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  • MuayThai injuries

    I am curious about what people know of serious MuayThai fighter injuries? What injuries are common? What are uncommon?

    I've heard of some bizarre stuff. For instance, I know of someone who claims to have a friend who died of "shin cancer" brought on by MuayThai conditioning.

    But a recent discussion on another message board brought up the issue of blood clots in the leg supposedly brought on by conditioning the legs for kicks. I'm especially interested in hearing from SportMuayThai on this topic.

    What are some of the common and not so common injuries amongst active Thai Boxers, and what are some of the health issues that are common amongst retired fighters?

    I've heard some biazarre claims that make little sense (like the bone cancer story) and that Thai Boxers bones become brittle later in life, and I've heard of ones that make perfect sense such as arthritis....

    In my own experience, I have lingering issues despite retiring from the ring 2 years ago. I have a "gimpy" ankles. I have to be extra careful in how I kick or I suddenly find myself with a sprained ankle. I have an injury to my right rotator cuff. My left hand is all kinds of jacked up and is almost assuredly going to be arthritic. I've broken it once, and really sprained the fingers and wrist badly (heck, right hand, too!). For a time, I was experiencing the symptoms of TMJ, however investing in a better mouthpiece has actually resolved this issue (Thank GOD!). I've seen broken teeth, torn ACL's, strained necks, broken noses, broken arms....

    But we see some of the less common injuries... Broken bones, for instance. How often do people break their arms, legs, ribs, hands, feet, in the ring or training in Thailand? I know of a fighter who had his neck broken in the ring by a kick a number of years ago. While we know that these injuries are not the norm, they still occur. But at what frequency?

    I don't mean this discussion to discourage MT training. Face it, anyone with 1/2 a brain realizes that we are participating in a contact sport. Injuries happen and are an accepted risk. But lets be realistic, we know that injuries are often downplayed, and not readily discussed.

    How about it? What is everyones experience with MT injuries?

  • #2
    Dear KhunKao, I must confess that I'm not qualified to make factful report. Nevertheless, I will give report from my limited observation. Earlier, MT retirees were known for their Alzhiemer (spelling) condition, and crippled legs. For the past 10 years, at least, referees are getting much better, and will step in to prevent risk of serious or permanent injuries. Also, fighters are getting better understanding that it's not a gladiator sport, and once clear victory is evident, the upper hand fighter will slacken his attack. He has to, otherwise the spectators will yell Brutal! Thais hold strong disdain for such relentless savage fighter. 30 years ago, fighter would gang up on top fighter for fear of their own future career. For example, the legendary Abhidej SitHirun was welknown for his davastating kicks. So all his opponents would try to destroy his legs by kicking them. Today Abhidej is not walking on good legs. Nevertheless, even today, some fighters have great tenacity, and when they meet, they can do serious damage to each other. Yet it's becoming rare to see serious injury in MT fights nowsday. I think having ring side doctor and ambulance available has also done much to prevent tragic MT accident.
    MT training has come a long way, and there are all sorts of padding to prevent injury. Top prize fighters spar to sharpen their reflex and skill. They do not train to endure bashing.
    I still don't know if I have answered what you've in mind, KhunKao.

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    • #3
      That helps.

      I was hoping you'd have some more insight on the long-term effects of MuayThai and their frequency.

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      • #4
        From what I've observed, getting older sucks, and a lot will depend on how you used your body. Like you said, it's a contact sport and things like bad ankles and shoulders and knees are going to happen. If you take care of yourself as best you can, they'll be less. Look at the masters like Guru Dan Inosanto, or Ajarn Chai.

        But anything athletic will have the problem of wearing your body out if you go hard core and don't take care of yourself. Heck, professional ballet dancers come home after preformances and sit in ice baths while popping advil. They retire when they're 28ish, and everything hurts.

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        • #5
          life sucks:

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          • #6
            Now those are some pretty colors.

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            • #7
              Calapsed sinus cavity.

              When I trained at the Emerald Mongoose in Omaha I met a guy whose forhead had been caved in at the sinus cavity by a headbutt. I was fairly easy to fix.

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              • #8
                I took some big blows to the nose & now later in life i sometimes have trouble breathing through it in bed.

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                • #9
                  Now that you mention it, I have a deviated septum likely due to getting punched in the nose a lot. A doctor offered to perform surgery to correct it, but I don't see the point because I'm going to keep on boxing and probably damage it all over again.

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                  • #10
                    Count me as another 'nose slightly off kilter' I have a hard time breathing sometimes, combine my nose being broke and allergies and I become a mouth breather.

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                    • #11
                      mine presses against the out side of one nostril so if the other gets blocked im buggered & i get a lump of blood when i clean it sometimes if i end up snoring & it dries up at the back.

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                      • #12
                        are your injuries the result of just training or from competition?

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                        • #13
                          one time this guy in our class was holding pads for his partner, and his partner knee slipped and hit him in the forehead instead of the pad. the blow was severe, but because it didnt break the skin of his forehead it swelled up to the size of small apple it looked so freaky you dont even know. the guy went to the hostpital and had it drained. i saw him like 2 weeks after and the bump was still huge, even after being drained.

                          i also saw some chick get kneed in the face on accident by a mma fighter the other week lol. the chick cried for so long lol and the mma fighter was so upset cause he though he was gonna get in trouble by the head trainer.

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                          • #14
                            my trainers all had surgery... one in his foot, one in his shin (cyst) and one has an artificial hip!
                            Personally I had small injuries, bruices on my shin for example. they go away over time, but I cant kick very hard while it heals. In sparring I want to be careful with punches to the head, becaase I sure believe they do a lot of brain damage when it happens too often.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by tranquil View Post
                              are your injuries the result of just training or from competition?
                              done it in the ring, got broken a few times.
                              edit (my nose that is).

                              broke my leg in my last fight.

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