The Relationship Between Kinematical Parameters of Trunk and Knee Injuries in Male Judo Players

Abstract

Background and Aims The knee joint injury in judokas mostly occurs in the standing position. This study aims to investigate the relationship between kinematic variables of trunk and the occurrence of knee injuries in male judokas.Methods In this study, 15 male judokas aged 20-30 years (7 with a history of knee joint injury and 8 controls) were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, after installing markers on their body, they were asked to stand on a 30-cm box and, after a jump upwards, land on the ground on one foot (the support foot). Cameras were used to measure the angles of the knee and trunk joints during the jump landing task. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to examine the normality of data distribution. ANCOVA was used to compare the groups. The ssignificance level was set at 0.05.Results Healthy judokas had lower knee flexion angle and higher knee valgus angle. Moreover, they had lower trunk flexion angle, higher internal knee rotation, and higher relative rotation speed between femur and tibia compared to the injured group (P<0.05).Conclusion Male Judo players with a history of knee injury have lower knee flexion and greater knee valgus, lower trunk flexion, higher internal knee rotation, and higher relative rotation between femur and tibia compared to their healthy peers. Professionals and coaches need to design injury prevention exercises for this group of athletes.

Keywords

• knee kinematics
• trunk kinematics
• knee injury
• judo