Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers

Despite increased interest regarding the potentially long-term negative impact of chronic traumatic brain injury, limited research has been conducted regarding such injuries and neurological outcomes in real world settings. To increase understanding regarding the relationship between sparring (e.g.,...

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Main Authors:	Stiller, John W., Yu, Steven S., Brenner, Lisa A., Langenberg, Patricia, Scrofani, Phillip, Pannella, Patrick, Hsu, Edbert B., Roberts, Darryl W., Monsell, Ray M. T., Binks, Sidney W., Guzman, Alvaro, Postolache, Teodor T.
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2014
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104643/

id	pubmed-4104643
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-41046432014-08-06 Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers Stiller, John W. Yu, Steven S. Brenner, Lisa A. Langenberg, Patricia Scrofani, Phillip Pannella, Patrick Hsu, Edbert B. Roberts, Darryl W. Monsell, Ray M. T. Binks, Sidney W. Guzman, Alvaro Postolache, Teodor T. Public Health Despite increased interest regarding the potentially long-term negative impact of chronic traumatic brain injury, limited research has been conducted regarding such injuries and neurological outcomes in real world settings. To increase understanding regarding the relationship between sparring (e.g., training under the tutelage of an experienced boxing coach for the purpose of improving skills and/or fitness) and neurological functioning, professional boxers (n = 237) who competed in Maryland between 2003 and 2008 completed measures regarding sparring exposure (Cumulative Sparring Index, CSI) and performance on tests of cognition (Symbol Digit Modalities Test, SDMT) and balance (Sharpened Romberg Test, SRT). Measures were completed prior to boxing matches. Higher scores on the CSI (increased sparring exposure) were associated with poorer performance on both tests of cognition (SDMT) and balance (SRT). A threshold effect was noted regarding performance on the SDMT, with those reporting CSI values greater than about 150 experiencing a decline in cognition. A history of frequent and/or intense sparring may pose a significant risk for developing boxing associated neurological sequelae. Implementing administration of clinically meaningful tests before bouts, such as the CSI, SDMT, and/or the SRT, as well as documentation of results into the boxer’s physicals or medical profiles may be an important step for improving boxing safety. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-07-21 /pmc/articles/PMC4104643/ /pubmed/25101253 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00069 Text en Copyright © 2014 Stiller, Yu, Brenner, Langenberg, Scrofani, Pannella, Hsu, Roberts, Monsell, Binks, Guzman and Postolache. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Stiller, John W. Yu, Steven S. Brenner, Lisa A. Langenberg, Patricia Scrofani, Phillip Pannella, Patrick Hsu, Edbert B. Roberts, Darryl W. Monsell, Ray M. T. Binks, Sidney W. Guzman, Alvaro Postolache, Teodor T.
spellingShingle	Stiller, John W. Yu, Steven S. Brenner, Lisa A. Langenberg, Patricia Scrofani, Phillip Pannella, Patrick Hsu, Edbert B. Roberts, Darryl W. Monsell, Ray M. T. Binks, Sidney W. Guzman, Alvaro Postolache, Teodor T. Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers
author_facet	Stiller, John W. Yu, Steven S. Brenner, Lisa A. Langenberg, Patricia Scrofani, Phillip Pannella, Patrick Hsu, Edbert B. Roberts, Darryl W. Monsell, Ray M. T. Binks, Sidney W. Guzman, Alvaro Postolache, Teodor T.
author_sort	Stiller, John W.
title	Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers
title_short	Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers
title_full	Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers
title_fullStr	Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers
title_full_unstemmed	Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers
title_sort	sparring and neurological function in professional boxers
description	Despite increased interest regarding the potentially long-term negative impact of chronic traumatic brain injury, limited research has been conducted regarding such injuries and neurological outcomes in real world settings. To increase understanding regarding the relationship between sparring (e.g., training under the tutelage of an experienced boxing coach for the purpose of improving skills and/or fitness) and neurological functioning, professional boxers (n = 237) who competed in Maryland between 2003 and 2008 completed measures regarding sparring exposure (Cumulative Sparring Index, CSI) and performance on tests of cognition (Symbol Digit Modalities Test, SDMT) and balance (Sharpened Romberg Test, SRT). Measures were completed prior to boxing matches. Higher scores on the CSI (increased sparring exposure) were associated with poorer performance on both tests of cognition (SDMT) and balance (SRT). A threshold effect was noted regarding performance on the SDMT, with those reporting CSI values greater than about 150 experiencing a decline in cognition. A history of frequent and/or intense sparring may pose a significant risk for developing boxing associated neurological sequelae. Implementing administration of clinically meaningful tests before bouts, such as the CSI, SDMT, and/or the SRT, as well as documentation of results into the boxer’s physicals or medical profiles may be an important step for improving boxing safety.
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2014
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104643/
_version_	1613116000694173696

Sparring and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers

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