Concussion incidence and mechanism among youth volleyball players

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the incidence of concussions among adolescent volleyball players in Canada.DesignCross sectional survey.SettingOnline survey.ParticipantsIn total, 663 registered Volleyball Canada members completed a national survey, with a response rate of 13.0%; web-based survey response rates rarely exceed 5%. The 452 (68.2%) female and 211 (31.8%) male responders had a mean age of 16.2 (95% CI: 16.1to 16.4) years with a range from 14 to 19 years.Assessment of risk factorsThe type of environment: controlled non-competitive environment (practice or warm-up) versus competitive game play environment.Outcome measuresWhether the athletes sustained a concussion as defined by the 2012 Zurich Consensus. Main resultsA total of 86 concussions were reported, of which 52 were in the previous 12 months, yielding a one-year cumulative incidence per 100 athletes of 7.1 (95% CI: 4.3 to 11.4) and 7.5 (95% CI: 5.4 to 10.3) for males and females, respectively. In total, 57.1% (95% CI: 46.2 to 67.5) of all concussions involved ball-to-head contact. Player-to-player contact and head-to-floor contact were less prevalent at 20.2% (95% CI: 12.8 to 30.4) and 15.5% (95% CI: 9.1 to 25.1) respectively. Practice environment accounted for 46.5% of all concussions while 38.4% occurred in game play. The remaining 15.1% occurred in warm-up. In total, 61.6% (95% CI: 50.2 to 71.7) of concussions occurred outside of free-flow competitive game play, in a more structured environment.ConclusionsThere is a significant margin for injury prevention as a substantial proportion (61.6%) of concussions happening in a noncompetitive, controlled environment that may be amenable to change that would reduce the potential for such injury.Competing interestsThe authors have no competing interest to state.

Injury Epidemiology and Time Lost From Participation in Women’s NCAA Division I Indoor Versus Beach Volleyball Players

“…Our detected concussion rate of 7.5% in indoor athletes confirmed the results of a previous survey in 663 registered Volleyball Canada members in which the incidence of concussion was estimated as 7.1 per 100 male volleyball players and 7.5 per 100 female volleyball players. 10 In the study by Meeuwisse et al, ball-to-head contact was the most common mechanism of injury, followed by player-to-player contact (20.2%) and player-to-floor contact (15.5%). In addition, Meeuwisse et al 10 reported that almost half of the concussion injuries occurred during practice (46.5%), while the rest occurred during the game (38.4%) or in warm-up (15.1%).…”

“…10 In the study by Meeuwisse et al, ball-to-head contact was the most common mechanism of injury, followed by player-to-player contact (20.2%) and player-to-floor contact (15.5%). In addition, Meeuwisse et al 10 reported that almost half of the concussion injuries occurred during practice (46.5%), while the rest occurred during the game (38.4%) or in warm-up (15.1%). We did not record the mechanism or setting (game vs practice) of concussion injury in our study.…”

Injuries in Youth Volleyball Players at a National Championship: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Mechanisms of Injury

“…This prospective cohort study was conducted at the 2018 Volleyball Canada (VC) Youth Nationals tournament (May [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]2018). This study was approved by the University of Calgary Research Ethics Board (REB18-0343).…”

“…Particular attention was paid to concussion in Canadian youth volleyball following a cross-sectional survey which determined that 15.1% of all volleyball-related concussions were sustained during the hitting warm-up. 20 In response to this finding, VC introduced a warm-up rule change which prevented athletes from travelling underneath the net following their attack attempt. This rule change was introduced for the 2018 Canadian Youth National Volleyball Championships.…”

Athletes' and Coaches' Attitudes Toward Protective Headgear as Concussion and Head Injury Prevention: A Scoping Review

“…There has also been an increase in the amount of research, media coverage, educational and policy interventions addressing the phenomenon (Sarmiento et al, 2017 ). In particular, a substantial body of biomedical research on sport-related concussion has been conducted in different sports, such as horse racing (Mattacola et al, 2017 ), ice hockey (Tegner and Lorentzon, 1996 ), rugby (Gardner et al, 2015 ), combat sports (Follmer et al, 2020 ), volleyball (Meeuwisse et al, 2017 ), and football (Leung et al, 2017 ).…”