.....but then that is just a side advantage of my continuing journey of self-defense based on non-violence and the preservation of life with my present sensei. aikido, yoga and pilates are my trinity......at the moment

and yeah there is more than enough evidence of the dangers of concussions (and has been for a number of years) that it makes me sad to see so many parents still wanting and in some cases directing their children to participate in sports that have that possible element…..and to see the denial based on wanting wins and profit in professional sports is close to criminal in my mind.

[Crankin]

All of this vindicates my decision to never let my sons participate in football.

[Eden]

All of this vindicates my decision to never let my sons participate in football.

Frontline aired a really good documentary based on a book of the same title called League of Denial about the dangers of repeated traumatic brain injury in football (though it could certainly apply to any sport where there may be repeated head injuries). You should certainly feel vindicated - I believe I recall that when the scientists were able to study the brains of teens who played football and died from other causes, that they found early but visible and noticeable changes to those brains from TBIs.

The hospital that I work at has been developing a helmet with accelerometers and other sensors that is supposed to help decide how to pull players out of games before they actually reach injury stage, and standards on how long to keep them out, but I can't help but think that the damage is more subtle than we really know and even using this technology will be too little, too late.

[ny biker]

There do seem to be improvements in the head injury protocols for high school football players, such as not allowing them to play or practice for a certain time period after a hit. I don't know how widespread they are though. I think real changes will have to come from parents and coaches believing that they're necessary.

I read something yesterday online, I'll try to find it later. It was written by an NFL player about how he felt after gaining a better understanding of the risks of TBI and football. He said that he doesn't regret his involvement in the sport but if he had children he doesn't know if he'd allow them to play it.

As for things like boxing and MMA, I really don't get the appeal. There's a certain silliness in all sports, when you really think about them -- trying to throw a ball through a hoop or to kick it into a net or hit it with a stick and then run around in a circle. Or to run or ride a bike really fast from point a to point b just to say you were fast. But when the entire objective is to hit someone until they fall down, to me that's not a sport.

[lauraelmore1033]

I skimmed an article a while back, in which a neurosurgeon claimed that helmets do little to protect the brain in cycling accidents. I'll see if I can find it, but I seriously doubt that is true. But...
When I was thrown into the street, my broad backside took the brunt of the impact and my head hitting the pavement was kind of a secondary bounce that cracked my helmet in three places. It's possible that if I'd gone down head first (and not in the recumbent position) there would have been significantly more damage.

[Aromig]

Interesting thread. I have two boys in sports -- one in 7th grade and one in 9th grade. Before starting 7th grade both boys were required to do a screening baseline for concussion purposes. After taking a knee to the head in a scramble after a basketball the officials stopped the game and did some "field" tests to see if they thought my son had concussion symptoms. He was not allowed to go back to practice until we took him for an additional screening to compare his tests to the baseline tests. When a new improved football helmet became available - the community did fundraising to try to buy them as soon as they were available for our high school team and Tony Stewart (Nascar Driver) ended up paying for the helmets.

So I think protocols are getting better along with better education of coaches, officials, etc. It may help that I live in Indiana where the NCAA is headquartered (and is facing litigation regarding concussions). However, I've also read articles where some famous football players have admitted to "cheating" on their baseline test so that their follow up tests won't show as much damage. When they're adults, well, that's their decision. But I also understand that it's not "adults" learning and getting into the sports -- its 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in the beginning where there is no informed choice or decision.

As for MMA, I don't get it, and I think its little more than modern day gladiators. But I'm not going to tell adults how to spend their time if they want to partake in that kind of sport.

[shootingstar]

The hospital that I work at has been developing a helmet with accelerometers and other sensors that is supposed to help decide how to pull players out of games before they actually reach injury stage, and standards on how long to keep them out, but I can't help but think that the damage is more subtle than we really know and even using this technology will be too little, too late.

I would tend to agree with you Eden, that it is abit too late. AFter all they would only be pulled out of game if the reading was too "high".

