Should I quit contact sports?
 

Martial Arts Injury
Hi, I am new to this but some issues I've been having have pushed me to post here. Anyway I am a karate point fighter. A few months ago I was sparring with someone who had very little control and was trying to prove something (any martial artist knows the type) and as I was trying to pause our sparring session I was slammed to the mat, hitting the back of my head on the mat. I saw a flash, much like a camera flash but I thought I was okay. I did not see anything wrong with me until a day or two later. I started to feel foggy and for the first couple of weeks it felt almost like I was drunk. The drunk feeling eventually went away but the fogginess stayed for months. I have improved a lot since then but some of the fogginess is still there. I also have been forgetting simple things, been having headaches, and have a hard time paying attention to conversations. This injury has effected me greatly and no one seems to understand what it feels like, with a couple just calling me a hypochondriac. As an athlete I am no stranger to injuries and this is by far the worst feeling I have ever had in my life.
I do have a history of playing contact sports, like football in high school. I was never formally diagnosed with a concussion but looking back I'm pretty sure I had a few. However, I never felt bothered for long periods of time from playing football.
I chose karate point fighting because it is not nearly as rough as many other martial arts. But after this head injury, I'm afraid that I can't take many more hits, even light ones. Knockouts still happen in point fighting, albeit accidentally, so I am concerned of the risk I take. This is hard for me as I love competing and I know I have a lot of potential. Last year I won a world championship in my weight division for an amateur organization, I've trained with very high level athletes, and it has been my dream to try out for the karate national team, especially now that karate has been added to the Olympics. I love martial arts and I wont quit training in it, but now I wonder if maybe I should give up fighting and even light sparring and maybe just focus on the self defense aspects of karate. I'm only 22 but this injury has made me concerned over the long term effects of continuing contact sports, even those deemed as "light contact". So I am hoping that someone maybe has some advice for me, thank you.

taq33,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

You are on the right track with your thinking. Your brain has already had a rough time with multitudes of subconcussive impacts with some full concussions mixed in.

Your choice is simple.
Do I stop contact sports and work on a life than can hopefully be long and uneventful regarding future impacts and any post concussion symptoms.
Or, do I pursue my dream and risk losing it all with a single devastating concussion or series of subconcussive impact that leave me with a brain that can't remember simple things (word finding is one of the worst common symptoms), a brain that is prone to outburst that can result in legal and/or family/social problems, a brain that deteriorates into mindless dementia at a premature age and more.

I quit contact sports at 16. But, in a normal active life, I still suffered more impacts that have left me with a dysfunctional brain at 46. My head injuries from my youth were a big part of my problems.

From my perspective, I would encourage you to stop. Maybe coach and train others. Or, find a totally new direction in your life. You are at the age where you are ready to establish a career and life with many options still available. Further injury can quickly limit your options.

There are many competitive sports where the brain is not at risk as much. Tri-athletes and Ninja athletes are some of the most amazing athletes.

You should consider getting started on a brain health supplement regimen and learn to recognize the various symptoms that say you are pushing too hard.

There is a lot you can do to make your future the best possible.

My best to you.

Thank you Mark. I have been talking with family on what I should do. I am gradually leaning more towards the side of giving up competition. Although I love it, I'm not sure if any gold medal is worth risking my long term health. Even if it were not to develop to something as serious as something like CTE, the feelings from this most recent head injury is something I never want to experience again. I have had some pretty painful injuries over the years of being an athlete, I have competed with pulled muscles, broken bones, and a dislocated shoulder, but this is the one thing I don't think I can just "play through".

Yes, you can live a long and successful life with a bad knee or shoulder. But, once your brain is injured and your mind stops functioning as you need it to function, a healthy body is of little value.

I have a friend who has been in a wheel chair since 11 years old (30 years). Her bright and active mind allows her to do anything she wants if she can just roll up to the location. I sometimes look at her and think that it would be easier to live in a wheel chair than to have to live with cognitive and memory dysfunctions.

If you think an award is worth finishing life like Muhammad Ali then keep going.

It sounds as if your brain is telling you something.

There are many things in life available to satisfy our competitive instincts, don't be afraid of exploring or making changes, you won't be the first who has had to do such.

A cousin of mine is 58 and has been involved in contact martial sports since 12 or thereabouts. I wouldn't want his knees or lower back he is stuck with now at just 58, I want to be skiing when I am 80.

I think there are ways to keep involved in your karate that do not involve your brain beng rattled, maybe altered behavior would satisfy a few issues at the same time?

Best of luck on your decisions.

Bud

My situation is very similar to yours.

I've done contact sports for the most part of my life.

I got my last concussion when I was boxing sparring with someone who was very new to boxing. We were supposed to go light, maybe at 50%, so we had no head gear, just gloves.

As it happens with a lot of new boxers, he got frustrated at some point and couldn't (or wouldn't) control how hard he was hitting, and it was a combination of him putting his full weight (he was quite a bit heavier than me) and me walking into his punch that led me to this last concussion.

I didn't really have any symptoms (or so I thought) for the first day or so, except for a headache, and later on it started getting worse and I was on the PCS roller-coaster.

Long story short, nowadays I'm trying to convince anyone who will listen to quit any kind of contact sport where you're repeatedly getting hit in the head, like boxing.

I strongly suggest that you stop, if you think you have it rough now, trust me it is going to only get WAY worse.

Currently I'm 5 years out from my last concussion and can barely do a very simple part-time minimum wage job driving cars around for a car rental company.