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Drink or not to Drink during a Boxing Contest Dr. Calvin Inalsingh It has been shown that the water which a marathon runner drinks during a race is absorbed very slowly by the intestines. Only about 20% of the water is absorbed. If the water contains any sugars or food supplements, then even less water is absorbed. The excess water will remain in the stomach and will serve no useful purpose. It is advisable that if water is to be taken to prevent dehydration, then about 500cc should be taken before the event and about 250cc of water taken every 15 minutes thereafter. There are no available studies on the drinking of water during a boxing contest. The above facts are for endurance events of over one (1) hour in duration and could be applied to boxing. A boxer can lose about 2 liters of water in a 12 round boxing contest. This water is mostly from sweating and the water comes from the circulating blood. When the blood loses water, the thirst centre is activated and the boxer will feel the urge to replace this dehydration by drinking water. Although the body has a wonderful way of returning to a state of equilibrium through the thirst mechanism, in severe dehydration this is not enough. All boxers should be encouraged to drink more water than the demands of their thirst. Sweat contains minerals which are found in the blood. These include sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium and calcium. The concentration of these minerals in sweat is less than the concentration found in the blood and body fluids. The concentration of sodium chloride in the sweat is about 0.1 – 0.4 per cent and that of the blood is 0.9 percent. This being the case, then with the loss of water through sweating, there will be a concentration of the minerals in the body. Thus it can be seen that the replacement of the water is more important than the replacement of the minerals. In general, when a boxer is well acclimatized to his environment, the salts in his diet will be sufficient to replace the salts lost by sweating Problems with salt and water balance are most likely to be seen when athletes arrive in a hot climate coming from a cold climate. The athlete would not have made the necessary adjustments in the loss of salts in the sweat and urine and may not have become accustom to adding more salt to his food. I have seen a soccer player after arriving from England to Trinidad and Tobago, who experienced severe cramps about two (2) days after intense training. These cramps started in the limbs and progresses to the abdomen and chest. These cramps were relieved in about 10 minutes after the ingestion of sodium chloride. This player was accustom to a low sodium chloride in his diet in England. When he arrived in Trinidad his sweating was increased with the loss of water and salt. To quench his thirst, he drank water thus causing a lowering of the sodium chloride in the blood and the resultant cramps. Boxing is the only sport where the aim is to render the opponent unconscious. Thus the boxer must use all in his power to prevent a Knock Out. Together with intensive training, the boxer must use established physiological facts as his tools in his training and competition. The boxer should enter the ring with an empty stomach. His last meal should be not less than about four (4) hours prior to the fight. When food is eaten, there is a need for a good supply of blood to the intestines for digestion. If exercise is done soon after eating, then there will be a demand for blood in the muscles. The result of this could be muscle cramps and intestinal cramps due to the diminished blood supply to these areas. During a fight, the muscles are well supplied with blood and the supply of blood to the intestines is poor. If anything is taken orally at this stage, then there will be poor absorption from the intestines. It has been shown that water is absorbed better than drinks containing salts and sugars. If osmotic diffusion is considered here, then water will have the better chances of being absorbed. Boxers usually do not drink water during a fight and they suffer from no ill effects. It might be a good idea to change this and have boxers drink water but not in excess so as to cause an added burden in their stomachs. The main problem with dehydration arises when a boxer dehydrates himself to make the weight twenty four (24) hours before entering the ring to box. In this situation, the boxer cannot rehydrate himself adequately before the fight. During the fight, he again loses water by sweating and will be more susceptible to head injuries. There are various methods a boxer uses to make the weight about 24 hours before a fight. He sweats by exercising, using a sauna or a sweat suit. Some may even use diuretics. When a boxer dehydrates himself, intracellular and extracellular fluid goes to the circulatory system to maintain blood volume. This is a slow process and eventually all the cells of the body become a little dehydrated. In boxing the dehydration of the brain is a major factor and blows to the head can cause significant movement of the brain within the skull and cause brain damage. The process of movement of fluid from the cells of the body to the blood is well exemplified in the treatment of the swelling of muscles after unaccustomed exercise and the effusion of fluid into the knee joint after minor injury. In these cases, if a diuretic is used for about two (2) days, then there is significant reduction in the swelling of muscles and joints. This reduction only takes place after about twenty four (24) hours. Likewise, a boxer who dehydrates himself the day before the fight will have the cells of his body dehydrated when he enters the ring. If a boxer is well trained and does not dehydrate himself to make weight then during a fight period of about forty eight (48) minutes he might not need to drink water and there is less need for energy supplements. We know that when a boxer enters the ring he has the fuel energy in his body for 12 rounds of boxing. Giving a boxer extra energy by using nutritional drinks would be like giving a race car driver, during a race, a gallon a gasoline to keep on his lap just in case he needs extra fuel in his car during the race. We all know the reason why we advise patients not to eat before they undergo an operation under anesthesia. Should we not apply this principle to the only sport where the object is to render the opponent unconscious? Some light can be thrown on this subject by illustrating a few cases and why we must not follow blindly in what is done in other sports. The CASE 1 400 m runner. (I.M.) At one of the Pan American Games, a 400 meters runner made the finals. During that race he did not perform well as he should. He slowed down considerably and was looking exhausted. He did not give the performance that was expected of him. I spoke to him after the race and he told me that he did not have the energy nearing the end of the race and very casually he continued saying that he had a diarrhea 2 days previously when he did not eat or drank much but assured me that he ate well on the day of the race. Obviously, he was a little dehydrated and did not have enough glycogen in his muscles. He did not have the glycogen in his muscles and he lost the race. If this athlete was a boxer, he would not have been able to defend himself and could have lost his life. CASE 2 Soccer Player (A.E.) This player made an unsuccessful run to score a goal. On the counter attack, he was unable to run back to help the defense because he was not fit. He took his time to walk back using that time to recover. This player played at his own level of fitness. He could have taken his own time out. In boxing, you perform at the opponent’s fitness level, you cannot take time out. CASE 3 Boxer (T.D) His coach called me to check his boxer because he did not want to comply with the coach’s instructions. He thought that he was not fit and he had a fight in about 2 weeks time. I did a fitness test on the boxer and found that his level of fitness was excellent when compared to previous tests. It was revealed that this boxer has his important fight postponed twice previously. He had peaked for these fights and had maintained his fitness. He was now in a state of overtraining with the accompanying depression. I advised the boxer and the coach and recommended 2 days off from training. He made a good recovery and went on the win his fight although he was knocked down in the 2nd round. It was quite possible that if he had not been reassured about his fitness, he would not have continued to fight after the Knockdown. This case demonstrates the importance of being mentally fit. Psyching up a boxer for competition is good and can help a boxer but this assistance is best utilized on a boxer who has been well trained in all the aspects of getting physically fit.Traditionally, boxers are trained not to drink water during a contest and it would be informative to compare the effects of this tradition with boxers who drink water or nutritional drinks during a fight. Nevertheless, much has been done on human physiology and all we need to do is to apply this knowledge to the sport of boxing. Boxing is a dangerous sport and there are rules and regulations aimed at the protection of the boxer. The medical aspect is even more important as the authoritative voice of the Medical Profession will not be challenged. We must make sure that if there is going to be a change, then that change will be aimed towards the protection of the boxer. Dr. Calvin Inalsingh References D. L. Costill (1988) Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine |