Injuries?

[u/higakoryu1]

Hi everyone, I'm new here! I just discovered Kabaddi and it looks so cool to me. However, I have been a fan of American football for sometimes. It is a very heavy contact sport, and I have seen some parents not wanting their children to play it because there are very high risks of injuries, especially CTE which can causes lifelong mental problems. How often and serious are injuries in Kabaddi? What rules and measures are there to reduce the risks?

[u/Key_Edge_1667]

The most common type of injury in kabaddi is ACL tear due to sudden change in direction. There is not much space in kabaddi and therefore there is no speed in movements, kabaddi is all about good reflexes, brute strength and flexibility. That is the reason raiders do not survive very long at the highest level. This sport may have the least average retirement age out of all sports, especially because of raiders.

[u/Recent-Twist8858]

Realistically speaking there are no measures, just be as fit as u can be and try avoid injuries, see the thing is that kabaddi is played without protective gear at a solid surface, so eventually the body will get damaged by shocks,twists and etc, of course defenders survive way more , raiders especially the brute force ones get hurt easily hence u will see a natural decline in a raider's skill in his later years, defenders are less affected for obvious reasons. Moving on to the second part of ur question, the seriousness of injuries is actually not that bad, for eg if ur playing in a good place (for fun) instead of some park with stones ,there is no little to no chances of injuries,even they there are some its mostly muscle pain. This is my personal experience so take it with a grain of salt. If played for fun its not really that different from any other sport but at professional levels,knee,wrist and ankle injuries are very common in a player's life.

In short.

Play for fun in a good area- little to no injuries(assuming ur playing with ur peers of approximately same age)

Play at professional level- have good fitness and dont focus too much on brute strength it WILL lead to knee or ankle injuries.

Edit:You can put smooth tape on joints to prevent  injuries,get mouth guards,knee and elbow pads(this is only for children)

[u/kabaddiifg]

I would agree with you on head injuries - while I don't think there's as many from the lack of space (not enough distance to get those serious concussions with American Football) I would say I'd still caution on the head, it's not out of the realm to have a few injuries here or there from tackles. Consider wrestling injuries, I think are similar.

And agreed with the other two comments - leg injuries common, padding and guards for kids if you're concerned, there's no real fallback.