Last week, I talked about recent research that revealed that
exercise can preserve muscle integrity well into your later years, but only the muscles that you exercise regularly will benefit. This is great news if you're a grappler because jiu-jitsu is a full body activity, and this is not so great news if you're a runner. On that same vein, there is another reason to choose jiu-jitsu over another martial art (or even mixed martial arts): pugilistica dementia. Pugilistica dementia is a condition often associated with boxers where traumatic brain injury is frequent and common, resulting in a slew of cognitive impairments. Matt Pitt, a physician and Sherdog contributor, recently wrote a
great article on pugilistica dementia, and he revealed a characteristic of pugilistica dementia that should concern all of us:
...although the disease was long thought to be an acceleration of normal aging, perhaps a form of Alzheimer's disease brought on by trauma, the evidence proves otherwise. Alzheimer's disease produces scarring diffusely throughout the brain, but autopsy studies of ex-boxer's brains show a very different pattern of injury. In boxers' brains the scarring is predominantly along the surfaces of the brain, most commonly along the frontal and temporal lobes where punches have led to repeated contact between the bony prominences of the inner skull and the delicate surface of the brain.
