Comparison of Lower Extremity Alignment among Taekwondo Athletes of Various Subdisciplines.

Background and Objectives: Studies analyzing lower extremity alignment (LEA) LEA among taekwondo subdisciplines athletes are lacking. This study compared LEA in the dominant and nondominant legs intaekwondo athletes. Materials and Methods: Twelve measurements of LEA were analyzed for 157 athletes (63 sparring, 50 demonstration, and 44 poomsae athletes) registered with the Korea Taekwondo Association. LEA was measured in the standing, supine, and prone positions using alignment application, a goniometer, a bubble inclinometer, a height gage, and a palpation meter. Results: The analysis revealed that the dominant leg of poomsae athletes showed greater genu valgum alignment than that of sparring athletes (p < 0.01), whereas the dominant leg of sparring athletes showed greater rearfoot varum alignment than that of demonstration athletes (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the nondominant leg of poomsae athletes showed greater genu valgum alignment than that of sparring and demonstration athletes (p < 0.01), whereas the nondominant leg of sparring athletes showed greater rearfoot varum alignment than that of demonstration athletes (p < 0.01). In addition, demonstration athletes had better forefoot varus alignment than poomsae athletes (p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study revealed that LEA characteristics vary among taekwondo athletes according to their subdiscipline. The results of this study would help in designing training programs tailored to each subdiscipline that would best address their LEA characteristics and help to prevent injuries.

Injury Incidence and Its Characteristics in Korean Youth and Collegiate Taekwondo Sparring Athletes: A Retrospective Study.

This study aimed to identify the incidence of injury and its characteristics in Korean youth and collegiate Taekwondo athletes during 2021 and to provide a suggestion regarding injury incidence. A total of 183 athletes (95 youth and 88 collegiate athletes) who were registered with the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) participated. The research was based on the injury questionnaire developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The questionnaire consists of a total of seven items, including four items related to demographic characteristics and three items related to injuries (locations of injury, types of injury, and causes of injury). A frequency analysis was performed to identify the injury characteristics. Additionally, the injury incidence rate (IIR) was calculated based on 1000 athletic exposures (AEs) during 2021. The IIRs for one recent year (2021) showed 4.43/1000 AEs and 3.13/1000 AEs in youth and collegiate Taekwondo athletes, respectively. The frequency analysis showed that finger (youth: 17.3%, collegiate: 14.6%), contusion (youth: 25.3%, collegiate: 23.8%), and contact with other athletes (youth: 57.6%, collegiate: 54.4%) ranked the highest in terms of the locations of injury, types of injury, and causes of injury, respectively. A continuing injury tracking system can play a key role in accumulating big data for identifying risk factors and developing interventions to reduce injury in Taekwondo sparring.