Epidemiological profile of musculoskeletal injuries in professional kata athletes: a retrospective descriptive study

Exposure-adjusted injury risk in high-intensity kata performance remains poorly characterized. This study quantified the incidence, distribution, and context of musculoskeletal injuries among professional kata athletes. In a retrospective descriptive study, 210 Iranian Super League athletes (104 males, 106 females; mean ± SD age 23.5 ± 4.7 years) completed a standardized interview and an injury record form adapted from the International Olympic Committee surveillance system. Exposure was expressed as athlete-minutes across an 86-day pre-competition phase and a 3-day competition phase. Injury incidence (events/1000 athlete-minutes) with 95% CIs was estimated via Poisson methods; incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated using Poisson regression with an exposure offset. Pearson’s chi-square tests were used to investigate the relationship between sex and categorical injury variables, including injury type, nature, and anatomical area. Of the 210 athletes, 112 (53.3%) sustained 138 injuries during 7,380 athlete-minutes of exposure (training: 6795; competition: 585). The overall injury incidence was 18.7 per 1,000 athlete-minutes (95% CI: 15.71–22.05). Injury incidence was substantially higher during competition (95.4 per 1,000 athlete-minutes) than during training (12.1 per 1,000 athlete-minutes; IRR = 7.9, 95% CI: 5.61–11.08). Male athletes sustained 80 injuries (58.0%) and female athletes 58 (42.0%), with no statistically significant difference in injury incidence after adjustment for exposure (IRR = 1.1, 95% CI: 0.79–1.56). Overuse injuries predominated, with the shoulder (23.2%) and knee (22.5%) being the most frequently affected anatomical areas. Professional kata athletes experience a substantially higher injury incidence during competition than training when adjusted for athlete exposure. Overuse injuries primarily involve the shoulder and knee, reflecting the repetitive demands of kata. No statistically significant sex difference in injury incidence was detected after exposure adjustment. These findings support targeted workload management, shoulder–knee injury prevention, and continued injury surveillance.