the term  combat sports  describes a group 
 of sports whose competitive essence consists of direct combat between two competing 
 athletes2 , 3 .
a 
 sports injury is defined as damage to part of the body resulting in inability to practice or 
 compete normally4 .
because combat sports 
 frequently involve striking , throwing , or immobilizing an opponent , some researchers suggest 
 that they are more dangerous for athletes than other sports5 . almost all injuries involved in combat sports are caused by 
 mechanical energy , and this manifests as musculoskeletal injuries .
musculoskeletal injuries 
 usually occur when the body experiences overload through accident or overuse5 , 6 . 

many sporting events in korea revolve around combat sports such as judo , wrestling , kendo , 
 boxing , taekwondo , and ssireum .
ssireum , also called korean wrestling , is a form of korean 
 martial arts in which two athletes use strength and various skills to throw their opponent 
 to the ground7 .
combat sports can be 
 classified into two types : strike and non - strike ( throwing or immobilizing an opponent ) . 

strike sports involve striking an opponent directly by kicking or punching or by using a 
 weapon .
. the rules of taekwondo , 
 or rather gyorugi , state that a competitor can only score by striking his opponent in the 
 chest using only his fists or by kicking his opponent s head and torso using only the part 
 of the foot below the ankle8 , 9 .
boxing is a contest that involves striking the body or head 
 of an opponent by means of a punch10
. the 
 rules of kendo state that the head , wrist , waist , or throat of an opponent can be struck 
 with a bamboo sword11,12,13 .
taekwondo athletes wear a guard on the head , torso , 
 arms , legs , and groin , while kendo athletes are equipped with protective armor on the head , 
 torso , and forearms .
conversely , direct striking is not 
 permitted in non - strike sports , so players do not generally wear protective equipment . 

different rules apply in judo , wrestling , and ssireum , and the common goal of these sports 
 is to overpower an opponent through force and skill7 , 
 14,15,16 .
every combat sports event has physical or 
 injury characteristics based on the combat method , rules , and skills used . even within the 
 same sport ,
combat sports are the 
 focus of much attention worldwide , and for this reason , there is a wealth of research 
 available regarding the injuries sustained by combat athletes in various competitions .
these 
 data are typically classified according to event , injured body part , and the epidemiology of 
 the injury .
however , little research has been carried out on the playing style of combat 
 athletes , especially in strike and non - strike sports .
our study aims to describe the 
 characteristics of injuries sustained in strike and non - strike combat sports so that the 
 data can be used in sports physiotherapy .
the participants 
 included elite college players of the following sports : judo ( 47 ) , ssireum ( 19 ) , wrestling 
 ( 13 ) , kendo ( 30 ) , boxing ( 16 ) , and taekwondo ( 34 ) . of the participants ,
133 were male and 26 
 were female . in the case of ssireum and boxing ,
the 
 volunteers had no physical or psychological conditions , and all of them provided informed 
 written consent to participation in this study .
for the purposes of the study , we divided 
 the participants into two groups according to playing style : strike sports and non - strike 
 sports .
kendo , boxing , and taekwondo are strike sports , while judo , ssireum , and wrestling 
 are non - strike sports .
the questionnaire was filled out directly by the athletes under the supervision of a 
 researcher .
injury questionnaire ,  which contained three queries based 
 on the following information regarding the injury type : 1 .
type of injury ( muscular system ) 2 . injured body part ( cephalic , body , upper limb , lower limb ) 3 . where and when the injury occurred and the aftermath ( when the injury occurred , when the 
 athlete returned to exercise , recurrence of the injury , side effects , psychological reaction 
 after the injury ) in the case of queries 1 and 2 , more than one response was permitted in order to cover all 
 injuries experienced by the athletes .
 injury  in this study was defined as any bodily 
 damage that interfered with competition or training .
statistical analyses were conducted using the pasw statistics 
 software ( version 18.0 ) to calculate averages and standard deviations .
