Relationship between emotional intelligence and the injury occurrence rate in elite athletes of various martial fields

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) it’s a skill set that have ability to cope successfully with demands and have affect on the environment pressures. Athletic performance is mostly affected by the factors that create a common stress in sport that may be associated with risk of injury. Hence, the purpose of this study was to relationship between EI and the injury occurrence rate in elite athletes of various martial fields.                                                                                   Materials and Methods: In this study, 110 elite men athletes in the Tehran city who were active in various martial fields in 2016, completed Lane et al. (2009) questionnaire of EI at sport. Information about the injury of the previous year was collected through reports tab of sports injuries, interview with athletes and these data were analyzed in Faculty of Physical Education, University of Tehran. To investigate the relationship between variables Pearson’s correlation method was used. Results:The Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between the number of sports injuries for martial elite athletes and each of the six factors of EI. But, statistically this relationship was significant only in three factors the number of injuriesappraisal of others emotions (P=0.027, r= -0.211), number of injuries-appraisal of own emotions (P=0.015, r= -0.232), number of injuries self-regulation (P=0.018, r= -0.225). Conclusion: Low EI and lack of appropriate evaluation and adjustment of emotions might be through disorder of external senses of athletes and increasing the muscle tension can make interfere with a person’s neuromuscular coordination and increases the injury risk of athletes.