Influence of choking and arm lock technique in judo on the acoustic reflex threshold (art) in healthy well-trained male and female judoka.

The objective of this controlled parallel group study was to assess the effects of standardized choke holds (test) and arm lock techniques (controls) in on the acoustic hearing threshold. 104 (test group, 32 female subjects and 72 male subjects, mean age = 28.0 years, SD = 7.9 years) and 51 experienced judoka (controls. 21 female subjects, 30 male subjects; mean age = 26.8 years; SD = 13.2 years) participated. Acoustic reflex thresholds (ART [dB]) were measured separately before and after each manoeuvre both for air and bone conduction of the right and left side. The difference Dart of the ART before and after a manoeuvre (Dart = ARTbefore - ARTafter) was calculated. Data were presented descriptively and nonparametric statistics was applied for nonrelated (Kruskal Wallis ANOVA) or related samples (Friedman ANOVA). Wilcoxon tests were used for pre/post comparisons of original ART values. The effect of choking on Dart was significantly different from the effect of the arm lock technique on Dart independent of the experimental condition. A significant influence of applied frequencies on Dart was ascertained if a choking technique was used. For all frequency ranges applied a highly significant improvement of the ART after choking was found. With regard to bone conduction thresholds increased by an average of 6.1 dB and for air conduction the average increase was 4.9 dB. On the contrary, arm locks induced a slight mean deterioration of the ART for bone conduction of 1.8 dB. The ART for bone conduction also showed a trend towards a reduction after arm locks with a mean decrease of about 1.2 dB. In conclusion, standardized choking manoeuvres reduced the ART corresponding to an improved hearing both with regard to air and bone conduction. Such an effect on hearing ability was not found for arm lock techniques.