Shoulder Injuries and Sport-Specific Shoulder Adaptations in Judo Athletes: A Systematic Review

Background/Objectives: The shoulder girdle is a frequent injury location in judo, and sport-specific shoulder-complex adaptations have been described in overhead sports, but these areas have not been synthesised for judo athletes. We synthesised evidence on (Q1) the frequency, anatomical profile, type and mechanism of shoulder girdle injuries and (Q2) the structural and functional characteristics of the shoulder complex in judokas.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCOhost were searched up to 7 August 2026. Two reviewers independently selected studies and extracted data. Risk of bias was assessed with JBI tools and ROBINS-I, and certainty of evidence with GRADE. Because injury definitions and measurement protocols were heterogeneous, a narrative synthesis (SWiM) with stratified descriptive analyses replaced the planned meta-analysis.