Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury in judo: A 3-year retrospective interviewing study.

A high prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has been reported in judo. However, there has been very little research concerning events preceding the injury. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the common situations and mechanisms of ACL injury in judo. A total of 60 cases of ACL injuries that had occurred during judo competitions or practice were investigated through interview conducted by a single certified athletic trainer who has 20 years of judo experience. We then obtained information regarding the situation and mechanism in which the ACL injury occurred. The direct contact mechanism was observed more frequently than the other injury mechanisms in the ACL incidence in judo. In addition, the number of ACL injuries was significantly higher when the subject was attacked by the opponent than when counterattacked or when attempting to attack. In addition, osoto-gari was the leading technique that directly caused ACL injury incident among the subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]