Ronda Rousey: Cleveland Clinic found alternative explanation for concussion-like issues

The return of Ronda Rousey has caused much ado. Among the storylines is her pursuit of competition (and its allowance) despite her admissions of brain trauma and neurological issues.

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has said both Rousey and Gina Carano will undergo extensive medical testing before they are licensed to compete May 16 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. But Rousey herself had not addressed her health post-comeback until an interview Friday with “The Jim Rome Show.”

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Rousey said when she approached UFC CEO Dana White with the idea of fighting again, he sent her to the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, where Dr. Charles Bernick worked to diagnose her exact issues. Headaches and vision issues were occurring even during light sparring – but according to Rousey, Bernick theorized an alternative explanation.

“They did every single test possible to check me,” Rousey said. “I actually finally got a positive diagnosis because we’ve never been really able to figure out what’s going on with me. Basically, from lighter and lighter hits, I’m getting concussion symptoms. I lose big chunks of my vision, my depth perception, and my ability to think clearly. Dr. Bernick at the Cleveland Clinic said, ‘Listen. Listen to all of your symptoms. I’ve looked at all of your scans. Your brain looks great.’ I was telling him about my history, and as a kid, I’d get migraines all the time. Epilepsy runs in my family. Every generation of my family, someone has had epilepsy. There is some sort of link between epilepsy and migraines. He was saying that people who get migraines are more susceptible to getting concussions. The more concussions I get, the easier it is for me to get a migraine.

“What he thinks is happening is that I’m not actually getting a concussion every single time that this is happening. He thinks it’s setting off what is called migraine aura, where you lose big chunks of your vision. It’s called cortical spreading depression, where your neurons get overly excited and depolarized and shut down in like a wave. That’s why I lose chunks of my vision when I’m getting hit.”

Rousey, 39, said the news was a relief. She sought medication that targeted migraines and recently found one that she thinks will be able to prevent issues ahead of time – not that she plans on getting hit vs. Carano.

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“To me, I’m like, ‘Oh my god. I’m not dying. CTE isn’t coming to get me,'” Rousey said. “There is actually some stuff that we can do about it. But first, we couldn’t really find any preventative migraine medication. It’s usually stuff you use after the fact. Just recently, we’ve been able to find something that I can take, that’s preventative, that hopefully will be able to resolve this issue for me. It’s life-changing.

“Of course, I’m going to be going into the fight with the intention of not getting hit once. Because that’s basically what I’ve had to do my entire career. But thanks to Dana sending me to the Cleveland Clinic, I finally got a positive diagnosis and really know what’s going on and have some actionable knowledge to work off of.”