Badminton Injuries in Elite Athletes: A Review of Epidemiology and Biomechanics

Abstract

Badminton is a popular sport in India and with multiple medal prospects will be closely followed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Considered the fastest of the racquet sports, players require aerobic stamina, agility, strength, speed, and precision, besides requiring good motor coordination and complex racquet movements. Injuries in badminton are common despite it not being a contact sport, and include overuse injuries, and acute traumatic events. The game is physically challenging and demands complex repetitive upper and lower extremity movements with constant postural variations and poses a high risk of overuse injuries to both the appendicular and axial musculoskeletal systems. Badminton also necessitates short bursts of movement with sudden sharp changes in direction, which places players at risk of non-contact traumatic injuries to joints and muscle-tendon units. Preventing injuries and decreasing time away from training and competition are critical in an elite badminton player's sporting career. This analytical review identifies the incidence, severity, and profile of badminton injuries in elite players, and discusses the biomechanical basis of these injuries.

Keywords: Badminton; Biomechanics; Epidemiology; Injuries.

Fig. 1

The jump smash is an elegant attacking shot in badminton and requires agility, flexibility, strength and precision. This stroke requires the effective transmission of explosive energy from the legs and trunk to the upper limb and into the racquet to ensure maximum shuttlecock velocity. Poor coordination in any component of the kinetic chain can not only negatively affect performance, but also predispose to stress injuries. Although multiple contributions are necessary to ensure optimal biomechanics, shoulder internal rotation makes the largest contribution to shuttlecock velocity or racquet head speed

Fig. 2

Motion analysis of jump smash has suggested that the best individual predictor of high shuttlecock velocity after impact is elbow extension angle at the end of retraction phase (ER). The badminton players with the fastest shuttlecock velocity have a smaller elbow angle. Having a smaller elbow angle at the time of ER gives a larger range of motion at the elbow prior to shuttle impact over which to generate speed, and also potentially puts the arm in a better position to use shoulder internal rotation to generate wrist and racket speed

Fig. 3

Repetitive and rapid lunging is an essential part of badminton. Efficient execution of a lunge movement with faster approaching speed and longer maximum lunge distance is a key to success. Peak vertical and horizontal forces at early contact phase are three times and two times an individual’s body weight, respectively, and this generates a high joint torque. Lunging produces strenuous impact loading on the ligaments of the lower limbs and contributes towards overuse knee injuries especially patellar tendinosis

Fig. 4

Computerised motion analysis in badminton can determine subtle biomechanical faults during specific strokes and suggest appropriate corrections to improve efficiency and prevent overuse injuries