Introduction
Violence in sports is a common phenomenon that occurs in diverse sports as a result of distinct factors. Sometimes the notion of violence may differ depending on the approach. As a result, sports-related head trauma has been prevalent in various professional sports. Although there is no recognized standard laboratory test conducted to establish the extent of these traumatic brain injuries, a common concern exists in the mental health statistics portrayed worldwide. In the last decade, there has been a surge in research on the consequences of repetitive head injuries on cognitive neurological performance of the brain associated with violence of all kinds in the sporting arena (Mizobuchi & Nagahiro, 2016). Violence is more prevalent in current generational sports than it used to be years ago, whether it is between players, spectators, or post-match riots. To some people, it is their way of expressing patriotism or fanaticism, while others use it to show dissent with authorities regulating matches. The problem of violence has had far-fetched consequences in the world. Therefore, it is important to understand what factors contribute to violence in professional sports, risk factors of repetitive brain injuries, preventive measures and the consequences of such injuries among players.
Head injuries are common in such games as mixed martial arts, where acts of kicking, punching, knee-striking, or use of pounds and ground to strike the head can accumulate into traumatic head injuries. Such encounters may result in debilitating conditions among the participants and endanger their psychological and cognitive health. Repeated traumatic brain injuries have the potential of causing future problems and may become fatal among player populations (Mizobuchi, & Nagahiro, 2016). Fares et al. (2020) assert that head injuries are attributable to routine punches, kicks, and strikes, which interfere with the structure of the skull, most common in martial arts and other contact games. Concurrently, the strains and the shock impact on the brain result in a potential long-lasting impairment, which then endangers one’s career for a lifetime.
Consequences of Repetitive Brain Injuries in Professional Sport
To explicitly understand violence in professional sports, it is ideal to explore the meaning of the term itself. Violence, in this context, defines unnecessary harmful acts intentionally committed before, during, or after a game as motivated by the sporting event. Some of the key games where such behavior often manifests involve contact games such as boxing, American football, rugby, hockey, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and lacrosse, among others. Several factors often cause violence in such games. Such dynamics frequently range from personalities, environmental elements to a combination of other variables in play (Weinberg, 2016). Nonetheless, the occurrence of these events is a major worry for many authorities around the world. Concurrently, the occurrence of violent events in sports emanates from institutional and individual factors, which may require critical evaluation and research. There are varying study results from soccer, football, rugby, boxing, martial arts, and other multiple engagements in repetitive violence.
Acute traumatic brain injury may lead to long term damage of the brain functionalities. In many instances, individual exposure to injuries depends on the types of sporting activities. These competitions expose the participant’s brain to direct injuries because of physical contact with the opponents’ jabs. Recently, there has been a surge in consequential chronic traumatic injuries among athletes. According to Mizobuchi and Nagahiro (2016), there are several sport-related brain injuries initiated by continued violence in sporting behavior. Some of these acute conditions include concussion, subdural hematoma (ASDH), chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and traumatic cerebrovascular disease (Mizobuchi & Nagahiro, 2016). In essence, almost all of these conditions occur as a result of contact sporting events which often interfere with the normal brain performances of the sportsmen. The severity of these impacts depends on the nature of the sporting activity.
Subdural haematoma (ASDH) is the leading cause of death based on repeated sports-related brain injury. Mizobuchi and Nagahiro (2016) claim that the Judo survey revealed that more than 28% of accidents of injured players had headaches before engaging in these accidents. Thus, the players were susceptible to vein ruptures. According to Mizobuchi and Nagahiro (2016), the prevalence of severe head damage due to repeated exposure to contact sports, including American football and rugby which are mainly associated with Acute Subdural Hematoma (ASDHs) forming closely 90% of the cases. In Japan, this condition is often associated with Judo as the main sporting event.
Concussion defines diffuse brain injuries developed over time because of contact games. It often results in altered mental status, including shaking of brain that induces severe injuries to neurons and nerve fibers. Worldwide, 1.6 to 3.8 million people has reported concussions annually as a consequence of sport-related trauma (Mizobuchi & Nagahiro, 2016). Nonetheless, the symptoms and signs may not be clincially explained medically but may include lost consciousness, loss of memory and significant alteration of perceived judgment. Such trend is also evident in cases of traumatic cerebrovascular disease, where 80% of patients also had other conditions like ischemia or infarction and male dominated the list (Mizobuchi & Nagahiro, 2016). Concussions are often considered as mild traumatic brain injuries.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy results from progressive neuro-functional degeneration that results from repeated brain injuries. Self-defense mechanisms employed by the athletes alongside their health status also determine the extent of brain damage during these repetitive exposures. Prominently, the figures vary depending on the type of sports and may cumulatively result in vivid complications among the victims at later ages. Following closely are the cases of traumatic cerebrovascular disease and concussions. Interestingly, male athletes are suffering more of these conditions than their female counterparts (Mizobuchi & Nagahiro, 2016). According to Mizobuchi and Nagahiro (2016), these conditions are correlated to several other individual factors among these players, including mental health status, family relations and economic classes.
