ABSTRACT
Judo is a contact sport. It is a demanding practice requiring substantial contact between partners. With such characteristics, injuries may occur anywhere on the body. In this chapter we discuss the frequency of occurrence of judo injuries in training and in competition, and the different training situations and the associated injury risk. Different judo techniques also carry different injury risks, with research suggesting that o-soto-gari was the leading cause for knee injuries especially anterio-cruciate-ligament (ACL) injury incidence. Injuries constitute a considerable problem for the athlete, the family, the club and, given the popularity of sports participation, for society at large. Injury prevention must be a priority for any sport, therefore sports medicine is of great importance. We highlight the main risks involved in judo as a contact sport and give an overview of promising measures and implementation strategies to prevent judo injuries. These include: injury prevention training programmes, coach education, judo rules, Sports on the Mat Emergencies education, equipment and facilities.
