Boxing Safety Tips

Boxing is a type of full-contact combat sport that places a considerable risk of injury on its competitors because of the nature of the sport. In addition, these incidents are most likely to occur during training, making performing routine activities somewhat more difficult.

As a result, you must take the appropriate precautions to avoid injuries from occurring to the greatest extent that you are able.

Types Of Boxing Injuries

Before you can learn how to protect yourself from getting hurt when boxing, you need to be familiar with the most prevalent boxing injuries; this will allow you to take additional safety measures.

• Although they are less common in training and sparring, cuts and lacerations are more likely to occur during professional bouts. However, they can still take place in either situation. Cutting is addressed by washing the wound and adding petroleum jelly to it to stop the bleeding during the bout.
• Boxing is one of the most popular sports that can cause injuries, and one of the most common injuries is nosebleeds, which are caused by small cuts within the nose.
• Boxers typically suffer from bruises whenever they take a hit that has a big impact on their body. Bruises, sometimes known as "black eyes," result from broken blood vessels that lie just beneath the skin's surface. Body injections have the potential to quickly bleed and injure the delicate tissue of the rib cage. Applying a cold compress to a bruise can help lessen the swelling and pain associated with the injury.
• Boxers frequently suffer from fractured bones in the nose, wrist, hand, jaws, and rib regions. In addition, boxers often sustain fractures of the metacarpal bones, known as "Boxers Fractures", due to the sport's high incidence of such injuries. Treatment for fractures must be administered right away and continue for some time.
• A concussion occurs when the brain is shaken violently by a blow to the head, resulting in a loss of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, memory loss in the short term, dizziness, and headaches. When suffering from a concussion, it is imperative to get medical attention from a neurologist.
• Shoulder dislocation: this injury can occur if the arm's humorous bone becomes dislodged from the shoulder blade, also known as the scapula, as a result of a hard blow to the body or an inappropriate movement of the hand. A dislocation of the shoulder is the medical term for this condition. It is exceedingly painful, and immediate hospitalisation is required as a result.
• Sprains: Muscle and ligament sprains are a common consequence of the frequent quick movements required during matches and training. Boxers have a greater risk of experiencing muscle strain in their back, shoulders, arms, knees, and ankles than other athletes.

How To Prevent Injuries In 10 Ways

1. Wear The Proper Protective Gear

During sparring, you should always wear the appropriate protective gear, even if it's just mild sparring because it's easy to sustain injuries like cuts within the mouth. It is true even if the sparring isn't particularly intense. While wearing protective gear, you are required to observe the following safety precautions at all times.

• Head Guard: Make sure that your helmet guard has adequate padding, is comfortable to wear, allows for simple ventilation and does not obstruct your field of vision.
• Gloves for boxing that can be used for sparring: If you weigh less than 147 pounds, your gloves and your sparring partner's gloves should weigh at least 14 ounces. Choose at least 16 ounces if your weight exceeds the average person's. It is important to ensure that you have the correct type of gloves because sparring gloves are more padded than training gloves.
• Boxing gloves to use for workouts: You should purchase a different set of gloves to use with the heavy bag and any other sorts of bag work. Because you will be hitting the bags frequently and hard, and you will need additional protection. As a result, larger gloves are recommended.
• Groin guard: For reasons that should be obvious, you should get a larger groin guard, which has more padding and is comfortable.
• Mouth Guard: When engaging in sparring, you must always wear a mouth guard. It would be best if you never stepped into the ring without first having a mouthguard that is custom-fitted to your teeth. Usually, the less expensive ones will not provide you with the appropriate mould, so you should look for one that has a strong reputation and name behind it. It is acceptable to have only the top, but if you would rather have both the top and the bottom, that is an option.
• Hand Wraps: It doesn't matter if you're doing bag work or fighting. It would help if you had hand wraps on at all times. Please make sure that they are at least 180 inches long to adequately wrap around your hands and provide the level of protection necessary for your hands. It would be helpful if you went with a semi-elastic type.

2. Ensure Your Hands Are Wrapped Properly

Always make sure you are using the correct hand-wrapping technique. There are a lot of videos available on the internet that walk you through different wrapping procedures for your hands. Also, make sure that there is sufficient padding on your knuckles and wrists, regardless of the method that you choose to use.

Always wrap with your palm spread out so that when you create a fist, it tightens up. However, you want to make sure that you don't wrap it too tight, since else it would limit blood flow and be highly uncomfortable.

By wrapping between the fingers, you will provide appropriate support and prevent hand injuries more effectively.

3. Do Stretching Exercises Regularly

Boxers are at a significantly increased risk of experiencing muscle strain and injury. It is because your muscles and ligaments will lengthen as a result of stretching exercises regularly, which will increase your range of motion.

Your likelihood of experiencing muscular sprains and strains will decrease as a result.

It might be helpful if you focused on stretching exercises that targeted specific muscles, such as the muscles in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and shoulders. Also, before you begin sparring, ensure you have completed your warm-up exercises, which should be a requirement from your trainer.

Resistance bands are excellent for loosening tight muscles, stretching them out, and building stronger muscles.

4. Use Moisturisers To Prevent Nose Bleeds

When the skin inside the nose is dry and brittle, it is more prone to tearing and cutting than when it is moist and flexible. It is possible to effectively condition the skin inside the nose through steam inhalations, saline water nose drops, and natural moisturising nose sprays such as Aloe Vera nasal sprays. In addition, you can reduce your risk of getting a nosebleed by hydrating the skin inside your nose before engaging in physical activity.

5. Learn The Correct Punching Techniques

Your hands are the most valuable instruments you own, yet they are also the ones most prone to harm. Learning to throw a punch correctly can help you avoid injuring your wrists and fingers as much as possible. When you punch, you need to ensure that your hand is turned into a fist, so your wrist is properly aligned.

When you strike, you should aim for the knuckle of your middle finger to be the first part of your hand to make contact with the target. Because of the way they throw their punches, boxers frequently fracture and break the bones in their thumbs. It is one of the most common causes of injury in the sport.

Check out the How To Box In 10 Days course, which will guide you through the foundations of boxing step-by-step, including how to throw punches correctly.

6. Apply Petroleum Jelly On Impact Sites

Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to your face, as you will most likely pick this area. It will make the skin slick, pliable, and elastic, decreasing the likelihood of cuts and bruises being sustained due to punches.

Even if head guards are not permitted in the professional game, facial injuries can still occur during sparring. However, it is the situation in which it is most advantageous to wear one.

 7. Improve Your Fitness Level

It is necessary to minimise harm to yourself by defending yourself from hits. To be able to withstand strenuous training methods, you need to have a high level of stamina as well as endurance.

If you have a high level of physical fitness, you can go through the fights with a clear head and protect yourself by retaining rapid footwork and agile reflexes. But, of course, it would be best if you had a high level of physical conditioning to do both. When you're exhausted, it can be difficult to move around, but it's important to remember that you should always be on the watch.

Every athlete should consume a diet rich in nutrients, as this will allow their body to recover and continue to be powerful. Calcium, protein, and vitamin D must play a significant role in your daily diet. Consuming calcium consistently will help build your bones. It will help lower the risk of fractures and make it possible for the bones to recover more quickly if broken.

Consuming a sufficient amount of fluids consistently is critical to ensuring that your body is always properly hydrated. For example, boxers should drink sports between their fights, and while they are training to replace the electrolytes and water, they lose via sweat.

If you fail to do this, your body will become dehydrated, and you will feel fatigued. As a result, the risk of sustaining a brain injury such as a concussion will increase significantly. The 30-Day Fighter's Diet guide has been helpful for both amateur, and professional fighters efficiently manage their weight.

8. Consult A Doctor When In Pain

The majority of the time, fighters ignore discomfort until it has reached an unbearable point, even though it might have been avoided by just contacting a doctor.

Do your research on the Internet if you cannot see a doctor for any reason, as it is highly probable that someone else has been through the same agony you are currently experiencing. They will provide advice and suggestions on how to improve or cure it completely.

9. Let Your Body Rest

It is acceptable to work out hard and push oneself to the maximum, but if you experience sharp aches while you are training, you should stop and figure out the issue.

It may be a severe injury, or it could progress to a severe injury if you are not attentive. Wait till it has fully recovered before getting back into your workouts.

The aches and pains typically show up the next morning when you push yourself to your limits. It's a good indication because it lets you know that you've put in some serious work, but it's important to keep in mind that if you are going to do any exercise (if you can), you should take it gently so that your muscles can recover much more quickly.

Hone Your Defensive Skills

Knowing your game well enough to avoid getting struck too much during sparring or competition is the best approach to reduce the risk of damage during these activities. Invest a lot of time and effort into developing your defensive skills. Make it a point to form positive habits so that slipping, dodging, blocking, and ducking punches become second nature to you.