Mixed martial art type of fight combines traditional martial arts with kickboxing and wrestling as a mode of competition between different gamers. Often, participants encounter repetitive head injuries with the potential to cause myriad problems within the peripheries of cognitive performances. However, there is minimal research conducted on this field to empower fighters with the right timely information on mental health implications. Primarily, this game entails knockout norms which replicate loss of stability upon the loser. In essence, it exposes the victim to high tension on the cranial cavity because of the jibes on the skull. Although it is a periodic form of engagement, routine fighters face multiple mental health challenges because the knockouts have the potentials to impair their mental performance for a lifetime (Mizobuchi & Nagahiro, 2016). Such perception vindicates the importance of understanding the value of repetitive trauma on mental health.
Repeated encounters of knockouts and technical knockouts have critical consequences on the functionality of the brain, even as they may mark the end of a match between two opponents. The purge on one’s cognitive capability in an enclosed ring may also mark the beginning of mental health struggle for such individuals. A study by Fares et al. (2020) reveals that losing during repetitive rounds of mixed martial arts may have impacts on the general psychological stability of such individuals for a long time in history. Thus, head injuries sustained during such events have become fundamental contributing factors in the rise of mental illnesses worldwide. The resulting state of being knocked out or undergoing a technical knockout indicates that the brain can no longer sustain the weight of the pressure endured during these games. Thus, the victim cannot withstand the injuries anymore, signaling medical concerns which may require immediate clinical care or continuous monitoring to avert severe impaction.
At the same time, the varying trends in gender difference also showcase the internal factors affecting mental health. Simultaneously, age factor is also an important aspect of self-intuition in repetitive traumatic injuries translating to differences among males as well. Several other reasons, such as psycho-social wellness and family values, also contribute to the variations in mental response to repetitive traumatic injuries. As traumatizing accidents or calamities, sporting trauma too can be devastating if not well-managed in the long run. As a result, finding the correlations between various variables in play can shape the way in which players respond to different situations. Practically, there is a significant correlation between social background and the psychological wellness of gamers (Weinberg, 2016). Thus, the continued link between players and their fans is a fundamental element of brain competence in the face of miseries and stress.
Epidemiological studies reveal that mixed martial arts, rugby, and American football are leading games marred by violence and repetitive head injuries. Fares et al. (2020) postulate the mixed martial arts entails critical fighting tactics which endanger the lives of perpetrators in various ways. Based on Fares et al.’s (2020) study, repeated traumas in sports constitute more than 35% of the head injuries among male players engaging in sanctioned games, athletic exposures. At the same time, female mixed martial artists showcased 23% chronic head injuries for the athletic exposure as recorded in Nevada State Athletic Commission (Fares et al., 2020). Such statistics may also have global trends in chronic head injuries among different players. Essentially, athletics and other contact games bear the burden of these numeric and replicate to the worrying trend of deteriorating cognitive health across the globe.
Moreover, the degenerative brain health among sports people may result in anti-social implications, including depressions, aggressiveness, poor impulse control as well as dementia. These consequences depend on the value of personal contribution towards their well-being. Ling et al. (2015) asserts that the traumatic injuries are progressive and irreversible, hence, require preventive measures instead of treatment procedures. When such norms are not adhered to or broken, there is always an evidential outburst of emotions among players, fans, and interested parties (Lockwood et al., 2018). Such state may indicate the initiation of brain damage.
The various forms of traumatic brain injuries cause axonal injury and functional disturbances, and not direct structural damage to the brain. Lin et al. (2015) asserts that the varieties of the consequences encountered by various players may develop temporary and permanent symptoms requiring the victim to seek intensive care. For concussions, some of the key indicators may include dizziness, nausea, reduced attention, amnesia and headache (Lin et al., 2015). The deviance from normal behavior becomes a major outcome, with a biased perception of events as they unfold (Weinberg, 2016). In essence, it is difficult to control the emotions of such charged folks within the field. Therefore, they often begin to suffer from different mental illnesses if no management program is initiated.
