•  
  •  
 

Category

Injury prevention

Document Type

Paper

Abstract

Although judo carries a high risk of head injuries, primarily due to throws, empirical data on head impact characteristics during sparring practice remains limited. This study examined differences between males and females in head impact frequency and magnitude among collegiate judo practitioners. Nine athletes were monitored using mouthguard-type inertial sensors to measure head linear and rotational accelerations during practice. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) estimated that head impact frequency was higher in female practitioners (10.9 impacts/hour; 95% CI: 4.8–25.0) compared to males (3.7 impacts/hour; 95% CI: 1.4–9.5; rate ratio: 2.96, p = 0.09). In contrast, model-estimated peak linear acceleration (PLA) was higher in males (25.4g; 95% CI: 19.3–33.3) than in females (18.1g; 95% CI: 14.4–22.6; rate ratio: 0.71, p = 0.06). Similarly, model-estimated peak rotational acceleration (PRA) was higher in males (2,101 rad/s²; 95% CI: 1,562–2,826) than in females (1,591 rad/s²; rate ratio: 0.76, p = 0.16). While these differences did not reach conventional statistical significance, preliminary findings suggest that females experienced more frequent impacts, whereas males encountered fewer but potentially more severe impacts. This exploratory evidence highlights the need for large-scale studies to identify head injury risk factors in judo.

Download

Share

COinS