Return to judo after joint replacement

Purpose

The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether judo could be practised after joint replacement.

Methods

Two hundred and twelve questionnaires were sent to Judokas licensed at the French Judo Federation, over the age of 60, with at least a black belt 6th Dan. Out of 83 responses, 38 individuals, mean age 72.8 ± 7.9 years old, had at least one implant. The survey identified 36 total hip arthroplasties (THA) in 27 patients, 10 total knee arthroplasties (TKA) in 8 patients and 3 total shoulder arthroplasties (TSA) in 3 patients. The main evaluation criterion was the return to judo after joint replacement. Secondary criteria were the level of judo after surgery, rate of surgical revision at the final follow-up and the level of patient satisfaction.

Results

Twenty-nine out of 38 patients who underwent joint replacement returned to judo practice (76.3 %) a mean 4.1 ± 2.9 months after surgery. On the other hand, all patients stopped competitive judo. The surgeon recommended 65.8 % of these patients to stop practising judo. There were 2 surgical revisions in the THA group (5.5 %) for loosening at 6 and 9 years of follow-up. No dislocations or fractures were reported at the final follow-up. Thirty-two patients (84.2 %) were satisfied with their implant.

Conclusion

The practice of judo does not seem to be limited by joint replacement. A clinical and radiological study should be performed to confirm these results.

Level of evidence

Case series with no comparison group, Level IV.