Medical Judo Seminar offers many insights in health

Last weekend the EJU Medical Seminar was held in Qawra, at Malta. Host was the Malta Judo Federation as usual led by Envic Galea, General Secretary and Chairman of the Medical Commission of the EJU.

Twenty five delegates were welcomed at the 13th education. Europe was the first continent to have a Judo Medical Commission advising not only in the Anti-doping field, but also in keeping Judo a safe and healthy sport. Interesting is that, even though Judo is a full contact combat sport, it has a very low rate of injuries. After recent studies, the Medical Commission has separated the cosmetic intervention on the mat, such as a nose bleed or the breaking of a nail, from the statistics. The real injuries suffered by the judoka in competition, amounts to 2% of athletes. Jigoro Kano would have been very happy with the statistics. Various topics were discussed such as WADA news and the likely increase of the first time doping sanction to 4 years. Dr. Lauri Malinen informed the participants on the usage of dietary supplements and the dangers of some supplements. Also ADAMS was under discussion as many Federations are still not yet using ADAMS. The experienced Italian Dr. Andrea Lino talked about the new rules for the weight control on the day before competition, in general well accepted by the coaches and the athletes. The result is quite reassuring with an average gain in weight of 1.5kgs. However there are cases of athletes gaining 4 to 5kgs during the night, and extreme cases of a gain of 10kgs. This may lead to alteration of metabolic functions, and if the weight loss comes at the expense of the water content of the body, it can cause the serious functional disorders. Dr Max Jung (SUI) spoke about Hypo hydration in judo which can lead to a diminution of functions having many negative effects on health. Watch the photos in our gallery:

Media Matters

Download the full report in the right upper corner where more medical topics are described. • Prevention of lower-back and knee injuries through exercise – Dr Peter Smolders • Judo injuries prevention strategies – Dr Nikos Malliaropoulos • The state of the blood circulation system of high level judoka – Dr Pavel Chekeres • Dart Fish for Injury Analysis – Mr Thierry Loison • Avulsed Intercondylic Eminence – Dr Vladimir Heinz • Selected physiological measurements in young Danish athletes, comparison and validation of two judo test – Dr Holger-Henning Carlsen • Will mental training in children increase their cognitive and technical ability in Judo? – Dr Pal Herlofsen