While no sport is 100 percent safe, some games are definitely riskier than others. But determining which is most dangerous depends on how you define danger.
If you’re talking about injuries alone, then the worst game isn’t a contact sport like football or hockey. It’s basketball, which causes the most injuries to men and women combined, according to US hospital data from 2016. The most common type of injuries for basketball players are lateral ankle sprains.
But those definitely aren’t life-threatening conditions, so if you define danger by the risk to your life, then the most dangerous sports are ones that lead to brain injuries, which are the most common cause of death in sports. And the worst brain injuries occur in boxing. Although fighters in the ring don’t get slammed as hard as football players on the gridiron, football hits tend to involve linear force whereas the rotational force of hook punches can turn a boxer’s skull into a mosh pit for the brain.
And although hits are also common in mixed martial arts, MMA fighting includes numerous targets on the body whereas boxing primarily targets the head, causing damage that can result in the degenerative condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). However, medical marijuana could make high-impact sports safer by not only treating the symptoms of CTE but also reducing the impact of traumatic brain injuries. Recent studies suggest that the THC and CBD found in cannabis can be used as a neuroprotectant, reducing the ill effects of hits to head in players who consume cannabis a week before injury or in the days immediately after the incident.
For more info on the most dangerous sports, check out this video from AsapSCIENCE.
By James McClure – Civilized
Image – shutter shock
