Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41484800›Full record

ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2026

The relationship between training load and injury risk in taekwondo: a systematic review.

Yunzhou Hu, Zhiyu Fu, Michael Torres, Wen Luo, Bingxuan Tang, Dinghuang Zhu, Panfeng Zhao, Yuqing Li, Daniel T P Fong, Dan Wang

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yunzhou HuSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Zhiyu FuSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Michael TorresDepartment of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Wen LuoSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Bingxuan TangSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Dinghuang ZhuSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Panfeng ZhaoSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Yuqing LiSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China.
Daniel T P FongNational Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
Dan WangSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China. wangdan@sus.edu.cn.

Funding

Shanghai Key Lab of Human Performance 11DZ2261100
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile training load is a recognized modifiable risk factor for injury in team sports, its impact in individual combat sports like taekwondo remains underexplored. This review aims to synthesize current evidence on the association between training load and injury risk in taekwondo athletes.

methodsFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a comprehensive search of the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Embase databases was conducted up to May 1st, 2025. Eligible studies were required to report injury risk in taekwondo athletes in relation to internal or external training load. The injury risk metrics included incidence rate ratio, odds ratio, injury incident ratio, and relative risk. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale.

resultsTwenty-one studies were included in the final analysis. Among these, 18 studies explored the relationship between external load and injury risk, while 3 studies examined the relationship between internal load and injury risk. Strong evidence supports an association between rapid weight loss (RWL) and injury risk in taekwondo athletes. Moderate evidence links external load, especially competition exposure, training frequency, and duration, to injury risk. Limited evidence links technical execution, sleep quality, and neuromuscular function to injury risk.

conclusionDue to the limited number of high quality studies, further prospective research is needed to confirm the current evidence linking training load to injury risk in taekwondo athletes. RWL shows the most consistent evidence of association with injury risk, underscoring the importance of structured weight management strategies. In addition, moderate evidence supports associations between competition exposure, training frequency/duration and injury risk, while technical execution, neuromuscular function, and sleep quality are supported only by limited evidence. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42024609297

Indexed as

Combat sportsOverloadPerformanceRisk factors

Identifiers

PMID41484800
PMCPMC12911201

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.