A survey study on sports injury by age for female athletes in combat sports

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the location, rate, cause, and types of injuries according to the injured area by age and sports in female athletes. Methods The subject of the study was 426 female athletes who were registered as combat sports(Judo, Taekwondo, Fencing) athletes at the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee. We collected the data via online questionnaires, and conducted a frequency analysis using R statistics program. Results As a result, 51.4% of athletes experienced injuries in the past year, and the highest injury rate was shown in Taekwondo-University(0.43) during competition and Taekwondo-Professional(5.55) during training. The cause of injuries during competition was mainly due to 'as a result of me or the opponent's hittings, skills, or fouls' among internal factors, and 'recurrent injuries' among external factors. Among internal factors during training except for torso area and professional athletes, most of the injuries were also caused by ‘as a result of me or the opponent's hittings, skills, or fouls’ and ‘recurrent injuries’ among external factors. The frequency of injury was the highest in the lower extremity area across all age groups. The most frequently injured area, in the case of Judo, is skin-bleeding in the head, skin-bruise, muscle-inflammation, bone-fracture, spondylopathy(disc, stenosis, etc.) in the torso, muscle-inflammation in the upper extremity, ligament-sprain, rupture in the lower extremity. Taekwondo athletes had skin-bruise in the head, upper and lower extremities, and muscle-inflammation in the torso area, as the frequent injury cases, and Fencing athletes had all skin-bruise regardless of injuries. Conclusions The results of this study will be used to take measures for preventing injuries or to change training programs.