taekwondo is a traditional korean martial art currently practiced in over 206 countries 
 around the world1 and has high - profile 
 educational and physical values2 . due to 
 its various kicking and efficient attacking techniques3
, taekwondo has become a globalized sport and finally obtained full 
 status in the official summer olympic competition program since the 2000 sydney 
 olympics4 . as a martial art sport , 

taekwondo is characterized by its emphasis on dynamic techniques for taking mobile stances , 
 and agility , speed , flexibility , and endurance are required to perform the whole process 
 efficiently5 . with respect to fitness , 
 taekwondo can provide participants with health benefits and a sound mind . despite its perceived physical usefulness for all ages , practicing taekwondo may cause 
 various types of injuries because it involves intense full - contact sparring . active 
 participation in sport
is generally recognized as positive , but participation in any type of 
 sports always has the possibility of injury5 , 6 .
indeed , it is reported that several 
 taekwondo - related activities cause accidental injuries owing to its attribute of 
 contact7 . because of the essential 
 characteristics of martial arts , any collision or injury in taekwondo is considered natural . 
 especially during full - contact sparring in taekwondo , owing to the physical demands and 
 force imposed on the athlete , the risks of injury must be addressed8 . according to previous research , some injury risks from practicing martial arts
are 
 unnecessary and preventable9 , and are seen 
 as critical health problems in western societies10 .
moreover , some kinds of injuries resulting from competitions can 
 have a negative influence on participants in taekwondo who want to prolong the duration of 
 their participation in the sport .
thus , injuries in taekwondo could be considered important 
 issues and should be treated as key factors to help improve conditions for exercising or 
 competing in taekwondo . therefore , examining the types of injuries resulting from performing taekwondo and their 
 locations in detail are useful for deciding how to cope with injuries and prevent 
 participants from unwarranted injuries .
also , even though there are some well - documented 
 epidemiology injury profiles on taekwondo around the world11 , because taekwondo takes a relatively long time to attain 
 proficiency in various kicking and sparring techniques , few systematic studies have been 
 conducted on the long - term perspective in korea .
therefore , this study aimed to provide 
 fundamental information on injuries in taekwondo by investigating the categories of injuries 
 in taekwondo and determining their locations .
the survey 
 was conducted from march 5 , 2014 to september 24 , 2014 .
questionnaire forms were used to 
 collect the data and were distributed to participants who regularly practiced taekwondo in 
 gyeongnam province .
all participants provided consent for data collection . while 
 collecting the data , the purpose of this study was explicitly explained , and participants 
 were asked whether they would like to take part in the research . the fact that any response 
 to the questionnaire items would be confidential in all circumstances
participants who had visited a medical institution more than thrice and 
 were diagnosed with injuries resulting from taekwondo activities were included in the study . 
 even though prospective participants experienced medically diagnosed injuries before , 
 participants who visited medical care centers fewer than two times or did not receive a 
 definite diagnosis were excluded .
the form included items on age , gender , length of practice , injury diagnosis , and injury 
 locations .
on the questionnaire , the length of practice was categorized as follows : 1 ) less 
 than 1  year since the beginning , 2 ) 1 through 3  years , and 3 ) more than 3  years . for the 
 classification of injury diagnosis and locations , the criteria that kazemi et al . used in 
 2009 were adopted12 . according to these 
 criteria , injury diagnoses were categorized as contusions , sprains , strains , fractures , 
 joint dysfunction , and concussion of the brain , and injury locations were divided into head , 
 foot , thigh , knee , ankle , trunk , wrist , forearm , and other parts of the body . after completing the survey ,
all of the questionnaires were gathered and examined closely 
 to exclude incorrectly completed forms .
after 23 untrustworthy forms were excluded , 512 
 questionnaires were confirmed as the raw data sources .
additionally , by using the multiple response method , the current status and 
 types of injuries that occurred while practicing taekwondo were examined .
the 
 characteristics of the subjects are presented in table 
 1table 1.subject characteristics ( n=512)categoryfrequency%age ( years)10193516920291142230479gendermale27754female23546length of practice ( years)<1135261330860>36914 .
