[Severe head injuries during Judo practice].

The goal of this study is to elucidate the characteristic features of Judo head injuries and to propose safety measures and a reaction manual on how to prevent and to deal with such accidents in Japan. Thirty cases of severe head injuries suffered during Judo practice were enrolled in this study. They have made insurance claims for damage compensation and inquiries about Judo accidents attributed to the All Japan Judo Federation, from 2003 to 2010. The average age of the patients was 16.5 year old. The incidence of injury showed 2 peaks in different academic grade levels; one is in the first year of junior high-school (30.0%, n=9) and the other is in senior high school (26.7%, n=8). Around half of them were beginners. Four cases (13.3%) had past history of head trauma or headache and dizziness before a catastrophic accident, suggesting the presence of a second impact. Lucid interval was observed in 25 cases (83.3%). Most patients (93.3%) suffered acute subdural hematoma associated with avulsion of a cerebral bridging vein. Of patients who underwent emergency removal of the hematoma, 15 patients (50%) died and 7 patients (23.3%) entered a persistent vegetative state. Based on these findings, we propose an emergency manual with safety measures for effectively preventing and treating Judo head injuries in an appropriate manner. To reduce the disastrous head injuries in Judo, the safety measures and an optimal action manual should be reconsidered and widely spread and accepted by society.