TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence, patterns, and characteristics of eye injuries in professional mixed martial arts
AU - Fliotsos, Michael J.
AU - Reed, Donovan Stephen
AU - Giles, Gregory
AU - Altman, Adam H.H.
AU - Santamaria, Joseph A.
AU - Zafar, Sidra
AU - Carlton, Darrel K.
AU - Johnson, Anthony J.
AU - Davies, Brett W.
AU - Legault, Gary L.
AU - Woreta, Fasika A.
AU - Justin, Grant A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Select study findings were presented as a poster at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Virtual Annual Meeting November 13–15, 2020. The authors would like to thank Daniel Brooks, PhD for assistance in the analysis of the data in this manuscript and George Q Zhang, MD, MPH for his biostatistical support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Fliotsos et al.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Purpose: To describe the frequency and type of eye injuries in fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Methods: Fight result data were collected from the Nevada Athletic Commission database from 2001 to 2020. Any fighters in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) contest with an eye injury were included. Main outcome measures included frequency and rate of eye injuries per fight and the types of eye injuries. Secondary outcome measures were gender, laterality, decision type, and length of no-contact recommended. Results: Of the 256 MMA events in the database, 187 events (73.3%) had at least one eye injury. Of a total 2208 fights at these events, there were 363 fighters who sustained 369 eye injuries, with the yearly rate of eye injuries per 100 fighters ranging from 2.56 to 12.22. The most common injuries were eyebrow and eyelid lacerations (n=160, 43%), lacerations around the eye (n=98, 27%), and orbital fractures (n=62, 17%). Most eye injuries were right sided (n=197, 53.3%) and the majority of fighters with eye injuries lost their match (n=228, 62.8%). Fifty-seven fighters were recommended for further ophthalmology clearance after the match. The most common reasons for recommended ophthalmology follow-up was orbital fracture (n=25, 44%) and retinal injury (n=7, 12%). Forty-three fighters received nocontact requirements relating to their injury for an average of 8.9 weeks (range 1–24 weeks). Conclusion: Ophthalmic injuries in professional MMA were prevalent, were most often lacerations surrounding the eye, and often accompanied the fighter losing their match.
AB - Purpose: To describe the frequency and type of eye injuries in fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Methods: Fight result data were collected from the Nevada Athletic Commission database from 2001 to 2020. Any fighters in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) contest with an eye injury were included. Main outcome measures included frequency and rate of eye injuries per fight and the types of eye injuries. Secondary outcome measures were gender, laterality, decision type, and length of no-contact recommended. Results: Of the 256 MMA events in the database, 187 events (73.3%) had at least one eye injury. Of a total 2208 fights at these events, there were 363 fighters who sustained 369 eye injuries, with the yearly rate of eye injuries per 100 fighters ranging from 2.56 to 12.22. The most common injuries were eyebrow and eyelid lacerations (n=160, 43%), lacerations around the eye (n=98, 27%), and orbital fractures (n=62, 17%). Most eye injuries were right sided (n=197, 53.3%) and the majority of fighters with eye injuries lost their match (n=228, 62.8%). Fifty-seven fighters were recommended for further ophthalmology clearance after the match. The most common reasons for recommended ophthalmology follow-up was orbital fracture (n=25, 44%) and retinal injury (n=7, 12%). Forty-three fighters received nocontact requirements relating to their injury for an average of 8.9 weeks (range 1–24 weeks). Conclusion: Ophthalmic injuries in professional MMA were prevalent, were most often lacerations surrounding the eye, and often accompanied the fighter losing their match.
KW - Boxing
KW - Combat sports
KW - Eye trauma
KW - MMA
KW - Mixed martial arts
KW - Ophthalmic trauma
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U2 - 10.2147/OPTH.S319025
DO - 10.2147/OPTH.S319025
M3 - Article
C2 - 34211265
AN - SCOPUS:85109294061
SN - 1177-5467
VL - 15
SP - 2759
EP - 2766
JO - Clinical Ophthalmology
JF - Clinical Ophthalmology
ER -