Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996: NIOSH Report to Congress, Study on Health, Safety, and Equipment Standards for Boxing.

摘要

In accordance with the directive in the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (enacted by Congress on October 9, 1996), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reviewed the medical and related literature to develop recommendations for health, safety, and equipment standards for the sport of boxing and professional boxing matches. Certain sports activities such as football and skiing are inherently dangerous and sometimes result in severe injuries and death. But boxing is a uniquely dangerous sport because it requires intentional blows to the head and other vital organs for the purpose of incapacitating the opponent. The following review indicated that such intentional and repeated blows to the head have resulted in irreversible acute and chronic brain damage, neurological impairments, serious eye damage, and premature death. Although amateur boxing was intentionally excluded from the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, the health and safety considerations of both forms of the sport must be compared to understand the basis for the new health, safety, and medical recommendations in the Act. Amateur boxing is fairly well supervised in the United States through several national organizations.