Boxing Participation by Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Thousands of boys and girls younger than 19 years participate in boxing in North America. Although boxing provides benefits for participants, including exercise, self-discipline, and self-confidence, the sport of boxing encourages and rewards deliberate blows to the head and face. Participants in boxing are at risk of head, face, and neck injuries, including chronic and even fatal neurologic injuries. Concussions are one of the most common injuries that occur with boxing. Because of the risk of head and facial injuries, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society oppose boxing as a sport for children and adolescents. These organizations recommend that physicians vigorously oppose boxing in youth and encourage patients to participate in alternative sports in which intentional head blows are not central to the sport.

Concussion occurrence and recognition in professional boxing and MMA matches: toward a concussion protocol in combat sports

“…Given the increasing attention to concussion and long term effects of exposure to repetitive head impacts, there is emerging interest in strategies to improve brain safety in sports. Historically, combat sports have been ripe for criticism since one of the major goals for competitors is to intentionally inflict neurologic trauma upon their opponents (12,13). Yet, the majority of fights do not end in knock outs and there may be policy changes that can make combat sports safer in the 21 st century (1,14).…”

Sports and Children with Hemophilia: Current Trends

“…The AAP has recommended that children should engage in trampoline activities only in professionally supervised settings due to the high risk of fractures, hospitalization and risk of bruises and other injuries [23]. For the same reason, no children should participate in boxing because this activity encourages injuries especially to the head and neck [24]. Additionally, the dangers of concussion related to US football and soccer have recently received attention, with recommendations for carefully monitoring children after an event [25].…”

Positive and Negative Themes Depicted in Combat-Related Sports Films

“…This popularity extends to pediatric athletes in the United States, including more than 18 000 minors registered with USA Boxing, more than 6.5 million children participating in some form of MMA, and approximately 270 000 high school students participating on a wrestling team. 1-3 A growing number of studies have examined the effects of sports participation, both positive and negative, on the development of children. 4-6 Benefits of sports participation include developing a positive relationship with a coach, personal growth from mental and physical challenges, gaining support from family and friends, developing a sense of community, creating new friendships with teammates, decreased early sexual activity in girls, and learning skills including time management, importance of work ethic, and stress maintenance.…”