data relating to the 
 general characteristics of the athletes were expressed as the mean  standard error ( se ) , 
 and these data were assessed using the student s t - test .
we also analyzed the frequency of injury in each sport , and crosstabs were created 
 for each question using a  test and fisher s exact test . in accordance with the 
 terms of resolution 5 - 1 - 20 , december 2006 , the protocol for the study was approved by the 
 committee of ethics in research of the university of yongin .
furthermore , all volunteers 
 provided informed consent for participation in the study7 , 8 , 10 .
the general characteristics of the participants are described in table 1table 1.general characteristics of the combat sports playersvariablejudossireumwrestlingkendoboxingtaekwondogender ( m / f)male ( % ) 34 ( 72.3)19 ( 100.0)9 ( 69.2)27 ( 90.0)16 ( 100.0)28 ( 82.4)female ( % ) 13 ( 27.7)-4 ( 30.8)3 ( 10.0)-6 ( 17.6)total ( % ) 47 ( 100.0)19 ( 100.0)13 ( 100.0)30 ( 100.0)16 ( 100.0)34 ( 100.0)age ( yrs)20.40.219.90.320.10.320.00.219.40.319.80.3height ( cm)173.01.3178.11.1169.34.5174.51.1173.42.9178.31.0weight ( kg)79.42.896.15.477.94.570.81.167.92.969.41.7bmi ( kg / cm)26.20.630.21.526.91.023.20.322.50.721.70.3career ( yrs)9.20.49.30.55.90.58.60.56.00.77.80.4training timerunning ( h / day)1.70.11.30.11.30.20.60.11.00.31.10.1major ( h / day)2.00.02.10.12.20.23.70.21.90.12.60.1wt ( h / day)1.40.10.80.11.10.10.40.11.00.10.80.1total ( h / day)5.2.0.84.30.24.60.44.70.24.10.24.60.2days / week ( days)6.00.55.10.15.30.15.60.15.50.16.00.1all data are presented as the meanse .
m : male player ; f : female player ; bmi : body 
 mass index ; wt : weight training . * # : p < 0.05 .. all combat athletes had experienced musculoskeletal injuries except for one 
 kendo athlete ( table 2table 2.crosstabs of the type of injury and sports playersvariablemusculoskeletal injuriesskin injuriesnerve injuriestooth injuriesetc.non-strike sportsjudo ( % ) 47 ( 100.0)9 ( 19.1)8 ( 17.0)3 ( 6.4)0 ( 0.0)ssireum ( % ) 19 ( 100.0)6 ( 31.6)4 ( 21.1)1 ( 5.3)0 ( 0.0)wrestling ( % ) 13 ( 100.0)5 ( 38.5)4 ( 30.8)2 ( 15.4)0 ( 0.0)strike sportskendo ( % ) 25 ( 96.2)5 ( 19.2)4 ( 15.4)0 ( 0.0)0 ( 0.0)boxing ( % ) 16 ( 100.0)4 ( 25.0)2 ( 12.5)3 ( 18.8)0 ( 0.0)taekwondo ( % ) 34 ( 100.0)6 ( 17.6)3 ( 8.8)4 ( 11.8)0 ( 0.0)non - strike sports ( % ) 79 ( 100.0)20 ( 25.3)16 ( 20.3)6 ( 7.6)0 ( 0.0)strike sports ( % ) 75 ( 98.7)15 ( 19.5)9 ( 11.7)7 ( 9.1)0 ( 0.0)x(p ) - ( 0.490)0.763 ( 0.382)2.126 ( 0.145)0.114 ( 0.735)-fisher s exact test . *
skin injuries were most frequent among wrestlers in the case of non - strike 
 sports and among boxers in the case of strike sports .
there was a high incidence of nerve 
 injuries such as neuralgia among the non - strike athletes ; however , this was not 
 statistically significant ( table 2 ) .
