Strotmeyer, Stephen
(2014)
Epidemiology of muay thai fight-related injuries.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Combat sports are generally considered more dangerous and risky compared to other athletic activities, as scoring is inextricably linked to inflicting damage on an opponent. This fundamentally unique intent, to injure an adversary in a contest is replete with injury risks from physical exposures. One combat sport increasingly popular among US youth, known as Muay Thai, yields scant epidemiologic study on fighter injuries.
To develop a surveillance system to provide magnitude and scope of injury outcomes in order to frame the public health significance.
Three surveillance approaches were utilized to identify eligible participants to complete a web survey regarding Muay Thai fight-related injuries. The target population yielded a convenience sample of 195 fighters participating in sanctioned fights across North America and the UK. Regression analyses were conducted to determine whether the injury outcome was related to additional factors such as experience, protection and pre-existing injury.
Depending on the approach, contact rates ranged from 83.3-100%; cooperation rates ranging from 44-80%; response rates ranged from 30-60% and 20-55%. Fighters were aged 18 to 47 years old (median 26); predominantly male (85.9%); and white (72.3%). Respondents were professional (n=96, 49.2%) and amateur (n=99, 50.8%) Fighters reported a range of fight experience from 1-111 total fights, with a mean of 15.83. Of the 195 respondents, 108 (55.4%) reported sustaining an injury during the fight. The primary body region that was injured were the extremities (58%). The primary cause or mechanism of the fight injuries was due to being “struck by” the opponent in more than 2/3 of the incidents. Nearly 2/3 (66.7%) of all injured fighters reported that the injury did not interfere with the completion of the fight and was not a factor in the bout outcome (i.e., win, loss, draw). Nearly 25% reported they missed no training time as a result of the injury incurred during the fight. Subsequent regression models yielded several individual level variables of interest relative to the injury outcome. These included fighter status, weight, age, equipment and previous injury.
The majority of the injuries incurred by fighters were mild in severity to the extremities, as a result of being struck by or striking the opponent. Lighter, younger, and more experienced fighters were at increased odds for injury within this sample.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
29 September 2014 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
12 June 2014 |
| Approval Date: |
29 September 2014 |
| Submission Date: |
18 July 2014 |
| Access Restriction: |
2 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 2 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
189 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Epidemiology |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
muay thai fight injury epidemiology |
| Date Deposited: |
29 Sep 2014 21:10 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:22 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22491 |
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