Content area
Full Text
Muay Thai is the martial art of Thailand. It allows the use of punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. It promotes both physical and mental development, with many instructors placing great emphasis on discipline, respect, and spirituality. 1 It is rapidly increasing in popularity and has an estimated one million participants world wide (International Muay Thai Kickboxing Federation (IAMTF) International Office). Despite this, little is known about the type of injuries that occur. This is in great contrast with other martial arts such as taekwondo and karate, about which much more work has been published.
The nature of the activity involved will depend on the level of the individual. Classes usually begin with a 15-30 minute session of warm up, stretching, and callisthenics. This is generally followed by kick, punch, knee, and elbow drills and then various amounts of pad, bag, and sparring work. Sparring contact varies with the level. Beginners are allowed no contact. Amateurs are allowed full contact and wear shinguards, groin protector, trunk pads, boxing gloves, elbow pads, mouthguards, and protective headgear. Professionals use full contact and wear mouthguards, groin protectors, and boxing gloves. All body targets are permissible except for the groin.
A literature search for Muay Thai and kick boxing found only a case report and a single study monitoring renal and liver functions and muscle injuries. The case report was that of a 23 year old kick boxer with spontaneous rupture of the extensor pollicis longus tendon, which occurred while he was doing reverse press ups on the dorsum of his hands with his wrists hyperflexed. 2 Sangsirisuwan et al 3 investigated renal and liver function and muscle injuries during training and after competition. They found no effect on liver or renal function but damage to skeletal muscle may occur in both settings.
A review of published data for all martial arts found a number of trends. Soft tissue trauma, haematomas, and lacerations have consistently been shown to be the most common injuries. Younger participants and those with less experience have a higher risk of injury. 4- 10 Sparring, tournaments, and competitions are associated with fewer injuries, but those that do occur are more severe. The head, face, and neck have been shown to be the site of about...