Prevalence of Karate Injuries in Professional Karate Kai in Isfahan

Martial arts have a reputation for being a high risk activity, but severe injuries in karate are actually rare. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of karate injuries in professional karate kai athletes in Isfahan. Fifty individuals from professional karate kai with at least one championship participated in this study. Each athlete was asked to complete a questionnaire on karate injuries sustained during the last two years with type, time, location, mechanism, season of injuries and number of days off training and competition. From 185 injuries recorded, lower limb with 64 injuries (35%) was the most vulnerable body part. Head and face with 60 injuries (32%), upper limb with 43 injuries (23%), trunk and spinal column with 13 injuries (7%) and internal organs with 5 injuries (3%). 46% of injuries were occurred during training, 40% during competition, 8% during warm up and 6% during weight lifting period. 43% of injuries were minor, 27% moderate and 30% severe. Opponent technical foul (26%) was the most common reason of injuries. According to our findings, the rate of injury was 4.35 per 1000 hours training and fighting. Injuries in this study were minor. Karate injuries were more likely to occur during competitions and lower limb was the most frequent region of injury.