The Causes and Prevention of Injuries in Handball

Abstract

The aim of this work is to present and analyse the handball literature on the causes of injuries, types of injuries and their anatomic locations, as well as the prevention measurements. Based on the results of the analysed studies, it can be concluded that there is a significant number of injuries, of different body parts and of different severity in top-level handball players. Overuse injuries (to certain body parts, such as the more dominant shoulder, the ankle and the knee) are considered to be most prominent. In order to prevent the injuries to the mouth and teeth, the use of mouthguard is recommended. When it comes to the prevention and rehabilitation of shoulder injuries, the research results have shown positive effects that the training aiming at the increase of the inner rotation of the glenohumeral strength, the outer rotation strength and the scapular muscles strength has along with the exercises for improving the kinetic chain and the chest flexibility. The use of elastic bands and the medicine ball has proven efficient in increasing the shoulder area strength, and the whole swing and throw movement. The ankle and the knee are the most frequently injured joints among female handball players. The results of the application of the neuromuscular training, the proprioception and the balance exercises, combined with some specific players’ activities (running, jumping and planting) show that such training process is efficient in the prevention of injuries to ankle and knee joints.

Effects of a preparatory training protocol on the movement and body stability of handball players

“…Past injuries, improper treatment of the injuries and improper training cause lower scores in this subtest. Handball players employ different types of shots, with their forearm being above or below shoulder level, all the while exposing the shoulder joint to contact and blocks while the arm is extended upwards [65]. The forces exerted on the anatomical structures of the dominant shoulder while taking a shot can exceed the player's body mass 1.5 times [66][67].…”

Pilates Exercise Impact on Functional Movements, Core Stability and Risk of Injuries in Handball Players

“…Kuo aktyviau tam tikros kūno dalys dalyvauja atliekant žaidimo technines užduotis (metimą atliekantis petys, šuoliui naudojama koja, apatinė nugaros dalis), tuo didesnė riešų ir čiurnų, raiščių, sausgyslių sužalojimo tikimybė kaip nuovargio traumos pasekmė (Bojić et al, 2019). Atlikus tyrimą su 313 sportininkų, užsiimančių penkiomis skirtingomis sporto šakomis (įskaitant rankinį), buvo nustatyta, kad dėl pečių, apatinės nugaros dalies ir kelių raumenų nuovargio vidutiniškai arba labai sumažėjo pasiekimai, dalyvavimas rungtynėse arba net visiškai buvo nutraukiamos treniruotės (Clarsen et al, 2014).…”

“…Tačiau taip pat pabrėžiama, kad derinant pusiausvyros treniruotes ir pratimus, susijusius su šuoliais, tūpimu ir judrumu, reikšmingai sumažėjo rankinio žaidėjų patiriamos kojų ir kelio traumos (Mascarin et al, 2017). Tinkamas treniruotės krūvio paskirstymas ir pastovus sportininko funkcinės būklės įvertinimas gali reikšmingai prisidėti prie sunkesnių traumų prevencijos (Bojić et al, 2019), tačiau nėra aišku, kokie pratimai tinkamiausi ir labiausiai artimi rankinio specifikai bei rankininkų traumų prevencijai.…”