the order of frequency with regard to 
 injury types was musculoskeletal injuries followed by skin , nerve , and tooth injuries in 
 both groups ( table 2 ) . in terms of 
 musculoskeletal injuries , dislocation was the most frequent injury in non - strike athletes , 
 and the difference between the groups was significant .
fracture was most common in the 
 taekwondo athletes , followed by the boxers and judo athletes ( table 3table 3.crosstabs of the type of musculoskeletal injury and sports playersvariabledislocationfracturerupture of ligamentrupture of musclesprain or strainbruiseherniated discetc.nssjudo ( % ) 9 ( 19.6)23 ( 50.0)27 ( 58.7)10 ( 21.7)22 ( 47.8)23 ( 50.0)7 ( 15.2)0 ( 0.0)ssireum ( % ) 1 ( 5.6)2 ( 11.1)13 ( 72.2)6 ( 33.3)8 ( 44.4)12 ( 66.7)4 ( 22.2)1 ( 5.6)wrestling ( % ) 3 ( 25.0)4 ( 33.3)4 ( 33.3)4 ( 33.3)11 ( 91.7)8 ( 66.7)5 ( 41.7)1 ( 8.3)sskendo ( % ) 0 ( 0.0)2 ( 8.0)7 ( 28.0)3 ( 12.0)15 ( 60.0)10 ( 40.0)7 ( 28.0)4 ( 16.0)boxing ( % ) 1 ( 6.3)9 ( 56.3)6 ( 37.5)3 ( 18.8)11 ( 68.8)12 ( 75.0)4 ( 25.0)0 ( 0.0)taekwondo ( % ) 2 ( 5.9)23 ( 67.6)19 ( 55.9)18 ( 52.9)20 ( 58.8)24 ( 70.6)6 ( 17.6)0 ( 0.0)nss ( % ) 13 ( 16.9)29 ( 37.7)44 ( 57.1)20 ( 26.0)41 ( 53.2)43 ( 55.8)16 ( 20.8)2 ( 2.6)ss ( % ) 3 ( 4.0)34 ( 45.3)32 ( 43.7)24 ( 32.0)46 ( 61.3)46 ( 61.3)17 ( 22.7)4 ( 5.3)x(p)6.695 ( 0.010)0.921 ( 0.337)3.185 ( 0.074)0.671 ( 0.413)1.015 ( 0.314)0.472 ( 0.492)0.080 ( 0.778)- ( 0.439)fisher s exact test .
. there was a higher incidence of ligament rupture among the ssireum athletes 
 than among athletes of any other sport .
although the non - strike sports showed a higher incidence of 
 ligament rupture than the strike sports , the difference was not statistically significant 
 ( table 2 ) .
over half of all the athletes had experienced sprains , strains , 
 and bruising , and most of the wrestlers had been injured in this way .
the incidence of 
 bruising was high in both the strike and the non - strike sports .
the boxers and taekwondo 
 athletes showed the most bruising injuries , followed by the ssireum and wrestling athletes . 

the incidence of herniated disc was similar in both groups , with wrestlers among the most 
 affected ( table 3 ) .
there were differences in 
 terms of injuries to the cephalic body parts , and neck injuries in particular were more 
 frequent in the non - strike sports than in the strike sports .
however , the incidence of neck 
 injuries was similar in the kendo athletes and non - strike sports athletes .
