Retired MMA fighters and boxers can expect better thinking and memory scores – study

Boxers and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters may see some recovery in their thinking and memory skills, as well as brain structure, after they stop fighting.

– Repetitive blows to the head increase the risk of long-term neurological diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, cognitive and behavioral problems, and parkinsonism. However, we didn’t know what happened to people who fought and then stopped fighting. The good news is that we saw some improvement in thinking and memory scores in these retired fighters, said study author Aaron Ritter, MD, in the Medical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study recruited 45 retired male fighters who had not competed for two years, with an average age of 32, including 22 boxers, 22 MMA fighters, and one martial artist. They also identified 45 active male fighters with an average age of 30, including 17 boxers, 27 mixed martial artists and one martial artist. The groups were matched for age, education, race, and number of fights at baseline.

The retired fighters went two years without any fighting, while the active fighters continued to compete in professional fights.

For three years, all of the fighters had brain scans and tests to see how well their brains were working both at the beginning and at the end of the study. The researchers also looked at the participants’ fight history.

In the areas of verbal memory, motor speed, and processing speed, retired fighters improved over time, while active fighters showed stable or slight declines.