The objective of this study was to investigate the range of injuries according to the competition format type of Taekwondo (sparring, poomsae, and demonstration) and compare the level of injuries to provide basic data for preventing injuries among Taekwondo athletes. Data were collected through a survey of 472 Taekwondo athletes using convenience sampling and self-administration methods. The most frequently injured body part was the ankle for sparring (54.03%) and demonstration (55.09%) athletes and the pelvis for poomsae (36.36%) athletes (x2 = 111.556, p < 0.001). The most frequent injury type was sprain for poomsae (36.40%) and demonstration (52.30%) athletes and fracture for sparring (49.40%) athletes (x2 = 127.752, p < 0.001). The most frequently reported cause of injury was excessive training and chronic fatigue (x2 = 50.251, p < 0.001). All three types of athletes showed a higher proportion of injury at the training location than at the competition location. The period for the return to training was ≤1 week for sparring (40.80%) and poomsae (64.10%) athletes but 2-3 weeks for demonstration (27.8%) athletes (x2 = 45.582, p < 0.001). Diverse strategies, ranging from wearing protective gear to adopting a conditioning strategy and psychological training, are needed for each competition format of Taekwondo to prevent injuries in daily training.

Little is known about the relationship between health-related physical fitness factors and obesity-related factors in individuals with intellectual disabilities. We investigated the prevalence of obesity and the relationship between obesity-related factors and health-related physical fitness factors among people with intellectual disabilities in South Korea to identify the physical fitness factors that influence the degree of obesity. For obesity-related factors, we measured body composition (height, weight, body mass index—BMI, and body fat percentage) of 108 subjects with intellectual disabilities (mean ± standard deviation; age = 24.4 ± 8.45 years). For health-related physical fitness factors, we measured muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility. There was a significant negative correlation between muscular endurance and obesity factors (BMI, r = −0.306, p < 0.01; body fat percentage, r = −0.402, p < 0.01). Further, the prevalence of obesity (34.3%) and being overweight (17.6%) among people with intellectual disabilities was high in South Korea. In addition, muscular endurance was found to have a significant effect on the obesity level (β = −0.239, p < 0.000). This suggests that a program that considers muscular endurance should be prioritized when implementing an exercise intervention strategy for the treatment of overweight and obesity among people with intellectual disabilities.

Objective: To compare and rank the effects of different training interventions on the sprint and change of direction (COD) abilities of soccer players using a network meta-analysis. Methods: The PubMed, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched for papers published up to June 2022. Inclusion criteria: (1) No distinction was made between nationality, region, or gender. No distinction was made between physical activity times or habits. Healthy and disease-free soccer players (age ≥ 18 years old) were eligible. (2) Different training methods and their combinations were used. (3) Groups of either no training or single training, or combined training were included. (4) Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. (5) The outcome indicators included at least one of the following: sprint, agility, and change of direction (COD). Exclusion criteria: (1) studies in non-English were not included. (2) Individual studies, general public studies, literature review studies, qualitative studies, case studies, and studies with unclear data such as means and standard deviations were not included. (3) Studies using the same data were not included. (4) Interventions that could not be statistically analyzed because of insufficient numbers of studies were not included. RCTs that satisfied the inclusion criteria were included. Paired analyses and network meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models. The included studies were assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) metric was used to rank the effectiveness of each treatment and identify the best treatment. Results: The network meta-analysis (NMA) included eleven RCTs with a total of two-hundred and seventy-seven participants and six interventions: plyometrics combined with sprint, agility, and resistance training (P+T+S+A), plyometrics combined with sprint and agility training (P+S+A), resisted sprinting combined with agility training (RS+A), plyometric training (P), resistance training (T), soccer skills, and a strategy training control group (C). P+T+S+A ranked highest in terms of improving soccer players’ 10 m sprint performance (SUCRA = 70.2%) and COD (SUCRA = 75.0%). P+S+A ranked highest in terms of improving soccer players’ 20 m sprint performance (SUCRA = 69.8%). Conclusions: Based on the network meta-analysis, for combined training, P+T+S+A was more effective at improving the sprinting and COD ability of soccer players. In the single training mode, plyometric training was the most effective. To improve sprint and COD ability, P+T+S+A should be chosen. Such improvements may be expected after P+T+S+A interventions for a duration of six or more weeks. However, gender, competitive level, and other factors will affect the assessment results. Given the limitations of the above analysis, these results should be interpreted with caution.

