Citation

Spano M, Risucci DA, Etienne M, Petersen KH. Sports (Basel) 2019; 7(2): e7020053.

Affiliation

Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, NY 10595, USA. K_HarrisPetersen@nymc.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/sports7020053

PMID

30823550

Abstract

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a rapidly growing grappling sport with a wide spectrum of participants. This cross-sectional study examined the lifetime prevalence of concussion in adult BJJ practitioners in the United States using a 17-item survey. A total of 778 (11.4% female) BJJ practitioners with a median age of 31 years completed the survey. Overall, the lifetime prevalence of the self-reported BJJ-related concussion was 25.2%. However, the prevalence was higher among females than males (43.0% versus 22.9%; X²(1,740) = 15.129; p < 0.001). Factors independently associated with significantly increased odds of having sustained a BJJ-related concussion included a prior history of concussion (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.14⁻2.74; p = 0.011) and female gender (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.04⁻3.65; p = 0.037). The median return to sports time was three days, with 30.3% of participants returning on the same day as being concussed. The present study represents the first epidemiological research examining the concussions in BJJ. The results underscore the need for increased education on concussions and return to sports guidelines among BJJ coaches and practitioners.

Language: en

Keywords

BJJ; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; concussion; martial arts; sport-related concussion