Registration of cruciate ligament injuries in Norwegian top level team handball. A prospective study covering two seasons.
All cruciate ligament injuries in the three upper divisions for men and women (3392 players) in Norwegian team handball in the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons were registered. A questionnaire was mailed to all injured players. Ninety-three cruciate ligament injuries were registered; 87 in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and six in the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). Among women, 1.8% were injured compared with 1.0% of the men. In the first division, the risk of being injured was considerably higher: 4.5% of the players had a cruciate ligament injury. There were 0.97 cruciate ligament injuries per 100 playing hours in the three divisions taken together. Seventy-five per cent of the injuries occurred during games. Ninety-five per cent involved no contact between players. Activities in which the friction between shoe and floor was significant caused 55% of the injuries. Injuries caused by running into another player contributed to only 5% of the injuries. No significant differences were observed in injury incidence during matches between different types of floors (parquet, Pulastic and other synthetic surfaces.)
Myklebust
G
G
Norwegian Institute of Sports Medicine, Oslo, Norway.
Maehlum
S
S
Engebretsen
L
L
Strand
T
T
Solheim
E
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D016119:Posterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000293:injuries*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology