When Can I Resume Contact Sports after a Hair Transplant?
We have a patient who is very physically active. He had a hair transplant procedure and was concerned if he could continue competitive mixed martial arts in the next 3 weeks. “Do you think my head will be okay if I’m doing that? Is it high risk for new transplant hair or donor scars?”
By the time the patient has his mixed martial arts competition it will be over 3 weeks after his hair transplant procedure. At this point hair grafts have already settled and healed and the donor area is closed. The only real concern is putting too much tension on the edges of the healing donor wound. This may cause the wound to widen or stretch.
Most physical activities are fine and should not pose an issue to the donor scar but we do suggest avoiding any sports that may add tension or possibility of stretching until after 1 month from your surgery. The donor scar should be stronger and able to handle any additional stress as you would have normally. However, we do suggest a period of at least 3 months for all aggressive sports just to be safe but that is definitely up to your own personal discretion.
Tags: activity after hair transplant, after hair transplant, donor area, donor scar, martial art, mix martial art, scar stretching, scar widening
