ORIGINAL ARTICLE  SPORT INJURIES AND REHABILITATION 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2020 October;60(10):1371-6

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.20.10900-9

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Prevalence of sports injuries in Korean fencers aged 14-40 years

Jin-Wook CHUNG ¹, Bee-Oh LIM ², Ji-Hoon CHO ³, Ki-Hyuk LEE ⁴ ✉

¹ Department of Sport Culture, Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea; ² Department of Physical Education, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea; ³ Department of Sport and Leisure Studies, Shingyeong University, Hwaseong, South Korea; ⁴ Center for Sport Science in Jeju, Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Sports Council, Jeju, South Korea

BACKGROUND: Although sites and types of injury frequently occurring in fencers have been well described, the type of injury caused by the use of fencing movements is still unknown. This study aimed to provide basic data for injury prevention by understanding the sports injury status in fencers.
METHODS: A total of 584 South Korean fencers were included in the survey and were classified according to the injured site, cause of injury, and movement that causes injury. The collected data were analyzed using frequency analysis, χ² tests, and logistic regression analysis to identify differences in sex, event type, age, and career.
RESULTS: Female (P=0.001) and foil fencers (P=0.015) were more likely to experience injury than male and sabre and epee fencers. The incidence of injury was significantly higher according to age (P=0.001) and career (P=0.001). The ankle was the most frequently injured site (17.71%). Injuries most frequently occur during Fente movement (48.11%). Insufficient warm-up was the most common cause of injury (23.91%) in all groups.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a specific warm-up program and strengthening exercises of the ankle and knee ligaments should be established to prevent injuries for fencers. Particularly, female, foil, adult, and experienced fencers should be more careful in preventing injuries.

KEY WORDS: Athletes; Athletic injuries; Republic of Korea