Head injury recovered is it ok to do Martial Arts again

Hi there,

When I was 14 years old I have a severe head injury. My injuries was a fractured skull, fractured pelvis, bleeding and swelling on the brain, CSF leakage, eye socket was moved out of place and also signouses (spelling) were smashed to pieces.

I went under a 9 hr head operation where they repaired all injuries, rebuilt signouses, put my eye socket into a good enough place to the best of their ability and also had a metal plate put on my forehead skull. My pelvis was allowed to recover on its own due to not being severe.

This was all undertaken at Frenchay Hospital under the great Dr Carter who also worked at Great Ormand streetn hospital which was reassuring having a great experienced surgeon operate on me.

Now my question is, I was told that I could go back to any sport that I used to do, they said Rugby but I used to do Martial Arts, mainly kickboxing and grappling before I had my accident. What I would like to know is that does anyone on here know if I was allowed to fight again or if it would be to life threatening? As they did say I can now go back to living my life as normal but dont know if there are any guidelines at all.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Yes, you can lead a normal life which means you can play sports, travel, and lead a normal life. However, since you had such a major surgery it would be wise not to join martial arts, especially if they carry the danger of head injury.  
Talk to your specialist regarding this. Take care!

[caregiver222]

The answer is "Maybe yes" and "maybe no". Damage to brain structures may be cumulative, and deterioration may not reflect itself for years. To begin with, normally one would arrange to have a 3T MRI as well as a 3T MRA. Not a CT. The 3T is the most advanced of the MRI's and provides a far more precise image of brain injury.  The catch is because you have a metal plate they cannot perform an MRI. This means that evaluation of a future injury will be difficult and involve a CT. Do not necessarily assume the metal plate will provide the same protection as normal bone. Most likely it will, however this is not a guarantee. In general, it would be a good idea to avoid sports that involve exposure to blows to the skull without benefit of helmet protection. I would not recommend boxing or mixed martial arts. As to the pelvic injury, after six months the bones should have become structurally sound.