Sports injuries in team handball. A one-year prospective study of sixteen men's senior teams of a superior nonprofessional level.
One hundred eighty-six players of 16 teams in 2 male team handball senior divisions were observed prospectively for 1 season to study the injury incidence in relation to exposure in games and practices. Ninety-one injuries were recorded. Injury incidence was evaluated at 2.5 injuries per 1000 player-hours, with a significantly higher incidence in game injuries (14.3 injuries per 1000 game-hours) compared with practice injuries (0.6 injuries per 1000 practice-hours). Practice injury incidence was higher in the lower performance level group, and game injury incidence was higher in the high-level group. The upper extremity was involved in 37% of the injuries, and the lower extremity in 54%. The knee was the most commonly injured joint, followed by the finger, ankle, and shoulder. Knee injuries were the most severe injuries, and they were more frequent in high-level players. There was an increase in the severity of injury with respect to performance level. The injury mechanism revealed a high number of offensive injuries, one-third of them occurring during a counterattack. The injury pattern showed certain variations with respect to player position and performance level. Prophylactic equipment was used by a majority of players at the higher performance level.
Orthopaedic Clinic, University of Saarland Medical School, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
R
R
Seil
S
S
Rupp
S
S
Tempelhof
D
D
Kohn
D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011482:Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D013177:Sports / Q000193:education; D019876:Sports Equipment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data