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Review
. 2024 Jun 27;12(7):182.
doi: 10.3390/sports12070182.

Benefits of Judo Practice for Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review

Gaston Descamps  1 , Maria João Campos  1   2 , Terry Rizzo  3 , Viktorija Pečnikar Oblak  4 , Alain Guy Massart  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Benefits of Judo Practice for Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review

Gaston Descamps et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

This systematic literature review evaluates the benefits of judo practice designed for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Intellectual Developmental Disorders (IDDs), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This review adheres to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, focusing on the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of judo. A comprehensive search across databases, such as PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, B-On, and Scopus, was conducted, and relevant studies were selected based on explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. Sixteen intervention studies were included, which contributed to a detailed understanding of the impact of judo. The results indicated significant benefits in terms of physical activity, social interactions, emotional well-being, and cognitive functions among participants. A synthesis of results is presented, showing the overall positive effect of judo practice. This review highlights the potential of judo as supportive therapy for individuals with NDDs, advocating its inclusion in therapeutic and educational settings. Limitations due to study heterogeneity and the need for more randomized controlled trials are also discussed.

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; autism spectrum disorder; combat sports; intellectual developmental disorders; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram (PRISMA 2020) for new systematic reviews which included searches from database.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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