Sporcularda Travmatik Beyin Hasarı Riskinin Değerlendirilmesi: Aktif Boksörlerde Nöropsikolojik Bir İnceleme

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the risk of traumatic brain injury by comparing data obtained from elite active boxers and healthy individuals through the application of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test and the Trail Making Test, which are sensitive to brain damage, as well as the Verbal and Nonverbal Cancellation Test, which is sensitive to the right parietal lobe. The study is conducted with eight male boxers with an average age of 19.3±2.60 years, who had an average of 7.25±3.41 years of active boxing experience, and ten healthy males with an average age of 19.7±1.05 years, who had no involvement in any combat sport. The Kruskal-Wallis Test was employed to investigate the difference between the groups based on the data obtained from the Symbol Digit Modalities Test and the Trail Making Test, while the Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate the difference between the groups in the data from the Verbal and Nonverbal Cancellation Test. Upon evaluating the results of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the control group scored significantly higher on the SDMT-1, SDMT-2, and SDMT-3 than the boxers. The results of the Trail Making Test showed that the control group completed the TMT1-A, TMT1-B, TMT2-A, and TMT2-B forms faster than the boxers, but the differences in these times were not statistically significant. In the context of neuropsychological tests, active boxers exhibited lower neurocognitive performance compared to healthy individuals