We can see that professional boxers often have a variety of injuries, so what are the main reasons for injuries to boxers in the ring?
1. During the boxing ring competition, the athlete makes a fist with one hand in front and the other in the back, which are called front fist and back fist (also known as main fist or heavy fist). The backhand fist is the main strength of the athlete. The punch is fierce and powerful, and the explosive force is strong. The reaction force it bears after the blow is also large. Therefore, the backhand of the athlete is often more easily injured. Since the third metacarpal bone is the longest and protrudes in front of the punch, no matter what kind of punches (jab, swing, uppercut, etc.) are used, the third metacarpal bone is used as the main force to hit the opponent. Therefore, the skin and joint capsule of this part are most vulnerable to injury and strain, and the third metacarpal is prone to fracture.
2. The standard punching action is to clench the glove tightly, bend the thumb to the palm as much as possible, and strike with the top of the fist (the colored part in front of the glove is the top of the fist). A common cause of hand injuries is the athlete’s irregular fisting or punching. For example, if the fist is not tightly clenched and the thumb is not flexed enough, the center of the fist or the thumb will be used as the hitting point, which may easily cause the subluxation of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb or the fracture of the base of the first metacarpal bone.
3. Hand injuries caused by the quality of the competition equipment: At present, in the boxing ring competition, the qualified gloves approved by the International Amateur Boxing Federation must be used. If the athlete’s fist is not tightly clenched or the thumb flexion is limited due to the quality of the glove itself, and then hand injury occurs, the coaches, athletes, medical supervisors, referees, glove manufacturers, and officials of the boxing sports management center should be highly of attention. It is necessary to supervise the quality of boxing equipment and check whether athletes wear boxing gloves are standardized, which can avoid or reduce injuries.
