Hand injuries are common in boxing. However, index and middle knuckle pain is often due to simple mistakes. Proper technique and hand protection can help significantly reduce your chances of knuckles pain from boxing.
Punching Form
Punching without proper alignment can lead to uneven impacts, which can cause knuckle pain, according to a study of boxing injuries published in the journal Hand.
Because they are more stable, your first two knuckles should be what makes contact with the target. Your extended fist should form a straight line from your first two knuckles through your wrist and to the elbow.
Open Hand Punches
Punching with a loose fist is one way to easily injure your knuckles while boxing.
When your fist is completely closed, it allows you to better absorb repeated impacts during training and competition, according to Mayweather Boxing and Fitness.
Skilled boxers relax their grip between punches, then rapidly clench into a fist just before impact. This helps reduce fatigue from overclenching, according to Boxing Science.
However, repeatedly opening and clenching your fist during a longer match or training session can also cause fatigue. This increases your risk of instability when punching, which can lead to knuckle pain or injury.
Hand Wrapping
Properly wrapping your hands is important to prevent hand and knuckle injury. Hand wrapping secures your joints together so the shock is better distributed across your entire hand, according to ExpertBoxing.
If your wrapping is too loose, your joints can easily collapse over each other, leading to pain or injury. Wrapping that is too tight can lead to alignment issues and cut off circulation.
Make sure your wraps are snug yet comfortable. Your hands should feel relaxed when you’re not making a fist and tighten when you close them.
Knuckle Padding
Training in gloves that are too small also can lead to knuckle pain and injury.
Boxers typically train with 16- to 18-ounce (oz) gloves. These are much larger than the 10- to 12-oz gloves worn during competition. The extra padding protects your hands against the repeated impact of day-to-day training.
Some boxers like to use competition-sized gloves in the gym to simulate the feel of those worn in a fight. However, doing this too often may damage your hands, according to the study published in Hand.
Tips to Avoid Further Injury
Because boxing involves repeated punching, injuries to your index and middle knuckles can be slow to heal. Continuing to train with injured hands can aggravate and prolong knuckle pain.
To avoid worsening damaged knuckles during training, try limiting your practice to lower-impact speed exercises using a double-end, or reflex, bag.