Factors affecting injuries to amateur volleyball players volleyball athletes

Abstract

The objective of this diagnostic study was to evaluate the number of impacts per training session undergone by two amateur volleyball teams while performing spikes and blocks, and to relate the number of impacts to the number of injuries they suffered over the previous two years. The study recruited 24 athletes from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina first teams, 12 from the men’s and 12 from the women’s volleyball teams, sampled intentionally. Data were collected using a questionnaire, a video camera and assessment sheets fi lled out by a talent scout. Data were collected at the practice ground and presented in the form of descriptive statistics in means, standard deviations and simple frequencies and inferential statistics were applied in the form of Pearson’s correlation and Student’s t test, both to p?0.05. The results allowed for the conclusions that both teams exhibited similar duration of practice and that their training characteristics were similar in terms of duration and frequency. The ankles were most often affected by injuries and blocks were the most common causative mechanisms of injuries in both teams. The majority of athletes use protective equipment and the great majority underwent physiotherapy once injured. The number of impacts per training session, including spike and block jumps, was low when compared with high level teams. It appears that the number of impacts did not affect the number of injuries in either team. The two teams did not differ either in terms of the number of injuries or the number of impacts per training session.