boxers had 
 experienced more injuries to the face and head than the other athletes ( table 4table 4.crosstabs of region of cephalic injury and sports playersvariableneckfaceheadetc.non-strike sportsjudo ( % ) 8 ( 21.1)4 ( 10.5)2 ( 5.3)0 ( 0.0)ssireum ( % ) 7 ( 43.8)1 ( 6.3)1 ( 6.3)0 ( 0.0)wrestling ( % ) 4 ( 30.8)2 ( 15.4)7.1 ( 7.7)0 ( 0.0)strike sportskendo ( % ) 8 ( 29.6)0 ( 0.0)0 ( 0.0)0 ( 0.0)boxing ( % ) 3 ( 18.8)7 ( 43.8)3 ( 18.8)0 ( 0.0)taekwondo ( % ) 0 ( 0.0)4 ( 12.5)0 ( 0.0)0 ( 0.0)non - strike sports ( % ) 19 ( 28.4)7 ( 10.4)4 ( 6.0)0 ( 0.0)strike sports ( % ) 11 ( 14.7)11 ( 14.7)3 ( 4.0)0 ( 0.0)x(p)3.981 ( 0.046)0.569 ( 0.451)- ( 0.707)-fisher s exact test . *
body part injuries were less frequent than other injuries in all 
 sports , with the exception of lower back injuries .
the ssireum athletes showed the highest 
 frequency of lower back injuries , followed by the kendo and wrestling athletes ( table 5table 5.crosstabs of region of body injury and sports playersvariableabdomenchestlow backbacketc.non-strike sportsjudo ( % ) 1 ( 2.6)2 ( 5.3)11 ( 28.9)1 ( 2.6)1 ( 2.6)ssireum ( % ) 0 ( 0.0)1 ( 6.3)11 ( 68.8)2 ( 12.5)0 ( 0.0)wrestling ( % ) 0 ( 0.0)2 ( 15.4)7 ( 53.8)1 ( 7.7)1 ( 7.7)strike sportskendo ( % ) 1 ( 3.7)0 ( 0.0)15 ( 55.6)2 ( 7.4)0 ( 0.0)boxing ( % ) 0 ( 0.0)1 ( 6.3)6 ( 37.5)1 ( 6.3)0 ( 0.0)taekwondo ( % ) 0 ( 0.0)1 ( 3.1)9 ( 28.1)0 ( 0.0)1 ( 3.1)non - strike sports ( % ) 1 ( 1.5)5 ( 7.5)29 ( 43.3)4 ( 6.0)2 ( 3.0)strike sports ( % ) 1 ( 1.3)2 ( 2.7)30 ( 40.0)3 ( 4.0)1 ( 1.3)x(p)- ( 1.000)- ( 0.255)0.157 ( 0.692)- ( 0.707)- ( 0.602)fisher s exact test . *
. there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of 
 body part injuries .
shoulder 
 and elbow injuries were frequent in the non - strike sports group , and injuries to the right 
 wrist and hands were less frequent in the strike sports group .
there was a lower incidence 
 of elbow injuries in the ssireum athletes than in the athletes pursuing other non - strike 
 sports ( left=12.5% ; right=6.3% ) .
wrist injuries were more common in the kendo ( left=55.6% ; 
 right=48.1% ) and boxing athletes ( left=50.0% ; right=50.0% ) than in the athletes pursuing 
 other sports , while hand injuries were highest in the boxers .
