Participating in dangerous sports—is something some people are attracted to. When they see injury in front of their faces, they get excited. Typically, these people will be less inclined to wear protective gear, and as such, will have a greater risk of experiencing facial and hand injuries.
Boxing, specifically sparring and competitions, can cause large amount of impact and pain to your nose. In fact, nose bleeds are extremely common amongst amateur and professional boxers. To prevent such cases, you must avoid as many punches as possible while wearing headgear in training.
Some headgear equipment will greatly reduce the impact you’ll experience to your nose. As such, it’ll be best if you wear it all the time. However, if you’re a pro boxer, you won’t be able to wear them while competing; as such, you’re most vulnerable in this scene.
Nevertheless, if you box for a hobby, or you’re an amateur boxer, you’ll be required to wear headgear even in competitions. I know you may want to avoid wearing head protective gear altogether; but, it’ll be best if you don’t. Rather, you must strive to protect your brain and face as much as possible.
According to Dr. Martha Dodson; Nose bleeds are most often caused by a direct blow to the nose, so the most important way to prevent a nose bleed would be a matter of training to defend yourself and avoiding the blows altogether. However, dry and irritated skin inside the nose can also contribute, so it may not take much of a blow for the nose to bleed.
Before we dive in, if you want to learn more about hand injuries and pain in boxing—how to fix and prevent, follow the link to read a complete guide I wrote on the topic.
How do boxers protect their nose?
Boxers have an extremely dangerous job. Their goal is to hurt their opponent as much as possible while having their opponent do the same. As a result, their rate of injuries are higher than most people, which makes total sense. Hence, they have to protect their vulnerable areas, such as their face, head, and hands.
Boxers protect their nose by wearing headgear anytime they’re fighting someone else. Likewise, they visit professional medical sources, their doctors, to ensure they accurately assess their situation and handle potential injuries properly. A study found that proper handling of nose injuries allowed for faster healing.
Accurate assessment and proper handling of injuries allows for better and faster healing, and prevents unfavourable long-term sequelae.
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Sequela is common amongst boxers, as you typically don’t experience all the consequences of your boxing training or fighting in the present moment. Often, you’ll feel the results of your vigorous training somewhere in the near future.
As such, some boxers won’t wear protective equipment, such as hand wraps, boxing gloves, and headgear, since they don’t currently feel the pain. However, once they experience their consequences in the near future, they’ll regret not wearing it.
Concluding, to protect your nose, you must ensure you wear protective headgear, as it’ll reduce the impact your face and head will have from constant boxing. Likewise, don’t be a human punching bag; work on your defense to ensure you don’t get punched in the face as regularly.
Are nose injuries common in boxing?
To ensure you know which body parts to prioritize protective, you must know the most common injuries amongst professional boxers. If you do, you’ll be more inclined to protect yourself, as you’ll know which are the most vulnerable.
Face and nose injuries are extremely common amongst amateur and professional boxers (80%) especially nose bleeds. As such, prioritize protecting this area by wearing head protective gear with a nose bridge. Also, work on your blocks to lower the amount of punches you receive to the face.
Superficial facial lacerations are the most common injury reported.
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95 out of 120 subjects suffered from at least a single facial injury, some experienced such damage in the nose. The study also noted, “Because the nose and teeth sustained the most injuries, they require more attention with regard to prevention.” SOURCE
As you can see, even the study suggests putting more attention to preventing nose injuries. We’ll discuss how you can do that in the following sections. Nevertheless, you still understand the steps you can take right now to ensure the future health of your face.
Types of nose injuries in boxing
There are 3 primary types of nose injuries you may get from constantly boxing. Becoming familiar with them will also help you prepare for them. So, here are they are.
Boxer’s (Saddle) nose
A boxer’s nose is the first type of injury you might experience from contact sports, such as martial arts and boxing. This is the least common out of the 3. However, it can be the most dangerous one.
Essentially, this injury refers to having a collapsed nasal bridge or loss of nasal height. The name, saddle, refers to its appearance; hence, the middle bridge will be saggy.
In fact, many people who get rhinoplasty surgery—will have a saggy middle part, hence saddle boxer’s (saddle) nose.
Fractures
Fractures are the second type of nose injuries you might experience from boxing.
A broken nose, also called a nasal fracture, is a break or crack in a bone in your nose — often the bone over the bridge of your nose. Common causes of a broken nose include contact sports, physical fights, falls and motor vehicle accidents that result in injuries to the face.
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Likewise, fractures can easily be identified by a medical source. However, until you don’t feel the pain, which you might not because of the adrenaline this sport is responsible for, you also won’t get treatment. As such, whenever you have the slightest hint of a fracture, stop the fight and get yourself tested.
Nose bleeds
Nose bleeds, also the most common injury amongst boxers, isn’t as dangerous as the others. And still, it’ll be best if you take all the measurements to avoid it altogether. The primary precaution is to block as many hits to the face as you can.
However, sometimes, a single blow is all it takes to commence a nose bleed.
How to prevent nose injuries in boxing
Preventing future injuries—is crucial. You essentially take steps right now to ensure future you—is happy. Such a step is regarded as delayed-gratification. In short, you sacrifice present comfort for future success. Let’s see how you can do that.
You can take two ways to prevent nose injuries in boxing, the first is to always wear protective headgear with a nose bridge. The second way is to work on your defense and thus reduce the number of punches you receive to the face. A study found that you’re less likely to experience any injuries if you win the match.
“The risk of injury for those who lost the matches was nearly twice the risk for the winners. Those who lost by knockout had double the risk of injury compared with those who lost by other means. Neither age nor weight was significantly associated with the risk of injury.” SOURCE
As you can see, you’re approximately 4 times as likely to get injured if you lose by knockout than if you win. I know it sounds funny; but to ensure your future self isn’t damaged, you must also win more fights. To do so, it’ll be best you take your training as seriously as possible.
Likewise, begin working on your defense more. That’ll help you block and dodge more punches than if your defensive game wouldn’t be as solid. Moreover, if you want to learn about the best head movements that’ll help you avoid more punches to the face, follow the link.
How to prevent nose pain after boxing
First, if your nose has any type of damage, you should visit a doctor. Don’t try to avoid the damage to keep up with your training schedule. Really, it’s not worth it in the long-term. And still, here are some things you can do to reduce nose pain after boxing:
- Saline nasal spray
- Nasal corticosteroids
- OTC pain relievers
- Visiting a doctor
The most effective way you can implement in your life—is to consult with a doctor. As we previously saw, accurate identification combined with medical treatment will reduce the risk of long-term injuries. As such, if you can have a doctor identify your nose damage while taking care of it, you’ll be less likely to experience more pain in the future.
Final words
Nose injuries are highly common amongst amateur and professional boxers. If you want to prevent your face injury, it’ll be best if you wear protective headgear while working on your defense.
You’re double as likely to get hurt in boxing if you lose the match. Likewise, you’re 4 times more likely to get hurt if you get knocked out. As a result, if you win more matches, as funny as it may sound, you’ll also receive fewer injuries.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll also enjoy reading about the best boxing headgear for sparring, training, and competing. If you want to ensure the long-term safety and health of your nose, be sure to follow the link.