Clinical symptoms after knock out in tae kwon do athletes

Introduction

Powerful blows on the head cause brain concussion. Many blows that do not cause a Knock Out (KO) may be more related to brain damage than the less powerful blows causing a KO [1]. An insidious complication of a head injury is the internal bleeding of brain vessels [2]. The helmet does not cover and totally protect the athlete’s heads from the kicks [3, 4]. The purpose of this study was to define the clinical symptoms that manifested themselves after KO, sustained during sparring competition in Tae kwon do athletes.

Methods

The sample consisted of 22 high-performance athletes (men= 16, junior boys= 6). The basic presupposition was to have been knocked out (KO) at least one time in an official game accompanied by cerebral concussion (after medical diagnosis). Athletes belonged to all weight categories. The average age of the athletes on the day they had the brain injury was 24 ± 6 years. Procedure: α) receipt of detailed biography (protocol of brain injuries), b) clinical tests, γ) MRI, CT, EEG findings. Frequencies, Cross-tabulation and Chi squared test were used for statistical analysis (SPSS, Version 10 for Windows). The level of significance was set at 0.05.

Results

Because of the KO, 46% of the athletes were submitted to loss of consciousness at the same time and the tongue drops back in 18%. However, the loss of consciousness was not followed by post-traumatic amnesia in any athlete. 73% of those submitted to a KO suffered from nausea and headache (up to 30 days) and 18% suffered from vomit. Only a 27,3% of those who suffered a KO did not manifest a headache. A 36,4% suffered a fracture of the facial skull on an area not covered by the special helmet, along with the KO, while a total of 46% had to be admitted in the hospital.

Discussion / Conclusions

Other research met the results on headache [5]. The percentage of the hospitalised athletes was estimated to be extremely high. The number of the athletes suffering KO on the head ranges from 8-10 on every 1000 fighters [3, 6]. The recorded KO caused curable implications on the one hand, but serious and unpleasant short-termed results (fractures, brain concussions, headache, etc.). This way, Tae kwon do can be defined as a sufficiently safe sport, but also as a sport with increased danger for brain and skull injuries, compared to other sports. The current study confirms previous research [3, 4], in its conclusion that the helmet currently in use does not protect Tae kwon do athletes from head injuries. It is vital to take better protective measures to help avoid head injuries in Tae kwon do.

References

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[2]. Pieter, W. & Heijmans, J. (1997). Scientific coaching for Olympic Taekwondo. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Verlag.
[3]. Beis, K., Tsaklis, P., Pieter, W., G. Abatzides 2001. Taekwondo competition injuries in Greek young and
adult athletes. Eur J Sports Traumatol Rel Res 23, 130-136.
[4]. Pieter, W. 1991. Performance characteristics of elite taekwondo athletes. Kor J of Sports Sc 3. 94-117.
[5]. Henderson, J.M. & Browning, D.G. (1994). Head trauma in young athletes. Medicine Clinic North America, 78, 2, 289-303.
[6]. Pieter, W. & Heijmans, J. (1997). Scientific coaching for Olympic Taekwondo. Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Verlag.