AArticle written by Blandine MAUDHUIZON – MKDE
Judo is a japanese martial art and one combat sport based on the direct encounter of two adversaries, composed of a combination of standing and ground fighting without the use of typing techniques. It’s a olympic sport with a big physical, technical and tactical complexity which has spread all over the world over the past 50 years.
Souza et al. reported that 49% of injuries occur during competitions, 43.60% during training et 3.7% during physical conditioning (1). In competition, the resistance of the opponent plays an important biomechanical role, which can lead to injuries due to its unpredictability. A sports injury which, according to the International Olympic Committee, is defined as damage to body tissues resulting from sports or physical exercise.
In 2020, Blach et al. published a study to to assess the frequency of injuries in competition among high-level European judokas, in order to define the risk factors for these injuries. The data was collected from a group of 26,862 high-level judokas (15,571 men and 11,291 women) aged 19 to 35 in all weight classes judo participating in 128 international tournaments under the auspices of the European Judo Union, including the European Judo Championships, in the period between 2005 and 2020.
Over the 15 years of follow-up during which the study was conducted, the injury rate varied between 12,3 % et 30 %. The injuries were found to be more common in female athletes during competitions, especially injuries to the upper members. Many injuries also occurred during trainingbut this study was designed only to determine the incidence of tournament injuries.
The legs also proved to be areas to risk of injury. In two studies of Korean Olympic team judokas, the knee was frequently injured and also 20% of injuries occurred in the trunk, particularly in the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae (2). These injuries occurred during trainingnot during the competition.
It was found that 30% of injuries were occurring in the legs et 20.7% of trunk and shoulder injuries combined. More specifically, the main anatomical locations of injuries are: the knee (17.4%), shoulder (15.7%) and elbow (14.2%). Most injuries occur in standing fightsand the knee injuries are the most common in judo because of rapid changes of directionof the repeated falls and contacts physiques constants.
The mechanisms of injury in judo are related to throwing and hooking techniques. Gripping and attempting to throw the opponent requires a constant movement of the upper and especially lower limbs. This requires a dynamic work of the lower limbs, which constantly change position and direction of movement. Therefore, the risk of soft tissue damage increasesin particular the ligament injuries (48.15% of all injuries), followed by muscle damage (11,38 %) (2).
Concerning the types of injuriesin the study conducted over the 15 years, the contusions and the sprains were the most common injuries.
Generally, 42,2 % of all injuries were sprains et 23,1 % of the contusionswith no statistically significant difference between the sexes.
The sprains occurred mainly at the level of the kneefrom elbow and some anklebut also to the acromioclavicular joint.
The high rate of sprains can be explained by contacts directs, or some shoulder falls with the use of the arm as stabilizer in abduction to defend against a throwing attack.
The knee or ankle sprains are probably related to rotational maneuvers needed to attack and defend.
Furthermore, the fracture was another type of significant injury observed. In the study by Frey et. al., the collarbones were the most frequently fractured bone, often following a direct fall on the shoulder.
Moreover, the cervical spine fracture is a major concernand can occur as a result of hyperflexion or a hyperextension of the cervical spine, or because of a direct traumaor a axial load. Fortunately, this type of injury is rare, as are other potentially dangerous injuries such as concussion (For more on this topic, here’s an article we wrote: Concussions in the World of Sports).
Regarding the overall injury incidence rate, there was no no statistically significant differences in the frequency of injuries in the different weight categorieswith the exception of one high injury rate in women’s weight class under 52 kg. In fact, judokas light seem more prone to elbow injuries and the judokas heavy to those of knee.
Most judokas reduce their body mass rapidly before competition via fluid restriction, sauna, diuretics, or dietary restriction. This rapid weight loss can alter their physiological and psychological performance. Thus, judokas are strongly advised to not lose more than 5% of body mass before a competition percentage beyond which athletes would expose themselves to a greater risk of injury (2).
Conclusion
Overall, the injury incidence at top-level judo tournaments in Europe over the period 2005 to 2020 was 2,5 %with a 0.5% serious injury incidence. Judo is therefore one of the Olympic sports with the lowest injury rate in competition.
The kneel’shoulder and the elbow are the anatomical locations most prone to injury. Regarding the type of injury, these are the sprains which are the most common. Furthermore, there is no no statistically significant difference between men and women in the overall injury rategood that women seem to have more elbow injuries.
As for the risk factors, the injuries occur due to complex and non-linear interactions between multiple factors, as Bittencourt et al. no one can 100% predict the occurrence of an injury during a judo match. However, it has been shown that the previous injuriesthe sleep deprivationthe training load and the atmospheric conditions are of course elements that individually affect judo performance.
All content in this article is for informational purposes. It does not in any way replace the advice or visit of a health professional.
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Sources:
Błach, W., Smolders, P., Rydzik, Ł., Bikos, G., Maffulli, N., Malliaropoulos, N., Jagiełło, W., Maćkała, K., & Ambroży, T. (2021). Judo Injuries Frequency in Europe’s Top-Level Competitions in the Period 2005-2020. Journal of clinical medicine, 10(4), 852. Article sous Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
Blach, W., Smolders, P., Simenko, J., & Mackala, K. (2022). Diagnostics of tissue involved injury occurrence of top-level judokas during the competition: suggestion for prevention. PeerJ, 10e13074. Article sous Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
