Sports injuries in amateur recreational Taekwondo athletes

Abstract

Combat sports are very common in sport mega-events. Taekwondo is a combat sport that prioritizes direct contact between participants, specially by kicks and punches, and provides ambiguity in the health-sport relationship, as its practice could be harmful. This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of injuries in amateur Taekwondo athletes, from training or competitions, and assess their association with intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This is a descriptive, observational, and retrospective study that assessed injuries by a reported morbidity inquiry. Information on sports injuries considered the last six months of 2018. Participants were athletes aged from 12 to 25 years old, of both sexes, practicing Taekwondo in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The prevalence of sports injuries in amateur Taekwondo athletes in Pelotas was 26.2% (n=1), without significant differences between sexes. The main reason for the practice was physical conditioning (35.7%). The main mechanism of injury was kick when attacking (45.4%), followed by impact when defending (27.3%). The most frequent type of injury was sprain (27.3%). followed by contusion (18.2%), and the most injured body parts were knees (36.4%) and ankles (36.4%). The prevalence of sports injuries in amateur Taekwondo athletes in Pelotas was lower than the one found in the literature, and it may be due to the nature of the practice, as they are recreational amateur athletes aiming to improve physical conditioning.

Risk Factors and Preventive Strategies of Musculoskeletal Injury among Hapkido Athletes: Indonesian Coaches’ Perceptions and Practices

“…Regarding injury prevention, several studies have shown that adequate warm-up before practice or competition can help reduce the risk of injury in Hapkido athletes. Adequate warm-up can increase body temperature and prepare muscles and joints for training or competition [12,13], thus reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injury.…”