Crankin, I know someone at work who told me as a boy, his mother forbade him from playing high school football because one of his classmates died during football practice.

Interestingly after telling some people about the nature of my injury, I hear more stories ...that people were unwilling to disclose from the past OR they didn't understand the seriousness of what happened to them when they got knocked down with their head involved.

Rebecca: MMA as you may know has some origins in kung fu fighting where the priests created these "exercises" / manoeuvres partially for defense as well as for health/exercise reasons. I read a book of an American who was one of the rare non-Chinese allowed to live and learn the art. It really is amazing for the original skill and manoeuvres...which I don't see much some of the original tenets in MMA.

What a lot of people don't realize that even in tai chi (that gentle type of exercise), there are some simple manoeuvres for deflecting your opponent's oncoming fist or how to stand, centre your weight to withstand the push of several people against you.

Roussey needs go back to martial arts origins of meditation and the power of deflecting opponent violence without overly hurting the other person.

[rebeccaC]

Roussey needs go back to martial arts origins of meditation and the power of deflecting opponent violence without overly hurting the other person.

I see the UFC as simply a blood sport akin to organized dogfighting and the antithesis of Aikido.

Within self-defense Aikido has taught me how to protect the other and myself by blending with the energy of the attack and redirecting it back using compassion, efficiency, control and restraint. For me though and more importantly, from that first step through the doorway of the dojo and my first bow it’s been an 18 year continuing self-discovery/learning journey on the art of leading a peaceful life with inner harmony and courage. As my first sensei use to say….peace begins within. I too wish Roussey and everyone could benefit from those attributes.

….and I agree that both Tai Chi and Aikido can complement each other well as you develop your skills.

[Trek420]

I've only had to use those skills twice in my life outside a dojo and both times to end a sexual assault attempt quickly and effectively, one with a knife used and both led to an arrest and conviction.....but then that is just a side advantage of my continuing journey of self-defense based on non-violence and the preservation of life with my present sensei. aikido, yoga and pilates are my trinity......at the moment

Wow. Just wow. I'm out of shape and out of training but heading back to the matt. Yeah, Aikido works. To heck with it being "dance-like", eh? So glad that you're trained and that it ended well for you. While injuries are rare in Aikido and there's very little risk of concussion one does take a beating falling so often. OTOH all that getting up again is good for us.

I've never faced a live knife and hope to heck and back I never have to. It has helped a couple times when I took a fall off the bike!

[Nandy]

All this denial, is similar to nay-sayers on bike helmet use.

There is no helmet debate where bikes are used for sports.

An adult who is familiar and proficient at riding rolling down the block to the store on a Dutch bike is not exactly MMA-level risk, and should be able to make that call on their own.

[Blueberry]

Can we please not have a "should bike helmets be mandatory" debate here?

[Crankin]

Exactly. I am not going to argue. A fall where you hit your head at 5 mph when rolling on your city bike is not going to make your brain happy.

[Nandy]

Exactly- that's why I never take my full face helmet off at any time. Imagine the damage you could do just tripping while walking through the market or rolling out of bed! I certainly never set foot inside a motor vehicle, where 20% of all of TBIs occur (an activity where professional racers wear helmets religiously, and the idea of regular people using helmets during this activity is laughed at).

TL;DR- humans are incredibly bad at evaluating risk, and I hate to see bikes singled out and uniformly and illogically thrown under the metaphorical bus. Australia is well-known as very unfriendly to bikes (universal helmet law) and The Netherlands is pretty well-known as bike heaven (very low rate of helmet use). At least differentiate "cycle sports" from "bikes".

[Eden]

Ya know… I recently read that it is more often than not it is pointless to try to talk someone out of viewpoint…. worse yet that often, in perverse opposition to reason, presenting a person with facts only entrenches them more strongly in their beliefs… so I'm going to remember that this was a discussion primarily about intentionally participating in sports where concussion is likelihood or even an inevitability and not about mandatory helmet wearing on bike rides (even if it was peripherally compared to that debate).