Doctors are worried that a combat sport called slap fighting, watched by millions online and gaining in popularity, is causing serious brain damage. Competitors face off and take turns to deliver bare, full-force, open-handed strikes to the cheek. To assess the possible harm, medics screened videos of tournaments and have now written a warning letter in a leading journal, JAMA Surgery, about their findings. Unlike boxing, no head gear is allowed and defenders can't duck to avoid blows — even flinching is banned. Opponents are scored based on the amount of damage they inflict and how well they cope with getting slapped themselves. The alarm was first raised in 2021 after Polish slap fighter Artur Walczak suffered a brain bleed during a match in which he was knocked out and lost consciousness. Despite hospital treatment, he died weeks later of multiple organ failure linked to his head injury. Dr. Raj Swaroop Lavadi and Dr. Nitin Agarwal of University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine say theirs is the only academic study to quantifiably assess the possible dangers. They explained that concussion is a traumatic injury that can happen with a blow to the head as the brain moves inside the hard skull. There can be short-term headaches, blurred vision, vomiting, slurred speech, drowsiness or confusion and memory, balance, mood or sleep problems. A single concussion won't usually cause permanent damage, but repeated ones over a lifetime can be extremely serious. Repeated head blows can cause something called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which gets worse over time and can lead to dementia. Anyone who has an injury affecting the head, face, neck or body should get a medical check for concussion symptoms, which can take a few days to appear.