of 512 subjects , there were 277 males and 235 females with injuries recorded using a binary 
 multiple response method . among the participants included , the top five most frequent 
 locations of injury , in order of decreasing frequency , were the foot ( n = 93 ) , knee ( n = 
 86 ) , ankle ( n = 80 ) , thigh ( n = 64 ) , and head ( n = 61 ) . other minor locations of injury , 
 such as the leg ( n = 48 ) , toes ( n = 31 ) , and back ( n = 25 ) were also reported .
taking a 
 closer look at the injury diagnoses , the five major injuries were contusions ( n = 319 ) , 
 strains ( n = 89 ) , sprains ( n = 75 ) , fractures ( n = 51 ) , and concussions ( n = 50 ) . in 
 addition , a few cases of joint dysfunction ( n = 47 ) and lacerations ( n = 11 ) were also 
 reported . the injury locations and diagnoses
this study aimed to provide guidance on how to cope with injuries resulting from taekwondo 
 participation by investigating the current status and types of injuries . from the analysis 
 on injury locations , it was found that the vast majority of taekwondo participants 
 experienced podiatric - related injuries .
although the term taekwondo is described as the 
 martial art that uses kicks and punches concurrently , and victory at competitions is 
 acquired by getting higher points from the judges and by performing specific techniques 
 including kicks and punches13 , 
 foot - related skills were preferred during sparring and demonstrations . however , because kick 
 techniques are more powerful and more effective for scoring points than punches during 
 competitive performances .
most of the skills used in taekwondo are dependent on kick 
 techniques to efficiently score points in competitions . in previous studies ,
it was reported 
 that the vast majority of injuries in participating athletes in taekwondo were found on the 
 lower extremities owing to the exchange of accurate and powerful turning kicks14 , 15 .
furthermore , while conducting kicking techniques during 
 competitions , taekwondo athletes often exchange kicks concurrently , which can result in 
 lower extremity injuries . for athletes who highly use kicking to gain high scores ,
therefore , it is necessary to 
 decrease the possibility of injury to the lower extremities to extend participation in 
 taekwondo .
other research has also cited that head or neck injuries are also prevalent in 
 taekwondo16 .
therefore , it is necessary 
 to address this issue while practicing taekwondo . the main diagnoses in the present study were contusions , strains , and sprains .
taekwondo 
 training generally consists of three sections , which can be divided into poomsae ( the form 
 that combines postures of the basic techniques of attack and defense ) , sparring , and 
 breaking .
participants involved in sparring or breaking seem most likely to experience these 
 types of injuries .
sparring is performed through fierce and speedy contact with the partner , 
 therefore , contusions and sprains are common . while breaking objects , owing to contact with 
 the object to break , athletes were more likely to experience injuries such as contusions and 
 strains .
previous research cites that regardless of experience levels in taekwondo , almost all 
 participants experienced contusions and strains12 . in general , these kinds of injuries are expected because martial 
 arts such as taekwondo involve extremely intensive body contact . however
, if ignored , these 
 types of injuries could be threats to prolonged participation in taekwondo because the 
 repetitive and sustained activities could worsen the injury . to improve and prevent this 
 situation , establishment of injury surveillance systems focusing on taekwondo
is required , 
 and educational programs for taekwondo instructors or coaching staffs to protect athletes 
 should be strengthened .
 [ purpose ] the present study aims to provide fundamental information on injuries in 
 taekwondo by investigating the categories of injuries that occur in taekwondo and 
 determining the locations of these injuries . 
 [ subjects and methods ] the data of 512 
 taekwondo athletes were collected . 
 the sampling method was convenience sampling along with 
 non - probability sampling extraction methods . 
 questionnaire forms were used to obtain the 
 data . [ results ] the foot , knee , ankle , thigh , and head 
 were most frequently injured while 
 practicing taekwondo , and contusions , strains , and sprains were the main injuries 
 diagnosed . [ conclusion ] it is desirable to decrease the possibility of injuries to the 
 lower extremities for extending participation in taekwondo . 
 other than the lower 
 extremities , injuries of other specific body parts including the head or neck could be 
 important factors limiting the duration of participation . 
 therefore , it is necessary to 
 cope with these problems before practicing taekwondo . 
INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION