Impact of an Eight-Week Community Taekwondo Training Program in Individuals with Chronic Acquired Brain Injury

Research Objectives: This study evaluated the impact and feasibility of an eight-week community taekwondo program on aspects of cognition, quality of life, and balance in individuals with chronic brain injury.

Design: Quasi-experimental pretest/posttest pilot study.

Setting: Northeastern community taekwondo (TKD) dojang.

Participants: Eight male adults (mean age 38.9 years, SD = 12.9) from a neurorehabilitation center diagnosed with an acquired brain injury. All participants were independent, or were able to ambulate with assistance (with a unilateral assistive device or without).

Interventions: Participants completed an eight-week course of training in TKD consisting of dynamic warm ups, stretching, hand and kicking techniques, learning a taekwondo form, and self-defense.

Main Outcome Measures: Sustained attention was measured with the Conners Continuous Performance Test-3rd Edition (CPT3), fall risk and balance was assessed by the MiniBEST, and the NeuroQOL measured quality of life.

Results: CPT3 HRT SD (p =.02), CPT3 ISI Change (p =.02), and MiniBEST Total Score (p < .01) significantly improved following intervention. No significant change was observed in self-reported quality of life [NeuroQoL Ability; (p = .50); NeuroQoL Satisfaction (p = .14)]. Five controlled falls occurred over the duration of the study with no resulting injuries.

Conclusions: This study suggests that TKD is safe and feasible as a community intervention for individuals with chronic brain injury. Results revealed significant improvements in attention and balance following a relatively brief training program. Further studies should explore longitudinal gains utilizing a larger and more diverse sample, and include additional cognitive, emotional/behavioral, and motor metrics to better understand the impact of these gains on function, quality of life, and community engagement.

Author(s) Disclosures: Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.