How to prevent volleyball injuries?

Volleyball is the second most popular sport in the world. Although the teams are separated by a net, there is still a risk of injury, both in the field volleyball as in Beach volleyball . Because players repeatedly use their shoulders to serve, hit, and block, shoulder overuse injuries are quite common, as are ankle sprains. Below, learn more about the main injuries related to this sport!

Why do injuries happen?

Volleyball is a sport that requires the player to make sudden, high-impact, and repetitive horizontal and vertical movements. These movements are seen in diving for a ball, tackling, digging, and jumping to block it.

These activities place a high degree of stress on the legs, ankles, and feet. Repetitive overhead movements, such as spiking, blocking, and serving, place a high degree of stress on the shoulders, arms, hands, and back.

Therefore, the physical demands of the game can cause two mechanisms of injury: traumatic injuries and overuse injuries.

Overuse injuries are the cumulative effects of putting too much or repetitive stress on muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and so on, such as overtraining.

What are the most common injuries in volleyball?

1- Ankle sprains

Ankle sprains are the most common acute volleyball injury. Most of these injuries occur when the ankle inverts (rolls inward).

This happens most often with net play, where athletes make contact with another player's foot when landing from a jump.

More chaotic plays, such as misplaced passes or plays outside of the system, can also put ankles at risk.

2- Shoulder injuries

Between serving, shooting, passing, hitting, blocking, and diving, it should come as no surprise that shoulder problems are among the most common injuries in volleyball.

This type of volleyball injury can occur due to very sudden and repetitive movements above the head, which can lead to instability in the athletes' shoulders.

Due to the extreme arm positions used to perform these movements, muscles and ligaments can become stressed.

Structures within the joint can also be impacted by these extra movements, resulting in pain.

3- Injuries to the fingers/hands

Finger injuries are common in volleyball players.

Sprains, strains, fractures, and ruptures of tendons and ligaments can occur from a variety of activities, from contact with the ball to contact with other players.

Typically, sprains and dislocations occur in the finger joints, especially with web blockage.

The widespread position of the fingers places a unique strain on the skin, causing tears that are extremely difficult to heal, even with sutures.

4- Knee injuries (patellar tendonitis)

Repetitive jumping and landings in volleyball often cause pain in the front of the knee.

Known as patellar tendinopathy, it involves the patellar tendon that connects the kneecap to the tibia. This tendon helps the quadriceps straighten the leg, power jumping movements, and stabilize the landing after a jumping movement.

Since the mechanism of injury often involves the repetitive stress placed on the knee by jumping, the patellar tendinopathy It is often called jumper's knee.

This is an injury that typically occurs over time, rather than a traumatic event.

5- Lower back pain

THE back pain related to volleyball can come from either leaning forward (passing or following through on a serve/hit) or leaning back (positioning or initiating a serve/hit).

This inclination can cause disk problems between the bones of the lower spine.

Back pain can also cause bone or joint injuries.

How to prevent?

Although volleyball players are less likely to get injured compared to other sports, several measures should be taken to reduce the risk of injuries occurring.

Repetitive blocking and tackling can lead to shoulder overuse injuries. Dislocations and tendon injuries in the fingers can occur during blocking. When entering the opponent's court, when landing after a jump, an athlete can step on the opponent's foot and twist his or her ankle.

Preparation

-Physical conditioning: Always stay active, through a strength, aerobic (cardiovascular) and flexibility training program.

-Heating: A fundamental practice to reduce the risk of injuries, especially muscle injuries. Warming up (or dynamic stretching) consists of performing (repeatedly and at low intensity) the movements that will be performed during the sport; it should be associated with static stretching, which should not be vigorous and should not involve abrupt (ballistic) movements. Warming up is often neglected by amateur athletes.

-Return to calm: consists of static stretching after physical activity, which helps maintain flexibility and reduces the occurrence of muscle pain after exercise.

-Sun protection: When playing on an outdoor court, use sunscreen (SPF>15), sunglasses and a cap/visor.

Equipment

-Sneakers with good cushioning and ankle support;

-Knee pads for protection during falls or diving on the court;

-Consider using an ankle brace (or adhesive boot) to protect against ankle sprains;

-The court must have free space, both on the sides and above it, of at least 7 meters. Objects such as football goals, basketball hoops and lighting equipment must be removed from the space above the court, protecting players and avoiding inadvertent contact of the ball with such structures.

-If the network of volleyball is held by cables, these must be covered by soft material, allowing the athlete to see its existence and be protected against inadvertent collisions;

-During the play, communicate and alert the team's athletes when heading towards the ball, reducing the risk of collision with teammates.

Furthermore, it is important to have knowledge of first aid, in order to assist the athlete in the event of minor injuries; and availability of quick access to emergency medical services, in rare cases of more serious injuries, such as concussion.