Fifty former amateur boxers were examined and compared with two control groups of soccer players and track and field athletes. All subjects were interviewed regarding their sports career, medical history, and social variables. They underwent a physical and a neurologic examination. Personality traits were investigated and related to the platelet monoamine oxidase activity. Cerebral morphologic changes were evaluated using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Further, clinical neurophysiologic tests were made as well as neuropsychologic tests. No significant differences were found between the groups in any of the physical or neurologic examinations or in platelet monoamine oxidase activity. Socially, the boxers had a lower degree of education and had chosen less intellectual professions, but they were less impulsive and more socialized. The computed tomography images and magnetic resonance imaging studies showed no significant differences between the groups. There was a significantly higher incidence of slight or moderate electroencephalography deviations among the boxers. Neuropsychologically, the boxers had an inferior finger-tapping performance. Thus, no signs of serious chronic brain damage were found among any of the groups studied. However, the electroencephalography and finger-tapping differences between the groups might indicate slight brain dysfunction in some of the amateur boxers.

It is well known that professional boxers can develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (dementia pugilistica) due to repeated head trauma. Beside CT findings indicating cerebral atrophy, the presence of a cavum septum pellucidum has been reported to indicate encephalopathy. CT findings in amateur boxers are not as well documented. The aim of this study was to find out if morphological changes could be demonstrated among former amateur boxers using CT and MRI. Two control groups of soccer players and track and field athletes in the same age‐range were used for comparison. No significant differences in the width of the ventricular system, anterior horn index, width of cortical sulci, signs of vermian atrophy, or the occurrence of a cavum septum pellucidum were found between boxers and controls. A cavum septum pellucidum was found more often in the controls than in the boxers and is probably not a sign of earlier head trauma. MRI confirm no more findings than CT in this retrospective study.

The aim of the present study was to investigate possible chronic brain damage due to Swedish amateur boxing. Forty seven former amateur boxers, 22 with many (HM = high‐matched) and 25 with few matches (LM = low‐matched) during their career were examined and compared with two control groups of 25 soccer players and 25 track and field athletes in the same age‐range. No severe EEG abnormality was found. There was a somewhat higher incidence of slight or moderate EEG deviations among HM‐(32%, 7/22) and LM‐(36%, 9/25) boxers than among soccer players (20%, 5/25) and track and field athletes (12%, 3/25). Brain electric activity mapping (BEAM), brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) and auditory evoked P 300 potential (P 300) did not differ significantly between the groups. No neurophysiological variable was correlated to the number of bouts, number of lost fights or length of boxing career. Thus, no signs of serious chronic brain damage was found among the amateur boxers or the soccer players and the track and field athletes. However, it cannot be excluded that the EEG differences between the groups may be a sign of slight brain dysfunction in some of the amateur boxers.

Does Swedish amateur boxing lead to any permanent neuropsychological deficit, caused by chronic brain damage? Fifty Swedish former amateur boxers, 25 soccer players, and 25 track and field athletes were investigated by standardized neuropsychological tests. In only one test did the groups differ significantly. Boxers who had taken part in a large number of bouts had a slightly inferior finger‐tapping performance. None of the boxers were considered to have definite signs of intellectual impairment. In conclusion modern Swedish amateur boxing does not seem to lead to significant signs of neuropsychological impairment or “punch drunkenness”, nor does it seem to differ in this respect from soccer playing or track and field sports.

Twenty-three male ice hockey players in a third division amateur ice hockey team were prospectively studied during the 1987-1988 season. O2 uptake, muscle flexibility, and isokinetic concentric and eccentric leg muscle strength were measured before and after the season. All injuries were recorded by one and the same physician attending all the games: 68 injuries occurred altogether but only six of these led to absence from training or matches. O2 uptake and muscle flexibility were unchanged during the season, but a significant drop of both concentric and eccentric quadriceps and hamstring torques occurred in spite of the fact that the team played two games and trained twice per week during the entire season. No correlation between the fall in muscle strength and the injury rate was found. Although many injuries occur in ice hockey, the majority are minor ones that do not lead to absence from playing.