AAP（アメリカ小児科学会）の論文の一部を抜粋した。これを読めばいかにボクシングが子供には危険かと言うことがわかる。
Amateur or Olympic-style boxing is a collision sport that is won on the basis of the number of clean punches landed successfully on an opponent's head and body (Appendix).1,2 A match is won outright if an opponent is knocked out. Participants in boxing are at risk of serious neurologic and facial injuries.3,–,7 Despite these potential dangers, thousands of boys and girls participate in boxing in North America. In 2008, more than 18 000 youths younger than 19 years were registered with USA Boxing (Lynette Smith, USA Boxing, written communication, August 2009).
The societal debate regarding boxing has raged for decades. Many authors and medical organizations have called for boxing to be banned (Table 1), citing medical, ethical, legal, and moral arguments.8,–,13 Others state that participants should be allowed to make autonomous decisions about participation and that the role of the medical profession should be restricted to the provision of injury care, advice, and information only.14
Supporters of amateur boxing state that the sport is beneficial to participants by providing exercise, self-discipline, self-confidence, character development, structure, work ethic, and friendships.14 For some disadvantaged youth, boxing is a preferential alternative to gang-related activity, providing supervision, structure, and goals.14 The overall risk of injury in amateur boxing seems to be lower than15 in some other collision sports such as football, ice hockey, wrestling, and soccer.4,16 However, unlike these other collision sports, boxing encourages and rewards direct blows to the head and face.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society oppose boxing and, in particular, discourage participation by children and adolescents.8
BOXING-RELATED INJURIES
Data are limited on injuries that result from boxing in children and adolescents.17,18 National organizations, such as Boxing Canada and USA Boxing, do not keep data on the participation or injury rates of their members.
Some data on boxing injuries in children are available from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program database, maintained by the Public Health Agency of Canada. This database includes data collected from 15 hospitals across Canada, including 10 children's hospitals. From 1990 to 2007, the prevalence of injury from combat sports requiring admission to a hospital was highest for boxing (4.8%),17 which compares with admission rates of 3.6% for judo, 3.1% for karate, and 2.9% for wrestling.17 Of those hospitalized for injuries from boxing, 58% had facial fractures and 25% sustained closed head injuries.17 There was a significant increase in the overall number of injuries from 1999–2007 (16.4 in 100 000), compared with 1990–1998 (11.4 in 100 000). Sixty-eight percent of these injuries occurred during sparring and competition; the remainder occurred during training. Of the 273 injured boxing athletes reported in the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program database, fewer than 1% were 5 to 9 years of age, 29.3% were 10 to 14 years of age, 39.2% were 15 to 18 years of age, and 30.8% were 19 years of age or older.17
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) contained reports of 1263 boxing-related injuries in children and adolescents 5 to 14 years of age and 8082 in adolescents and adults 15 to 24 years of age in the United States in 2007. The types and severity of injuries were not delineated.18
Published injury data in amateur boxing (youth and adult participants) do not distinguish injuries according to age, so it is difficult to delineate injuries that specifically affected children and adolescents. Most injuries in boxing, both amateur and professional, occur during competition (57%), compared with training (43%).4 The authors of 1 cohort study reported an injury rate of 1.0 injury per 1000 hours of participation for amateur boxers (15.1–37.1 years of age).4 This rate is actually lower than reported high school athlete injury rates of 4.4 per 1000 athlete-exposures in football, 2.5 in wrestling, and 2.4 in soccer.16 Intentional facial and head injuries, however, are more frequent in boxing.17