The other consequence of injuries includes the economic burdens. Technically, the functional neuroimaging, electrophysiological, neuropsychological and neurochemical assessments may require a lot of funds to conduct. As a result, some players may resort to living with these conditions to avoid such burdens while others can afford therapeutic procedures and manage their health effectively. The economic frustrations may then constitute to variance in cognitive health concerns. According to Weinberg (2016), individuals respond to social and psychological pressures differently. Similarly, players respond to field demands in distinctive patterns as some resort to violence against the opponent while others may accommodate the external pressure and play normal games. Such variance in behavioral theories portrays classical pattern in which the trend involving chronic mental health problems occur around the universe
Moreover, traumatic brain injuries portray different consequences among different ages. Ling et al. (2015) claim that young people with developing brains are more vulnerable to concussion than adults. Subsequently, children and adolescent players may develop complicated symptoms which last longer than those of older men and women in athletics. To curb the rise in vulnerable and susceptible populations, the international unions such as Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have set rules guiding the conducts of players and fans on and off the pitch. As a governing body, their mandate is to govern the execution of matches and minimize violence among the athletes. Concurrently, they ensure that the playing grounds are safe and fit for healthy athleticism while harmonizing security for the safety of spectators in all activities. Such mechanisms prove pivotal in setting standards to avoid chronic harm among players in various games. The sole aim of these bodies is to set a level playing ground for all folks and promote sustainable mental health across all types of competitions. The prevalence in emerging cases of new chronic traumatic mental injuries may have farfetched implications for economic growth and development.
Personal Opinion and Recommendable Measures
There are no well-established diagnostic practices on how to handle mental injuries among athletes. Therefore, there is a need to ensure an integrated approach in handling the global prevalence of injuries among these players. On the one hand, there is no clear correlation between physical injuries and brain damages. The final cases of damages are an outcome of cumulative exposure to both physical violence and environmental injustice petted against sportsmen in different cadres. Lockwood et al. (2018) recommend that there is need for investment in medical strategies and elucidation of proper mechanism to ensure sustainable management of these injuries. Although injuries are common aspects of games, repetitive violent behavior may result in life-changing behaviors among the victims.
One of the ways to manage the challenge of violence and brain injuries is to optimize sporting environments. The participants should endure conducive surrounding which encourages them to be positive to one another and embrace sporting as an art and not an end of life encounter. Alongside building good infrastructures, there should be effective handling techniques and expertise to ensure sustained mental awareness. The relevant authorities and government agencies should promote commitment to human rights, paying sports people just any other employees in the corporate sector based on agreements. Succinctly, the current trend of an integrated approach to sporting activities will reduce violence in contact games and ensure sustainable recognition of talents in different areas.
Moreover, efficient awareness creation and behavior change communication on sportsmanship should be a major priority in athletics. As a game, athletics, including mixed martial art, should be enjoyable for the players, fans, and all interested parties to avert violence endured during these games. Thus, stakeholders should strategize a way of preventing repetitive knockout for medals and ensure protective mechanisms that shield both the loser and the winner in a game. In most cases, players struggle to acquire titles even by executing violence against their opponents. Concurrently, the organizers need to institute mechanisms through which all participants are recognized so that they are motivated and feel happy about their accomplishments.
In my view, investing in research targeting brain injuries and long-term neurodegenerative effects of repeated traumas will help to establish the best practices in tackling these challenges. Currently, there seems to be a minimal investment in mental health, especially sports-related outcomes. Thus, there is a need to explore mechanisms for providing sufficient protective environments, including well-trained field-side physicians who have diagnostic expertise in effectively treating traumatic brain injuries among players in all levels of games encounter. At the same time, there is a need for further research to expand on the accessibility of services and assessment of patients under different circumstances.
Conclusion
Repetitive brain injuries often result from risky contact games and may have severe short and long-term impacts on the cognitive performances of the victims in different ways. Although there is an evidential surge in the love of such sports, there is a need to design protective mechanisms which will help to harmonize the safety of the athletes first. Repetitive head injuries occur in almost all sectors of sport. However, people showcase differing severity based on exposure and care given in terms of protective gears and self-precautionary measures. In an ideal world, sporting events often culminate in passionate relations and long-term memories. In many ways, some individuals engage in athletics and other games to earn a living and entertaining their audience. Some of these folks may not understand the accumulative implications of the use of violent tactics against their opponents.
At the same time, the victims may fail to seek medical attention because they do not understand the extent of the impacts. Over time, these events prompt deteriorating mental health statuses which are sometimes life-threatening. As a result, there is a need for effective public education on behavioral change among players and fans. All sports agencies and governments worldwide should develop policies that harmonize and guide the conducts of players on and off the pitch. Alongside the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA), other bodies should be formed to monitor and implement healthy practices in all sectors of play.
References
Fares, M. Y., Salhab, H. A., Fares, J., Khachfe, H. H., Fares, Y., Baydoun, H., & Alaaeddine, N. (2020). Craniofacial and traumatic brain injuries in mixed martial arts. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 1-9. Web.
Ling, H., Hardy, J., & Zetterberg, H. (2015). Neurological consequences of traumatic brain injuries in sports. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 66, 114-122. Web.
Lockwood, J., Frape, L., Lin, S., & Ackery, A. (2018). Traumatic brain injuries in mixed martial arts: A systematic review. Trauma, 20(4), 245-254. Web.
Mizobuchi, Y., & Nagahiro, S. (2016). A review of sport-related head injuries. Korean Journal Of Neurotrauma, 12(1), 1-5.
Weinberg, J. D. (2016). Consensual violence: Sex, sports, and the politics of injury. University of California Press.