Hip and knee joints biomechanics of karate players during training and competition style kicks

There is an oddity in the long-term practice of Karate as traditionally it has been an activity that can last a lifetime, but there are many people who suffer from various chronic complaints of the lower limbs. Much research has looked at acute injuries in Karate but for the most part these injuries are not to the parts of the body that suffer the chronic problems, from this it would seem likely that chronic injuries are due to repetitive training or from minor non-contact injuries repeated intermittently.

The purpose of study is to analyse the main five karate kicks (Front kick, Roundhouse kick, Side kick, Hook kick and Back kick) in three modes (Training, Competition and Competition step). 3D motion capture system (VICON) with 2 force plate has been used to measure angles and moments at the hip and knee joints for both the kicking leg and support leg. 28 healthy high level of Karate players volunteered to be part of this study. In addition, two case studies of Taekwondo players who had injuries in different joints, case one had lower back pain and case two had a left knee injury, both with more than 6-months rehabilitation were carried out. The aim of this PhD study will be to establish joint loading at the hips and knees of kicking practices in both a basic fashion and a competition type fashion. [Continues.]