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Prevalence of overuse injuries in youth Taekwondo athletes
Author
Gay, Gladys Jiayi
Supervisor
Mukherjee, Swarup
Abstract
Background: Youth participation in sports has increased tremendously over the years, and Taekwondo, in particular, is a very popular choice of sport. Many parents send their young children to Taekwondo classes mainly for health benefits and to instill better discipline in them. However, as with participation in any sport, there is the risk of sustaining injuries in Taekwondo. Approximately 50 percent of all youth sports injuries are caused by repetitive loading and overuse of body parts. However, there has been little research on overuse injuries in youth athletes, and even less on sports likeTaekwondo, which involves repetitive high-impact movements, such as jumping and kicking. Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesise that practicing Taekwondo has a higher likelihood of overuse injuries among youth athletes.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence, nature and severity of overuse injuries in youth Taekwondo athletes.
Method: The study included 259 youth Taekwondo athletes (171 male, 88 female), aged 6 to 18 (11.9 ± 3.81 years), from various Taekwondo clubs and training centres in Singapore. Athletes and parents/coaches were briefed about the study beforehand, and subsequently provided with written consent forms. After written consent was obtained, the participating athletes were then required to complete a questionnaire.
Results: Of the 259 participants in the survey, 116 or 44.7% reported 192 injuries. Participants were separated into two distinct age categories: children (6 to 12 years old) and adolescents (13 to 18 years old). Participants in the higher age group had a higher risk (odds ratio 3.52) of sustaining overuse injuries, as compared to those in the lower age group. Results showed that competitiveness level had a statistically significant effect in increasing the likelihood of overuse injuries being sustained by youth Taekwondo participants (odds ratio 3.25). Males were at a marginally lower risk (odds ratio .96) of sustaining overuse injuries than females. With regard to training hours, it was found that children who trained 2 to 4 hours per week had the highest prevalence of injury in general, while adolescents who trained more than 4 hours per week had the highest prevalence of overuse injuries. Athletes at advanced belt level were shown to have the highest frequency of injury, followed by those at the intermediate level and beginner level. According to age group, children who participated in multiple sports (three or more sports) had indicated a much lower number of overuse injury cases (n = 15) compared to children who did not sustain an injury (n = 78); while adolescents who participated in multiple sports had indicated slightly higher cases of injuries (n = 12) compared to adolescents who did not sustain an injury (n = 5). The body parts more commonly affected were knee, thigh and ankle, with 125 (65.1%) injuries being documented in the lower extremities. The lower extremities also sustained the highest number of overuse injuries at every level of severity (mild, moderate and major).
Conclusion: Our results show that there is a high prevalence of overuse injuries in youth Taekwondo athletes. Age and training frequency are two factors that are directly related to the increased risk of overuse injuries. The number of training hours is a distinct determinant of overuse injuries being sustained by youth athletes. It is crucial for youth coaches to increase awareness on the increased risk of overuse injuries sustained by youth due to their growth characteristics, in order to minimise the occurrence of overuse injuries. They should also ensure developmentally appropriate programmes of a progressive nature for safe and sustained participation of youth Taekwondo athletes.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence, nature and severity of overuse injuries in youth Taekwondo athletes.
Method: The study included 259 youth Taekwondo athletes (171 male, 88 female), aged 6 to 18 (11.9 ± 3.81 years), from various Taekwondo clubs and training centres in Singapore. Athletes and parents/coaches were briefed about the study beforehand, and subsequently provided with written consent forms. After written consent was obtained, the participating athletes were then required to complete a questionnaire.
Results: Of the 259 participants in the survey, 116 or 44.7% reported 192 injuries. Participants were separated into two distinct age categories: children (6 to 12 years old) and adolescents (13 to 18 years old). Participants in the higher age group had a higher risk (odds ratio 3.52) of sustaining overuse injuries, as compared to those in the lower age group. Results showed that competitiveness level had a statistically significant effect in increasing the likelihood of overuse injuries being sustained by youth Taekwondo participants (odds ratio 3.25). Males were at a marginally lower risk (odds ratio .96) of sustaining overuse injuries than females. With regard to training hours, it was found that children who trained 2 to 4 hours per week had the highest prevalence of injury in general, while adolescents who trained more than 4 hours per week had the highest prevalence of overuse injuries. Athletes at advanced belt level were shown to have the highest frequency of injury, followed by those at the intermediate level and beginner level. According to age group, children who participated in multiple sports (three or more sports) had indicated a much lower number of overuse injury cases (n = 15) compared to children who did not sustain an injury (n = 78); while adolescents who participated in multiple sports had indicated slightly higher cases of injuries (n = 12) compared to adolescents who did not sustain an injury (n = 5). The body parts more commonly affected were knee, thigh and ankle, with 125 (65.1%) injuries being documented in the lower extremities. The lower extremities also sustained the highest number of overuse injuries at every level of severity (mild, moderate and major).
Conclusion: Our results show that there is a high prevalence of overuse injuries in youth Taekwondo athletes. Age and training frequency are two factors that are directly related to the increased risk of overuse injuries. The number of training hours is a distinct determinant of overuse injuries being sustained by youth athletes. It is crucial for youth coaches to increase awareness on the increased risk of overuse injuries sustained by youth due to their growth characteristics, in order to minimise the occurrence of overuse injuries. They should also ensure developmentally appropriate programmes of a progressive nature for safe and sustained participation of youth Taekwondo athletes.
Date Issued
2017
Call Number
RD97.6 Gay
Date Submitted
2017