Abstract - Body fat percentage, movement quality, and injury history in collegiate judo athletes
Background. Recent injury reports indicate severe judo injuries were associated with longer recovery times compared to other combat sports.
Problem and aim. Although several factors associated with judo injury are known, research on body fat percentage (%BF) and movement quality remains limited. The purpose of this study was two-fold: to assess injury in young judokas and to explore associations of injury with %BF and movement quality.
Methods. A total of 104 college judokas (54% male) participated in the study. %BF was derived from skinfold measurements, and movement quality was measured using the Functional Movement Screen (FMSTM). Injury history was obtained using an online platform. A hierarchical logistic regression was employed to assess the association between injury status and the variables.
Results. There was a total of 51 injuries among 76.5% of the judokas who sustained at least one injury in the past year. Injuries occurred predominantly in training (92%) and were commonly reported in the shoulder (31.4%). The most frequent injury mechanism was being thrown (28.2%). 70% of the injuries were to the ligament and joint. There was a significant difference between injury groups in %BF (p= 0.036), but not in FMSTM. The regression analysis shows that only %BF was significantly associated with injury status (OR= 0.921, p= 0.011).
Conclusions. %BF represented an important protective factor for injuries in young judokas. Monitoring athletes’ %BF and/or body composition may help prevent unhealthy practices and early identification of those at risk.