no major differences between 
 the groups were identified in terms of finger injuries , which were most frequent in judo , 
 followed by boxing , taekwondo , and wrestling ( table 
 6table 6.crosstabs of region of upper limb injury and sports playersvariableleft shoulderright shoulderleft elbowright elbowleft wristright wristhandsfingersetc.nssjudo ( % ) 16 ( 42.1)17 ( 44.4)12 ( 31.6)17 ( 44.7)12 ( 31.6)8 ( 21.1)4 ( 10.5)25 ( 65.8)0 ( 0.0)ssireum ( % ) 5 ( 31.3)8 ( 50.0)2 ( 12.5)1 ( 6.3)7 ( 43.8)6 ( 37.5)0 ( 0.0)5 ( 31.3)0 ( 0.0)wrestling ( % ) 8 ( 61.5)7 ( 53.8)7 ( 53.8)7 ( 53.8)3 ( 25.0)3 ( 23.1)1 ( 7.7)6 ( 46.2)1 ( 7.7)sskendo ( % ) 2 ( 7.4)4 ( 14.8)5 ( 18.5)3 ( 11.1)15 ( 55.6)13 ( 48.1)3 ( 11.1)3 ( 11.1)0 ( 0.0)boxing ( % ) 5 ( 33.3)5 ( 31.3)4 ( 25.0)4 ( 25.0)8 ( 50.0)8 ( 50.0)7 ( 43.8)10 ( 62.5)0 ( 0.0)taekwondo ( % ) 2 ( 6.3)1 ( 3.1)2 ( 6.3)2 ( 6.3)10 ( 31.3)10 ( 31.3)9 ( 28.1)19 ( 59.4)1 ( 3.1)nss ( % ) 29 ( 43.3)32 ( 47.8)21 ( 31.3)25 ( 37.3)22 ( 33.3)17 ( 25.4)5 ( 7.5)36 ( 53.7)1 ( 1.5)ss ( % ) 9 ( 12.2)10 ( 13.3)11 ( 14.7)9 ( 12.0)33 ( 44.0)31 ( 41.3)19 ( 25.3)32 ( 42.7)1 ( 1.3)x(p)17.299 ( 0.000)20.137 ( 0.000)5.638 ( 0.018)12.452 ( 0.000)1.679 ( 0.195)4.028 ( 0.045)8.047 ( 0.005)1.736 ( 0.188)- ( 1.000)fisher s exact test . nss : non - strike sports ; ss : strike sports . * p < 
 0.05 ) . there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of lower 
 limb injuries .
lower limb injuries were the most common body part injury in both groups . 
 furthermore , there were no significant differences in terms of injuries to left and right 
 knees and toes , but the frequency was slightly higher in the non - strike sports group . 

injuries to the left and right ankles were the most common lower limb injuries in both 
 groups .
hip joint injuries , on the other hand , were the least common lower limb injuries in 
 both groups .
overall , there was a higher incidence of lower limb injuries in taekwondo 
 athletes than in the other sports ( table 
 7table 7.crosstabs of region of lower limb injury and sports playersvariableleft kneeright kneeleft ankleright ankleleft hipright hipleft toesright toesetc.nssjudo ( % ) 20 ( 52.6)19 ( 50.0)24 ( 63.2)20 ( 52.6)4 ( 10.5)4 ( 10.5)15 ( 39.5)15 ( 39.5)0 ( 0.0)ssireum ( % ) 7 ( 43.8)8 ( 50.0)12 ( 75.0)10 ( 62.5)1 ( 6.3)1 ( 6.3)4 ( 25.0)5 ( 31.3)0 ( 0.0)wrestling ( % ) 7 ( 53.8)9 ( 69.2)7 ( 53.8)6 ( 46.2)1 ( 7.7)1 ( 7.7)0 ( 0.0)1 ( 7.7)2 ( 15.4)sskendo ( % ) 10 ( 37.0)12 ( 44.4)17 ( 63.0)13 ( 48.1)1 ( 3.7)1 ( 3.7)4 ( 14.8)4 ( 14.8)0 ( 0.0)boxing ( % ) 5 ( 31.3)6 ( 37.5)6 ( 37.5)8 ( 50.0)0 ( 0.0)0 ( 0.0)0 ( 0.0)1 ( 6.3)1 ( 6.3)taekwondo ( % ) 14 ( 43.8)17 ( 53.1)25 ( 78.1)24 ( 75.0)6 ( 18.8)5 ( 15.6)8 ( 25.0)9 ( 28.1)4 ( 12.5)nss ( % ) 34 ( 50.7)36 ( 53.7)43 ( 64.2)36 ( 53.7)6 ( 9.0)6 ( 9.0)19 ( 28.4)21 ( 31.3)2 ( 3.0)ss ( % ) 29 ( 38.7)35 ( 46.7)48 ( 64.0)45 ( 60.0)7 ( 9.3)6 ( 8.1)12 ( 16.0)14 ( 18.7)5 ( 6.7)x(p)2.092 ( 0.148)0.706 ( 0.401)0.000 ( 0.982)0.567 ( 0.451)0.006 ( 0.938)0.32 ( 0.857)3.167 ( 0.075)3.062 ( 0.080)- ( 0.447)fisher s exact test .
