Boxing Injuries

As you can imagine, Boxers can pick up loads of injuries but Boxing can involve a lot more injuries than you'd expect. This is because training can also cause loads of injuries and Boxers use so many different parts of their bodies with high amounts of energy in each movement.

Although most injuries are in the hands and wrist, Boxers can also get injuries in the calves, ankle, face, shoulder, hamstrings and other parts of the body. 

Common Boxing Injuries

• Facial Injuries 
• Concussion
• Achilles Tendinopathy 
• Dislocated Shoulder 
• Boxer's Fracture 
• Strain Injuries 

Other Common Boxing injuries:

• Boxer's Knuckle 
• Carpal Bossing 

Facial Injuries -  Quite common, even in training, can range from cuts and bruises to broken bones. Shouldn't be taken likely and can create serious issues long-term

Concussion - Can happen multiple different ways and can sometimes go undiagnosed, it is paramount that a physiotherapist or a similarly trained person is consulted

Achilles Tendinopathy - Caused by repetitive strain from punching because feet often twist or stretch to generate more power. Recovery is long but a physiotherapist can help with exercises and stretches

Dislocated Shoulder - Happens quite a lot, ranges in severity and some cases can cause extreme disfiguration of the shoulder. Extremely painful but not too difficult to treat

Boxer's Fracture - A very serious injury, another common fracture is Bennet's fracture which is in the wrist. It is recommended that you see a specialist if your physician has diagnosed you with either of them.

Strain Injuries -  Multiple strain injuries are common in boxing, you can strain your neck, feet, wrists and calves. The POLICE Principle can help but sometimes recovery can be tricky

What are the most common Boxing Injuries?

Cuts, Bruises and other facial injuries are the most common boxing injuries, this is why there is always a 'Cut man' as part of a professional boxing team.

Their job is too literally just to patch up injuries like this and most of the time this is done in the middle of the boxing match when they take a break. Facial Injuries can get quite nasty but blood loss or interference with the eyes are the most immediate concerns when dealing with these types of injuries.

Injuries to the hand, fingers and wrist are also quite common as well for the simple reason that the cause of damage to the face is of course caused by punching so punching is similarly going to cause injuries as the force that damages impacts the wrist as well. 

How do I prevent a Boxing injury?

You can't do too much to prevent a Boxing Injury but you can take the necessary precautions for reducing the likelihood that you will get injured. This involves using Taping and Strapping products to help support and protect the wrist and hand. Watch the video below for more information on how to prevent wrist injuries with a wrist under support.

Other than taping your wrists or wearing supports during training, there are other ways of making sure you don't pick up too many Boxing injuries such as strengthening and conditioning. This is a sports science and physical therapy approach to optimising your performance and reducing the likelihood of picking up an injury.

Strengthening and Conditioning will help mitigate injuries like Achilles tendinopathy, wrist injuries and leg injuries. Fractures and other impact injuries as well as dislocations are quite hard to avoid and the only way you can really mitigate injuries like this is by being more mindful of the magnitude of force you are exerting or taking.