Unreported injuries in the Martial Arts.

To date there has been little data available regarding the safety and injury statistics in the sports referred to collectively as the Martial Arts which includes any of the Eastern methods of hand combat or self-defence: Judo*, Aikido, Jiujitsu, Kung Fu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, etc. Much of the information is not too useful since it is several decades old and is derived from studies done primarily in Japan (Nakata and Shirahata, 1943). Over the last decade Martial Arts has enjoyed a remarkable degree of acceptance and growth spurt in America and Great Britain. The estimated number of athletes actively participating in the sport is about 200,000 with a 5:1 male to female ratio. One large international survey has shown that the risk of serious injury is small (less than 0.2%) and that the majority of reported injuries are mild to moderate in nature and consist of sprains, strains, contusions, and minor lacerations (Birrer and Birrer, 1982). The incidence of injury is higher in the tournament situation in which in 1976 there was some form of injury in every 4 contests and an incapacitating injury every ten contests (McLatchie, 1976). A wide range of trauma has been recorded and though rare, life threatening injuries to the head, thorax, and abdomen have occurred (Kurland, 1980; Cantwell and King, 1973). In order to elucidate the full extent and impact of injuries in the Martial Arts we surveyed a number of athletes during and after tournament and training sessions in order to determine the number and quality of sports-related injuries.