* p < 
 0.05 ) . in the responses regarding what the athletes were doing at the time the 
 injuries occurred , training fights ( 75.19% ) were cited first , followed by competition 
 ( 12.40% ) , weight training ( 5.43% ) , running ( 3.10% ) , stretching ( 2.33% ) , and other ( 1.55% ) . 
 in terms of the causes of injury , violent training was the most common ( 45.37% ) , followed by 
 chronic fatigue ( 13.89% ) , lack of warm - up and cooldown exercises ( 13.89% ) , excessive desire 
 ( 12.96% ) , too much stress ( 4.63% ) , other causes ( 3.70% ) , distraction ( 2.78% ) ,
excessive 
 weight reduction ( 0.93% ) , foul by an opponent ( 0.93% ) , and unreasonable demands by a coach 
 ( 0.93% ) .
the responses regarding when the athletes returned to exercise after injury were as 
 follows : after partial treatment ( 56.00% ) , after complete recovery ( 19.33% ) , after a few 
 days of rest ( 14.67% ) , and immediately after receiving the injury ( 10.00% ) .
the responses 
 regarding why injured athletes returned early included greed ( 48.51% ) , walking on eggshells 
 around colleagues ( 20.15% ) , coach pressure ( 16.42% ) , and other ( 14.93% ) . in response to 
 whether they suffered side effects after injury , 85.81% of the athletes answered  yes 
similarly , in response to whether they relapsed after injury , 
 84.62% of the athletes answered  yes  , while 15.38% answered  no  . with regard to the 
 athletes psychological reactions after injury , their main concern was relapse , followed by 
 difficulty engaging in exercise , loss of ability , other concerns , and concern that a coach 
 would react negatively .
m : male player ; f : female player ; bmi : body 
 mass index ; wt : weight training .
* # : p < 0.05 . fisher s exact test . * p < 0.05 fisher s exact test .
* p < 
 0.05 fisher s exact test . * p < 0.05 fisher s exact test . * p < 0.05 fisher s exact test .
nss : non - strike sports ; ss : strike sports . * p < 
 0.05 fisher s exact test .
in this study , we surveyed the characteristics of injuries in combat sports and found that 
 the physical characteristics differed among the athletes in each sport .
skin and nerve injuries were the next 
 most common , while tooth injuries occurred least frequently in the combat athletes .
we 
 compared combat sports events according to playing styles , and the results showed that there 
 were obvious differences between the two groups .
non - strike sports showed a greater 
 incidence of dislocation than strike sports , while sprains , strains , and bruises were common 
 in both groups . in terms of body parts
injured , there were major differences between the 
 groups regarding upper limb injuries . in the case of most upper limb injuries , the 
 differences were statistically significant .
finger injuries in the judo athletes generally 
 occurred when they tried to catch their opponents using skill .
injuries to the left and 
 right shoulders and elbows were more frequent in the non - strike sports , whereas the right 
 wrist and hands were more frequently injured in the strike sports .
these results can also be 
 seen in other studies . according to research on sports injuries in pediatrics , children 
 learning judo are more prone to upper limb injuries than other children , while children 
 learning taekwondo are more prone to lower limb injuries than other children5 , 17 . 

