Just a thought on MMA long term effects.

[glockmeister]

I like watching Pride, UFC, etc..

But one thing I can't help but wonder is how these guys are going to be 20 years from now. We all have heard of the long term effects of Boxing and how some boxers have ended up "punch drunk" after years of getting slugged. Also I remember shows of how pro football players have suffered a variety of preblems with joints, arthritis and problems just getting themselves out of bed in the mornings and keep in mind, they are wearing a lot of protective equipment. When watching these MMA fighter and seeing the poundings they are taking inclusing shin kicks and knees to the head, I am wondering just what kind of long term negative effects these guys will deal with as they get older.

Just a thought.

[NightOwl]

I like watching Pride, UFC, etc..

But one thing I can't help but wonder is how these guys are going to be 20 years from now. We all have heard of the long term effects of Boxing and how some boxers have ended up "punch drunk" after years of getting slugged. Also I remember shows of how pro football players have suffered a variety of preblems with joints, arthritis and problems just getting themselves out of bed in the mornings and keep in mind, they are wearing a lot of protective equipment. When watching these MMA fighter and seeing the poundings they are taking inclusing shin kicks and knees to the head, I am wondering just what kind of long term negative effects these guys will deal with as they get older.

Just a thought.

MMA has not been around long enough to know for sure, but it is certainly plausible that some of the symptoms you mentioned could pop up eventually.

However, football is IMO more brutal as far as total body trauma...those heavywieghts in the UFC would only be averaged sized in the NFL, and when you have 300+ pounds of bodymass slamming into you every 3 min, you are going to spike up your chances of breaking something long term. As for getting 'punch-drunk'...more likely, but I've heard that the larger boxing gloves (and blunting the blow) contribute to that somewhat...but I might be mistaken...

[username8517]

I don't think you'll see as many MMA suffering the kind of brain damage / "punch drunk" effect as some boxers because a lot of matches go from standing to the ground back to standing back to the ground and so on. It's not a continual thing of continuing to hit your opponent in the head or body. Can and will it happen eventually--yes. However I don't think the effects will be as bad or as common as a boxer might suffer.

But as the old adage goes, only time will tell. . .

[glockmeister]

True, but at the same time, the boxers aren't getting elbows and knees to the head and ribs nor are they getting slammed, etc.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I think it's pretty obvious that people who continually beat themselves up like that will have health problems. It's just common sense.

[ps1]

There is no doubt that they will be messed up. But that just goes with the sport. I think you'll find that many professional athletes, evein in non contact sports, end up with knee and hip problems at the very least.

[Jkoko]

I asked my father recently (Orthopeadic surgeon) and he said that many athletes in sports like soccer or track and field that add too much pressure to their most used body part,feet for soccer and so on,tend to develop Orthopaedic problems in joints

[bushido_man96]

I think that they will experience some long-term affects, just like any retired professional athlete does. I don't think that it will be as bad as what some boxers experience, though, because of the limited number of rounds that MMA fighters go through.

I think that boxers feel more of the punch drunk effect because of fighting more rounds. Does anyone know how many rounds the average proffesional heavyweight fights per fight? Most MMA matches are only 3 rounds or 5 rounds long, and they don't go the distance very often. Although they don't wear the heavy gloves in MMA, they tend to knockout sooner, if they do with punches, decreasing the number of punches that a fighter gets hit with.

However, there is also the arguement that with less protection, more damage is caused. As has been said, we shall see, eventually.

[Andrew_Patton]

I just recently gave up MMA training due to accumulated injuries (two broken fingers, broken toe, arthritic wrist, damaged knee, cracked sternum, bruised ribs) and while the knowledge gained in BJJ experience may be invaluable (mainly in TD defense) I don't see any reason to go back to training MMA or BJJ any time soon, the only thing I might consider going back to ATM is Judo.

All the injuries that happened to me occured within a year of training, on the other hand, I have only been hurt twice in Shorin-Ryu classes (a concussion, and sprained wrist from a botched punch when I was a green belt)

[lordtariel]

People that train really hard and spar hard are bound to get more injuries than someone who doesn't. As everyone has said, those sorts of bouts have only been going on for a little while so it's hard to say exactly what the long term effects are going to be, but I'm sure there will be some.