Injury Rates in Children Participating in Taekwondo Competition

OBJECTIVE To report rates of injuries sustained during Junior taekwondo competitions. DESIGN Prospective. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were collected with simple check-off forms that describe the athlete, nature, site, circumstances, and severity of the injury at three major taekwondo tournaments involving a total of 3,341 boys and 917 girls. MAIN RESULTS No difference was found between boys (58.34/1,000 athlete-exposures) and girls (56.57/1,000 athlete-exposures) in total injury rate (p > 0.05). Collapsed over gender, significant differences (p = 0.013) in injury rates of body parts were found with the lower extremities (21.83/1,000 athlete-exposures) ranked first. Unblocked attacks are the major cause of injury in both boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS Coaches are advised to work on the blocking skills of their Junior taekwondo athletes. No head contact for children in taekwondo competition should also be considered.