The growth of children and adolescents is both an important health indicator and a major public health issue. Many recent studies have investigated the effects of taekwondo on growth factors, but no consensus has yet been reached. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of taekwondo on the growth factors in children and adolescents (aged 8 to 16 years). Randomized controlled trials from PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, the Research Information Sharing Service, the Korea Citation Index, and the Korean-studies Information Service System were analyzed. The effect sizes (standardized mean differences, SMD) were calculated, the risk of bias and publication bias were assessed, and the effect size and subgroup analyses were pooled. We found that the taekwondo group had significantly higher levels of growth hormones (SMD 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98–2.58, and p < 0.001) and insulin-like growth factors (SMD 1.76, 95% CI 0.60–2.92, and p < 0.001) than the control group. For height, a medium effect size was observed (SMD 0.62, 95% CI −0.56–1.80, and p = 0.300), but the between-group difference was not significant. Thus, taekwondo had significant positive effects on the secretion of growth hormones and insulin-like growth factors in Korean children and adolescents. A longitudinal follow-up is necessary to determine the effect on height. This suggests that taekwondo can be recommended as an appropriate physical exercise for maintaining normal growth in children and adolescents.

This study analyzed the effects of an 8-week diaphragmatic core training program on postural stability during high-intensity squats and examined its efficacy in injury prevention and performance enhancement. Thirty-seven male participants were randomly assigned to three groups: diaphragmatic core training group (DCTG, n = 12), core training group (CTG, n = 13), and control group (CG, n = 12). Outcome measurements included diaphragm thickness, respiratory function (mean and maximal respiratory pressures), and squat postural stability (distance between the sacral and upper body center points, peak trunk extension moment, peak knee flexion moment, and dynamic postural stability index). Compared to both CTG and CG, DCTG demonstrated significantly greater improvements in diaphragm thickness (DCTG: 34.62% increase vs. CTG: 1.36% and CG: 3.62%, p < 0.001), mean respiratory pressure (DCTG: 18.88% vs. CTG: 1.31% and CG: 0.02%, p < 0.001), and maximal respiratory pressure (DCTG: 18.62% vs. CTG: 0.72% and CG: 1.90%, p < 0.001). DCTG also showed superior improvements in postural stability measures, including reductions in the distance between sacral and upper body center points (DCTG: −6.19% vs. CTG: −3.26% and CG: +4.55%, p < 0.05), peak trunk extension moment (DCTG: −15.22% vs. CTG: −5.29% and CG: +19.31%, p < 0.001), and dynamic postural stability index (DCTG: −28.13% vs. CTG: −21.43% and CG: no change, p < 0.001). No significant between-group differences were observed in peak knee flexion moment. Core training incorporating diaphragmatic strengthening was more effective than conventional training in improving postural stability during high-intensity squats. Core training programs, including diaphragmatic strengthening exercises, may contribute to injury prevention and performance enhancement in exercises requiring lumbar stability, such as squats.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the injury types and recovery characteristics after sports injuries of high school baseball players at each position. Four baseball teams of high schools located in Jeollanam-do were selected as population. A questionnaire was conducted with 84 high school baseball players to analyze sports injury characteristics. Frequency and percentage were verified using descriptive statistics to analyze injury characteristics. Cross-tabulation analysis(Chi-square, x2) was used to test the difference in injury parts at each position. The level of statistical significance was set at p＜.05. The following conclusions are drawn. The most frequent place of injury was the place for training. The highest injury part was an elbow and a shoulder. Injuries frequently occurred during group training and a sprain was the highest type of injury. The highest injury motion during games was pitching a ball. The most common reason for injury was self-carelessness. This study analyzed recovery characteristics after sports injuries in high school baseball players. As a result, the highest period for the return to play was 2-3 weeks and 4-5 months after injury. The response of complete treatment was high as 66.6%(‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’). However, re-injury also occurred in more than half of respondents(58.3%). In conclusion, it is necessary to wear protective gear during training and devise injury prevention strategies to reduce the injuries of high school baseball players. The findings of this study will be helpful to develop and apply a conditioning program for season and off-season to prevent high school baseball players from injuries.