Covid-19 Return to Boxing WBC Protocol and Scientific Guide

The WBC created a safety boxing task force with experts drawn from a wide variety of areas in the medical field, as well as members of the boxing community worldwide.

 Please find in the following document a summary of the many working papers and research that has been condensed into specific recommended evaluations, examinations, and tests to be performed on boxers who have recovered from Covid 19.

We do also recommend mental health support as the effects of post covid have had severe impact in many individuals. Therapy is recommended. 

We hope you find this information valuable. Feel free to use it, share it and work together to keep our beloved sport safe. 

As we all know from the COVID-19 era, protocols and scientific information are constantly being updated. The WBC, always safeguarding the physical integrity of boxers and all the people who participate in this beautiful sport, developed through its Medical Committee and its Safe Boxing Task Force in April 2020, a protocol to be able to carry out functions behind closed doors, which was a success. This allowed Boxing to never stop in its entirety and boxers and the related industry could continue generating entertainment, sports and economic resources during this difficult stage worldwide.

We have been reviewing the most recent medical literature, as well as the comments and opinions that some of you have so kindly expressed, so here we present to you a practical guide on how and when to allow our boxers who suffered or are suffering Covid-19, to start their physical activities and their return to boxing. It is important to point that these recommendations will change over time, as the medical literature shows new protocols and management guidelines.

We have to point that currently we must give importance to the Post-Covid syndrome, which is affecting multiple organs and systems, mainly leaving pulmonary, cardiac, and neurological effects, among others. It is also very important to point out that each patient is different and that their manifestations usually vary in each case, as well as the duration of the same and the permanent effects may be different, so we must individualize each case.

It`s extremely important to note that the psychological aspect as part of the rehabilitation of any athlete is essential, since reaching one hundred percent of their abilities again is a goal that should be achieved little by little and with the assessment consistency of a multidisciplinary team.

 Basic list of recommendations to return to boxing:

Boxer who was been diagnosed or suspected of being COVID-19 positive during the pandemic needs:

a) Comprehensive Physical Examination

b) Neurology Physical Assessment

c) Cardiology Physical Assessment

d) Pulmonary Physical Assessmene) Ophthalmology Assessment

f) Psychiatry or Sports Medicine Psychology Assessment

Laboratory exams:
1) COVID-19 antigen test
2) Hematic Biometry
3) Blood Chemistry
4) Blood Liver Profile
5) Thyroid Profile
6) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Heart 7) Chest Computed Axial Tomography
8) Spirometry
9) Sensorineural Evoked Potentials

Bibliography

Clinical patterns, recovery time and prolonged impact of COVID-19 illness in international athletes: the UK experience Ñ Hull et. al British Journal of Sports Medicine 2022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34340972/

ACC Decision Pathway on Cardiovascular Sequelae of COVID-19: Key Points Gluckman TJ et.al American College of Cardiology https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/ten-points-to- remember/2022/03/15/21/55/2022-acc-expert-consensus-on-cv-sequelae-of- covid

Long-Term Respiratory and Neurological Sequelae of COVID-19 Wang et. al. Medical Science Monitor https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33177481/

Long-term sequelae following previous coronavirus epidemics O ́Sullivan et.al. Royal College of Physicians https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7850177/

Pandemia por COVID-19 y salud mental en deportistas: una exploración después de la primera etapa Barrios et.al Revista Cubana de Medicina del Deporte y Cultura http://www.revmedep.sld.cu/index.php/medep/article/view/465