How come boxers break their hands so often

[Lekgolo555]

How come boxers break their hands so often if the gloves are supposed to protect their hands? Also why is the glove designed so that you cannot make a proper fist? I figure this has something to do with anatomy and physiology.

[Tracker]

My guess that the reason the boxing glove is designed so the boxer can't make a correct fist as on impact part of the glove and fist will compress inward lessening the blow.

[Hoose]

I believe that when you are hitting something hard and make a hard fist, you can cause extensive strain on your wrist and can tear ligaments, which take longer to heal, which is why the gloves prevent you from making a full fist. Also, several factors may be to blame for boxers broken arm. Perhaps the wrist is not designed to withstand such a great force of impact so that when even there is a slight twist or angle during impact, the bone just breaks.

[Sisyphus]

I imagine they would break their hands a whole lot more without the gloves.

[Lekgolo555]

I do not know when I punch a bag it feels much better bare fisted. The glove is meant to protect the hands, but I just do not see how. When I punch with a glove it hurts. I am punching with my fingers and not my knuckles.

[Skye]

Gloves are mainly there to protect the other person. The wraps are what protect your hands, as they hold all the little bones together nice and tight.

 

You're probably better off using wraps alone, or with bag gloves.

 

Mind you, your should be able to form a decent fist and hit with your knuckles with boxing gloves on. Some gloves are very large and don't close properly, maybe look for some smaller gloves.

[Moh]

uv got to remember that boxers dont just wear boxing gloves. if you watch boxing you can see that the actual boxers spin a very long strap around there hand and paticlar places on their wrist. this puts preassure on there hands, which prevents the boxer from Straining his hand which is very painful and takes along time to heal.

[Mirabelle]

Gloves are mainly there to protect the other person. The wraps are what protect your hands, as they hold all the little bones together nice and tight.

 

You're probably better off using wraps alone, or with bag gloves.

 

Mind you, your should be able to form a decent fist and hit with your knuckles with boxing gloves on. Some gloves are very large and don't close properly, maybe look for some smaller gloves.

 

Agreed.

The hand wraps are intended to keep the impact of the "punch" fom cracking the little bones and reducing the shock to the wrist. Most boxing matches require mexican style wraps that protect each finger.

Training bag gloves can be either designed open fisted for speed and accuracy or closed and weighted for strength training.

The MMA grappling and open-finger bag gloves are more flexible than traditional boxing gloves and many do prefer to use them. However, they are not worn over wraps and provide less potection to your fingers and wrist.

I won't get into the dynamics, difference, and form in these styles because its off-topic but do be careful and chose the proper gloves for the intended use.

Safety first!

 

Edit: Boxers fingers break usually when the punch is blocked suddenly or the misses the target and hits at an odd angle.

[pioneer]

The boxing gloves serve two purposes. It prevents face cuts from the knuckles. It also prevents the boxers from breaking their hands on the other guy's forehead. The forehead is like a boney plate. In some fighers, it can get extra thick and hard. Some of the old time fighters would use the forehead to get the other guy to break his hand. If he are aiming for the nose and they tilted their head at the right time, the opponent's bare hand could get broken on that boney plate. This was the fastest technique to take away weapons from a better opponent. The gloves first came to into play to help protect the hands. Having to stop a fight for a broken hand, wasn't the same as stopping it for a knockout.

[Hank Freid]

Boxing often called "the manly art of self-defense” is a combat sport. Boxing or fist fighting is a sport between two matched combatants wearing padded gloves. A boxer’s primary aim is to land as many blows as possible to the head and torso of the opponent, using strength and speed to dominate the contest.SO The boxing gloves two main purposes. It prevents face cuts from the knuckles. It also prevents the boxers from breaking their hands on the other guy's forehead.They are wear to gloves to protecting the hands.

 

Regards:

Hank Freid

Edited April 22, 2010 by Phi for All
url removed

[blazarwolf]

1. Normally boxers are not stressed to use bone hardening style training found mainly in traditional karate and sholin kung-fu. These Techniques have been critized for causing arthritis. They do undoubtably make your punch harder and your hand better protected when you are fighting barehanded. Most boxers train there hands with bag work, mostley with gloves on. Sometimes you might see them with just wraps and working on the heavy bag, Still this is nothing like the training methods from the aformentioned east.

 

2. A boxing glove drastically changes the phisics of fist fighting. By putting on that glove you are adding upto twice the wieght (ive always wonderd what a hand wieghed?), aswell as atleast quartering the density. This has the effect of making a boxers punch much differently then in other martial arts. The epiphinal boxing punch is a kenitically linked hook to the chin or temple. Simply "kenitically linked" means your putting your whole body into it.

Putting your whole body into it works really well in boxing because you have that extra wieght on your striking point (bigger spearhead=?) and also the low density/wide area of your striking point makes a KO with a less powerfull shot very hard. Also with that aformention hook.... Boxers tend rotate there hand 90 degrees to give an extra "snap", meaning the fist lands horizontally with your thumb facing you. Punching this way increases the chance that your pinky and ring knuckle will catch alot of force. Those are your weakest knuckles, and a fracture to either is commonly called a "boxers fracture". Many places will teach you to hook with a vertical fist (thumb facing up). This decreases the chance of fracture but takes away alittle power afforded to you by that snap.

[Durro]

Blazarwolf is very close to the reason, and yes, we call 4th and 5th metacarpal fractures in Radiography "Boxer's Fractures", as well as some less polite names to do with masturbation.

 

The reason for the fracture is that boxers often punch with a hook, as opposed to karate and other martial arts where straight punches are taught.

 

When a hook punch is thrown, the leading edge and point of contact with the punch is the metacarpo-phalangeal joints of the 4th and/or 5th knuckle. If you draw a line along the axis of your 4th/5th metacarpals, the oblique force line terminates at or just past the wrist. Punching straight with the 2nd and 3rd knuckles shares the force of the punch straight up the entire forearm.

 

Hitting with a hook and connecting with the 4th and 5th metacarpal heads is simply too much force for these smallish hand bones and they typically snap just below the knuckle.

 

I x-ray at least 4 or 5 people a week who typically get drunk or angry (or both!) and then hit a wall/door/car/lamp post or other hard object with a wild swing and connect with their 4th and 5th metacarpals and break their bones. If they had hit straight, there would have been a lesser chance of fracturing the 2nd and 3rd metacarpal heads. I almost never see 2nd or 3rd MC head fractures. It's the curved swing and connecting with the outside of the hand that causes the problem 9 times out of 10 in my experience.

 

So even with gloves on, the sheer force of the punches thrown in an arc and the connection with solid body parts exerts enough force on the 4th and 5th metacarpal heads to cause fractures. Straight punches would virtually eliminate this injury, but boxing is in love with hooks.

 

 

Durro