Volleyball-related injuries in adolescent female players: an initial report

ABSTRACT

Objective

To determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with musculoskeletal injuries sustained in female adolescent volleyball players.

Methods

Volleyball players (n = 276; 13–18 years), with any level of volleyball experience, were recruited. Participants completed a study-specific survey about their overall sport(s) involvement, training modalities, volleyball experience (beginner, intermediate, advanced), annual volume of volleyball play, injuries accrued during volleyball, and care received for injury.

Results

Annual volume of volleyball play was higher in advanced than beginner/intermediate players (490.0 hr/yr versus 302.3 hr/yr; p < 0.0001). Nearly 67% (188/276) of participants incurred one or more volleyball-related injuries over the last year. The ankle (40.6%), fingers (36.6%), knee (21.2%), and shoulder (15.5%) were the most frequently reported injury. Injury prevalence was higher in advanced than beginner/intermediate players (73.5% versus 62.0%; p = 0.04). Beginner/intermediate players have significantly higher odds ratio (OR) of sustaining an elbow injury than advanced players (OR 5.88; p = 0.025). 21.5% of injured players missed more than one month of play.

Conclusion

More competitive and experienced adolescent female players may incur injuries due to progressively higher volumes of play as experience and competition level increase. Players who have committed to only playing volleyball participated in greater volumes of volleyball play, which increases the odds of sustaining an injury.

Clinical relevance

Understanding injury risk factors may improve clinical management and injury prevention.

KEYWORDS:

• Epidemiology
• adolescent
• volleyball
• injury
• shoulder

Declaration of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.