some researchers suggest that judo and wrestling athletes are more likely to incur upper 
 limb injuries than lower limb injuries21 , 22 .
nevertheless , the same studies indicate 
 that elbow injuries are less common in ssireum athletes than in athletes pursuing other 
 sports because , unlike judo and wrestling , ssireum does not involve attempting to catch an 
 opponent during a match . also , ssireum athletes grab hold of the satba ( a cloth - sash tied 
 around the waist and thigh ) of their opponents before their matches begin7 . hand and finger injuries are more frequent 
 in boxing , judo , and taekwondo athletes than in those pursuing other sports .
we believe that 
 the fists of boxers sustain a direct impact when they strike their opponents . however , some 
 studies suggest that the reason for hand injuries in taekwondo athletes may be attributable 
 to their skill in protecting their heads and necks using their upper limbs23 . in this study ,
finger injuries were 
 particularly common in the judo athletes , which was in line with the results of other 
 studies on judo injuries4 , 21 .
finger injuries typically occur in judo athletes when 
 they try to catch opponents using skill .
for example , neck injuries were more frequent in the non - strike sports than in the 
 strike sports , but there were no differences between the groups in terms of cephalic 
 injuries .
some studies on combat sports injuries indicate that judo and boxing athletes 
 incur many severe head and neck injuries15 , 24 . however
, we did not conduct a survey on 
 severe injuries such as brain hemorrhage and spinal cord injury because the participants in 
 our study were young athletes and currently participating in their sports .
there was a relatively wide 
 weight range among the participants of the non - strike group , and injuries to both knees were 
 less frequent in this group , but the difference was not statistically significant .
more than 
 half of the judo and wrestling athletes had experienced knee injuries . in line with other 
 studies
, we found that the most frequent injury in athletes pursuing two events was injury 
 to the medial collateral ligament25 , 26 .
injuries in combat sports were most 
 likely to occur during training fights , and the athletes who had incurred injuries felt that 
 the most common cause was violent training . to prevent injury in combat sports , sports 

physical therapists need to pay particular attention to athletes during training . of the 
 athletes who returned to training following injury
almost all of the athletes who 
 had been injured experienced side effects and relapse of their injuries .
this is why many 
 researchers emphasize the importance of injury prevention education for athletes18 , 27 . to summarize our study ,
the type and location of the injury differs 
 according to playing style in combat sports . in this
regard , dislocation and injuries to the 
 neck , shoulders , and elbows were found to be more frequent in non - strike sports , while 
 injuries to the wrists and hands were found to be more frequent in strike sports .
sprains , 
 strains , bruises , and injuries to the lower limbs were very common in both groups .
our data 
 is based on a small sample size and therefore does not include all the injuries that may be 
 incurred in combat sports . however , we suggest that the characteristics of injuries in 
 combat sports could be classified according to playing style
. this would enable our study to 
 provide physical therapists and researchers with information on prevention of injury .
sports 
 physical therapists need to study precautions and interventions regarding sports injuries 
 according to the playing style of athletes .
in addition , we recommend further systematic 
 studies on the various playing styles in combat sports in order to assist sports physical 
 therapists in devising interventions28 , 29 .
 [ purpose ] this study describes the characteristics of injuries in strike and non - strike 
 combat sports , and the results are intended for use in the area of sports physiotherapy 
 research . 
 [ subjects and methods ] the study was conducted on 159 athletes involved in a 
 variety of combat sports . 
 the participants included elite college players of the following 
 sports : judo ( 47 ) , ssireum ( 19 ) , wrestling ( 13 ) , kendo ( 30 ) , boxing ( 16 ) , and taekwondo 
 ( 34 ) . of the participants , 
 133 were male and 26 were female . in the case of ssireum and 
 boxing , 
 all of the athletes were male . 
 [ results ] in the case of the combat sports , the 
 types of injury and injured regions differed according to playing style . dislocation and 
 injuries to the neck , shoulders , and elbows were more frequent in the non - strike sports , 
 while injuries to the wrists and hands were more frequent in the strike sports . 
 there was 
 a high incidence of sprains , strains , bruises , and injuries to the lower limbs in both 
 groups . 
 [ conclusion ] we suggest that the characteristics of injuries in combat sports 
 differ according to playing style , and our study will therefore provide physical 
 therapists and researchers with information that can be used to prevent injury . 
INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION