Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study
<b>Background</b>: Recreational participation in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has rapidly increased. Despite consistent evidence of a high injury prevalence in MMA athletes, the neuromuscular implications of regular MMA training remain underexplored. The cervical spine is particularly vulner...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| author | Leia Holland Eleuterio A. Sánchez Romero Juan Nicolás Cuenca-Zaldívar Rob Sillevis |
| author_facet | Leia Holland Eleuterio A. Sánchez Romero Juan Nicolás Cuenca-Zaldívar Rob Sillevis |
| author_sort | Leia Holland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: Recreational participation in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has rapidly increased. Despite consistent evidence of a high injury prevalence in MMA athletes, the neuromuscular implications of regular MMA training remain underexplored. The cervical spine is particularly vulnerable to trauma due to repetitive impacts and high mechanical demands in combat sports. <b>Methods</b>: This case-control study compared cervical spine function and self-reported symptoms between 25 recreational MMA athletes and 25 matched individuals who engaged in general fitness training. Outcome measures included Neck Disability Index (NDI), Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), pain and headache reports, cervical range of motion (ROM), proprioception, isometric strength, and endurance. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of group classification. <b>Results</b>: The MMA group exhibited significantly higher values for post-concussion symptoms (<i>p</i> = 0.012), cervical flexor endurance (<i>p</i> = 0.031), and the number of concussions (<i>p</i> = 0.001) but lower flexion ROM (<i>p</i> = 0.031). No significant differences were observed in strength, proprioception, or NDI scores. Logistic regression identified the number of concussions, age, total cervical ROM, and average rotation strength as significant predictors of group membership (model AUC = 0.96; Nagelkerke R<sup>2</sup> = 0.797). <b>Conclusions</b>: Recreational MMA athletes demonstrated higher rates of concussion-related symptoms and reduced cervical flexion ROM than noncontact exercisers despite no statistically significant differences in strength and proprioception. These findings suggest that cumulative exposure to amateur MMA is associated with alterations in cervical neuromuscular characteristics. These results support the implementation of targeted mobility, endurance, and injury prevention programs in recreational MMA training. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9d2c8017f0b64a7585e96f98bf3e3aa3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2075-4663 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sports |
| spelling | doaj-art-9d2c8017f0b64a7585e96f98bf3e3aa32025-08-20T03:12:05ZengMDPI AGSports2075-46632025-05-0113515510.3390/sports13050155Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control StudyLeia Holland0Eleuterio A. Sánchez Romero1Juan Nicolás Cuenca-Zaldívar2Rob Sillevis3Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USADepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USAResearch Group in Nursing and Health Care, Puerta de Hierro Health Research Institute-Segovia de Arana (IDIPHISA), 28222 Majadahonda, SpainDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA<b>Background</b>: Recreational participation in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has rapidly increased. Despite consistent evidence of a high injury prevalence in MMA athletes, the neuromuscular implications of regular MMA training remain underexplored. The cervical spine is particularly vulnerable to trauma due to repetitive impacts and high mechanical demands in combat sports. <b>Methods</b>: This case-control study compared cervical spine function and self-reported symptoms between 25 recreational MMA athletes and 25 matched individuals who engaged in general fitness training. Outcome measures included Neck Disability Index (NDI), Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), pain and headache reports, cervical range of motion (ROM), proprioception, isometric strength, and endurance. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of group classification. <b>Results</b>: The MMA group exhibited significantly higher values for post-concussion symptoms (<i>p</i> = 0.012), cervical flexor endurance (<i>p</i> = 0.031), and the number of concussions (<i>p</i> = 0.001) but lower flexion ROM (<i>p</i> = 0.031). No significant differences were observed in strength, proprioception, or NDI scores. Logistic regression identified the number of concussions, age, total cervical ROM, and average rotation strength as significant predictors of group membership (model AUC = 0.96; Nagelkerke R<sup>2</sup> = 0.797). <b>Conclusions</b>: Recreational MMA athletes demonstrated higher rates of concussion-related symptoms and reduced cervical flexion ROM than noncontact exercisers despite no statistically significant differences in strength and proprioception. These findings suggest that cumulative exposure to amateur MMA is associated with alterations in cervical neuromuscular characteristics. These results support the implementation of targeted mobility, endurance, and injury prevention programs in recreational MMA training.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/13/5/155Mixed Martial ArtsNeck painconcussionrange of motionarticularproprioception |
| spellingShingle | Leia Holland Eleuterio A. Sánchez Romero Juan Nicolás Cuenca-Zaldívar Rob Sillevis Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study Sports Mixed Martial Arts Neck pain concussion range of motion articular proprioception |
| title | Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study |
| title_full | Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study |
| title_fullStr | Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study |
| title_short | Identifying Cervical Predictors of Recreational Mixed Martial Arts Participation: A Case-Control Study |
| title_sort | identifying cervical predictors of recreational mixed martial arts participation a case control study |
| topic | Mixed Martial Arts Neck pain concussion range of motion articular proprioception |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/13/5/155 |
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