Recreational Boxing Tips

During the epidemic, people will likely continue to focus on their health and look for new ways to work out and exercise. Boxing may become appealing to some of these individuals. To reduce the likelihood of getting hurt when boxing, every one of us may use a refresher on proper technique and safety precautions, whether we're complete beginners or seasoned veterans.

What Should A Punch Look Like?

Movement mechanics are essential to master before beginning a new activity or course. The question is, what exactly does a punch look like? The mechanics of a punch change drastically depending on the kind of punch that you are attempting to perform. The straight punch is the one that requires the least amount of practice to perfect. When throwing a straight punch, the athlete should adopt a staggered stance and bring the hand that is not their dominant one in front of their body. The athlete's abdominal muscles and ability to generate forward momentum from their legs provide the driving force behind the punch. If you try to punch using only your arms, you can end up in pain and with an uneven distribution of force across your hand and arm. When hitting the punching bag, keep your wrist in a neutral position. It indicates that there is no bending in any direction at the wrist. When the wrists are neutral, they can send the most force to the target. It has been discovered that practising punches while maintaining a neutral wrist can increase punch velocity and reduce the risk of hand and wrist injuries.

Why Should I Wrap My Hands?

If my punching mechanics are sound, I wonder why wrapping my hands is recommended. Hand wraps are the second-best technique for an athlete to protect their hands when boxing, after only strong mechanics. Good mechanics are the greatest way. A direct strike to the metacarpophalangeal joint may have less of an effect if the hands are properly wrapped, as this will help distribute the blow's force (knuckles). In addition, it prevents the metacarpal bones from spreading too far apart, which lowers the probability of sustaining a fracture, sagittal band injury, or muscle tear in the intrinsic musculature. Before a boxing match, you might wrap the athlete's hand using various procedures. It is essential to conduct an anatomical study on your hands and choose a wrapping method that caters to the athlete's specific requirements. Several gyms offer assistance with wraps and instructions on proper wrapping procedures to reduce the risk of damage.

Types Of Boxing Injuries

Boxing is a sport that could cause injuries, but it is hoped that all athletes and gym-goers would be able to engage in it without getting hurt. But first, knowing the signs and symptoms of frequent boxing injuries is vital to receive prompt and appropriate medical attention. Boxers frequently suffer from two types of injuries: the boxer's fracture and the boxer's knuckle.

Boxer's Fracture

A fracture of the fifth metacarpal is what is known as the boxer's fracture. The long hand bone located directly under the little finger is known as the fifth metacarpal. The most prevalent cause of this injury is direct force's application to a fist already closed. Those who suffer from a boxer's fracture will often have pain in the back of the hand and swelling, bruising, and sometimes even deformity.

Boxer's Knuckle

The boxer's knuckle is the second type of injury that could take place. Sagittal band injuries are responsible for the boxer's knuckle condition. A component of the knuckle known as the sagittal band supports the tendon of the muscle responsible for extending your fingers. 3 It is hypothesized that these injuries occur when an athlete strikes a target with the small back edge of the index or long finger metacarpophalangeal joint (knuckle) rather than with the broad row of the contracted fingers. Boxer's knuckle results from improper punch mechanics, which can also occur when the fingers are pushed to bend, and the wrist has deviated. However, this injury can occur independently of the mechanism that causes it. Athletes with these types of injuries frequently complain of painful and swollen knuckles. 3 A trained medical practitioner should conduct an evaluation and diagnosis of the boxer's fractures and the boxer's knuckles.

If you are experiencing pain or suffering from a hand injury due to boxing (or any other sport), please get in touch with our Hand Therapists team as soon as possible. Our highly trained hand therapists work toward enhancing your mobility and range of motion by providing effective treatment for issues that impact your hands or upper extremities. Appointments can be scheduled in-clinic and virtually via the Telehealth platform that we provide.

Impacts On Health

Boxing is often regarded as one of the most effective techniques to get into fighting shape. It mixes dynamic and high-intensity cardiovascular training with fast-paced power moves for both the upper and lower body. In addition, boxing is a great sport to study since it teaches you a lot of good self-defence moves that you can apply outside of the ring. There are a lot of reasons why you should give boxing a shot, but there is one important drawback to consider: the head injuries that are associated with competitive boxing.

Head Injuries In Boxing

According to a report published in Clinics in Sports Medicine in 2011, the first documented case of a boxer suffering a brain injury dates back to 1928. A medical examiner from New Jersey noticed a range of symptoms in around half of the boxers who had extended careers after examining them.

Since 1928, both science and technology have made major strides forward, which has unveiled new information regarding the phenomenon that was initially uncovered. For example, ten years after the National Football League first began looking into the issue of brain injuries suffered by football players. As a result, there has been an increase in attention paid to head injuries.

Boxing is a contact sport that frequently involves hits to the head. Because of this, researchers interested in head injuries have used it as a laboratory to conduct their experiments. As a result, Boxing has been the source of numerous discoveries on brain injuries, and most of these findings are not encouraging.

Professional VS. Amateur Boxers

At first, it was thought that around half of all professional fighters had sustained brain damage in the year 1928. However, a study published in PloS One in 2012 found that more than eighty per cent of Olympic boxers exhibited indications and symptoms of brain injury. This finding suggests that the sport has become more violent or that it is now simpler to identify these injuries.

Boxers that compete professionally face significantly more dangers than their amateur colleagues. Boxers that compete on a professional level do not have to wear protective headgear; they engage in much more rounds and take much harsher punches. In addition, when competing at a professional level, the objective of the match is not to score points but to knock out your opponent.

Research published in 2007 in the British Medical Journal found that despite this, amateur boxers still exhibit some signs of CTE, which stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. However, in amateur boxing, the injury is neither as serious nor as common as it is in professional bouts.

Concussions

When a boxer takes a blow to the head, they risk suffering head trauma. Inside your skull, your brain is cushioned by a pool of cerebrospinal fluid, but it does not make contact with any of the bones in your skull.

When a boxer takes a blow to the head, the brain bangs on the bone of the skull, which can result in bruising and other types of damage. If the blow is severe enough, it has the potential to knock the individual out for a short while, during which time they will be unconscious. A knock-out, often known as a concussion, is the more common term in boxing to describe this type of injury.

Only a subset of head traumas can knock someone out completely. Even if the blows aren't as severe as they may be, if the boxer continues to box despite the head injury, it will still cause damage to the brain. Even after a long time, these wounds won't be completely healed. Instead, they continue to worsen, and the damage to the brain continues to progress over time. This condition is referred to as CTE. When someone with CTE reaches old age, their brain will deteriorate far more quickly than the brain of someone who has never suffered any head injuries.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Inability to pay attention, quickly losing concentration, difficulty remembering things, confusion, dizziness, and headaches are the initial symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Unfortunately, the boxer's judgment worsens as the condition worsens; he starts acting erratically, and he may even get the early symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

The symptoms can get so severe that the person has difficulty walking, talking, and hearing. In the end, it appears to be a classic case of dementia or Parkinson's disease in its latter stages.

Preventing Head Injury

It might seem like getting knocked unconscious would be the worst thing for head injuries, but it isn't. The fundamental issue is that boxers absorb so many blows to the head without passing out, yet this isn't enough to put them out of the fight. These types of blows are referred to as sub-concussive blows. They cause a mild injury to the brain, but not enough for the fighter to be compelled to cease fighting due to the injury.

During a fight, a competitor can only sustain one strike with the potential to knock them out. If they are not knocked out, however, they may take dozens of hits to the head that are not considered concussive.

Boxers should spend as little time as possible in the ring to reduce their risk of brain trauma; the fewer blows they take to the noggin for their careers, the better. Amateur boxers rarely suffer serious injuries because their bouts only last for three rounds. However, boxers that compete professionally often engage in more bouts, and each round lasts significantly longer, placing them at a greater risk of sustaining head injuries.

Check Out Our Page About Bayside Boxing Classes

Protective headgear can cushion blows to the head and is also worn by boxers who compete in amateur bouts. When boxing, it is important to protect oneself as much as possible by wearing this gear.

It is necessary to acquire as much knowledge as possible regarding brain injuries and the symptoms of concussions. If you are knocked out, you should seek emergency medical attention from a trained specialist qualified to diagnose concussions.

A doctor should also be able to tell you when it's time to hang up your gloves for good and retire from boxing. There are two key warning indications, as stated in an article published in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. The first difference is that you will feel the effects of a concussion for longer than usual, and the second difference is that you will be much more prone to receiving concussions. If you start to see warning symptoms of a brain injury that will remain for a while, it is probably time to cease fighting.