Epidemiology of Injuries during Judo Tournaments

Abstract

Objective. To determine the injury incidence proportion, distribution of injuries by anatomical location; injury type; injury severity, time loss; mechanism and situations of injuries; and the relative risk of injuries by gender, age, and weight categories during judo tournaments. Study Design. It is a systematic review. Data Sources. A systematic review of the literature was conducted via searches in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Google Scholar, and PEDro. Eligibility Criteria. All original studies on the incidence of injuries during judo tournaments were included. Results. Twenty-five studies were included out of the 1979 studies. Using the modified AXIS tool score for quality assessment, seven were rated as having good quality, nine were rated as having fair quality, and four were rated as having poor quality. The injury incidence proportion during tournaments ranged from 2.5% to 72.5% for injuries requiring medical evaluation and 1.1% to 4.1% for injuries causing time loss (i.e., inability to continue game participation). The most commonly reported injury location was the head, followed by the hand, knee, elbow, and shoulder. The most frequent types of injury were sprains, followed by contusions, skin lacerations, strains, and fractures. In judo tournaments, injuries were more often sustained during standing fights (tachi-waza) than in ground fights (ne-waza). Conclusion. The tournament injury incidence proportion ranged from 2.5% to 72.5% for injuries requiring medical attention and 1.1% to 4.1% for injuries causing time loss. The head was the most frequently injured body part, and sprain was the most frequent injury type. However, current reports on injuries during judo tournaments are heterogeneous and inconsistent, limiting our understanding of in-match injury risks. Future studies should utilize the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee consensus meeting statement on the methodological approach to injury reporting. We recommend a judo-specific extension of this statement to fit the unique features of judo sports practice.

Injury Risk Analysis among Judo Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities

“…Notably, the 24–30 years old age group exhibited the lowest prevalence. In line with this, other studies have also found that older age groups tend to experience more injuries during judo practice 6 . Conversely, a study encompassing 21 competition seasons in France yielded the opposite results, indicating that younger age groups were more prone to sprains and fractures 28 .…”

“…Studies analyzing injuries during conventional judo competitions present similar anatomical locations, but with different orders of incidence. For instance, the knee, shoulder, and elbow were the most common injury sites during high-level judo competitions between 2005 and 2020 [26], whereas a systematic review by Mooren et al [6] found that the head is the most commonly reported site of injury in judo tournaments, followed by the hands, knees, elbows, and shoulders.…”

“…Gutiérrez-Santiago et al [25] reported an incidence rate of 18.9 % for athletes with visual impairment during world judo championships, which is markedly higher than the values demonstrated in the current study for judo athletes with ID. A review article by Mooren et al [6] found that the incidence proportion during conventional judo competitions ranged from 2.5 % to 72.5 % for injuries requiring medical evaluation, and from 1.1 % to 4.1 % for injuries that cause time loss. Other findings contrast greatly from those reporting a low incidence [26] to those with a high incidence [27].…”

“…Further investigations suggest other injury-prone parts of the body, including the upper and lower limbs [4], lower back, shoulder, and knees [5]. A recent study on judo injuries in a competitive setting identified the head as the most commonly injured body part, with sprains being the most common type of injury [6]. These authors also reported that the incidence of tournament injuries requiring medical attention ranged from 2.5 % to 72.5 %, and from 1.1 % to 4.1 % for injuries leading to missed training/competition time.…”

Intergenerational Judo: Synthesising Evidence- and Eminence-Based Knowledge on Judo across Ages

“…Whilst two studies addressed aspects related to one generation [53,55], one theoretical study [54] focused on general aspects that could be applied to both individuals and organisational bodies (e.g., federations). The majority of the studies [43,[50][51][52][53]56,57,61,63,64] included a high representation of male judoka (≈62%), whereas six reviews [54,55,[58][59][60]62] did not report this information. Only 2 studies [53,54] did not specify the athletic level of the considered judoka, and the remaining 14 reviews encompassed novice, recreational, amateur, and competitive (regional to world-class elite) athletes.…”