Judo Injuries Frequency in Europe's Top-Level Competitions in the Period 2005-2020

The present study assesses the frequency of injury in Europe's top-level judokas, during top-level competitions, and defines risk factors.

The members of the EJU Medical Commission collected injury data over the period of 2005 to 2020 using the EJU Injury Registration Form at Europe's top judoka tournaments.

Over the 15 years of the study, 128 top-level competitions with 28,297 competitors were included; 699 injuries were registered. Of all competitors, 2.5% needed medical treatment. The knee (17.4%), shoulder (15.7%), and elbow (14.2%) were the most common anatomical locations of injury. Sprains (42.2%) were by far the most frequent injury type, followed by contusions (23.1%). Of all contestants, 0.48% suffered an injury which needed transportation to hospital. There was a statistically significant higher frequency of elbow injuries in female athletes (p < 0.01). Heavy-weight judokas suffered a remarkably low number of elbow injuries, with more knee and shoulder injuries. Light-weight judokas were more prone to elbow injuries.

We found there was a low injury rate in top-level competitors, with a greater frequency of elbow injuries in female judokas. During the 15 years of injury collection data, an injury incidence of 2.5% was found, with a remarkable high injury rate in the women's -52 kg category, and statistically significantly more elbow injuries in women overall.