Common Sports Injuries among National Players in Korea

Abstract

To become a national player and after becoming one, athletes usually overtrain themselves. Also they often get injured during their competition. There are many kinds of sports injuries, which are rather specific to each sport. In this study, the author analyzed the sports injuries of athletes who had visited the medical clinic in the Taereung National Training Center from January to July in 2005. There were 5 events and 7 groups of sports including men judo, men wrestling, men and women weight lifting, men and women hockey, and men gymnastics. The results showed that low back problems were the most common injury among all these sports. Besides low back problems, athletes from each sport had different patterns of injuries. Men judo players frequently had medial collateral ligament injuries of the knee. Men wrestling players commonly had neck problems. Many men and women weight lifters had wrist injuries and rotator cuff impingement, respectively, and many of them also had patellar ligament injuries. Hockey players commonly had ankle problems, and especially many women hockey players had hamstring strains. Remarkable injuries in men gymnastics were wrist and finger injuries. These results can be of help to optimize the strategies to prevent injuries and to rehabilitate the injured athletes.