Volleyball-Related Injuries in Adolescent Female Players: 2750 Board #7 May 31 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

PURPOSE: This study determined the prevalence and type of musculoskeletal injuries and potential contributing risk factors to injury among adolescent volleyball players. METHODS: Female volleyball players (n=300; 10-18 yrs), with any level of volleyball experience were recruited. Participants completed a study-specific survey about their overall sport training type and volume, volleyball experience level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and position, annual volume of volleyball play and injuries accrued during volleyball. RESULTS: Over 65% of participants reported sustaining one or more injuries, with ankle (38.8%), knee (19.7%), finger (18.8%), and shoulder (14.5%) injuries being most frequently-reported. Among injured players, 21.1% reported missing more than one month of play. Annual volume of volleyball play increased as skill level progressed from beginner to advanced (179.7 units to 478.1 units p<0.05). Also, the prevalence of injuries sustained by players increased as skill level increased from beginner to advanced (7.7% to 72.3%; p<0.05). Players who ranked themselves as ‘intermediate’ experience had higher odds of sustaining an elbow injury compared to other skill levels (OR 6.59; p=0.02). Outside hitters, defensive specialists, and those who play multiple positions were more likely to participate in multiple conditioning methods such as weight training, endurance and flexibility (OR 1.81, 1.93, 1.74, respectively; p<0.05) with advanced players indicating a trend to higher odds of participating in multiple conditioning methods (OR 1.49, p=0.085). Only 46.1% of participants reported playing other sports, with those participating in basketball indicating a 49% decreased odds of sustaining an injury compared to participating in other sports (OR 0.510, p<0.05) CONCLUSION: An interpretation of these data is that adolescent players may incur injuries due to underdeveloped neuromuscular systems capable of sustaining progressively higher volumes of play as experience and competition level increase. Participation in a secondary sport like basketball may protect against injury by conferring cross-sport benefits of jump-landing, cutting and body positioning. Position-specific injuries suggest technique-driven risk factors that should be further investigated biomechanically.