Bauer Julian, Panzer Stefan, Gruber Markus, Muehlbauer Thomas
Division of Movement and Training Sciences, Biomechanics of Sport, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
Department of Sport Science, Human Performance Research Centre, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Front Sports Act Living. 2023 Apr 3;5:1076373. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1076373. eCollection 2023.
Handball players are at a high risk of suffering a sport-related injury. Recent studies in various adult populations (e.g., US Army soldiers/warrior athletes, and military members) showed that poor scores in the upper quarter Y-balance test (YBT-UQ) are related to an increased risk of injury. Yet, it is unclear whether this also applies to adolescent handball players. Thus, the present study aims to determine if pre-season YBT-UQ performance is associated with sport-related injuries during the competitive season in adolescent handball players. One hundred and thirty-three adolescent handball players (age: 15.4 ± 1.7 years; m = 99, f = 42) who competed in the second highest league in the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany, during the 2021/2022 season participated in the study. Before the competitive season, the players performed the YBT-UQ to assess upper extremity mobility and stability of the throwing and non-throwing arm. Over the 8-month competitive season, the coaches monitored the occurrence of sports-related injuries once a week, using an injury report form from the legal accident insurance. Fifty-seven players (43%) incurred a sport-related injury during the competitive season, of which 27 (47%) had upper body injuries, and 30 (53%) were lower body injuries. The YBT-UQ performance of the throwing and non-throwing arm did not significantly differ between injured and non-injured players. Further, Cox proportional hazard survival regression model analyses revealed that only the presence of an inferolateral reach asymmetry score ≥7.75% arm length was associated with a moderate increase in the risk (hazard ratio = 2.18, 95% confidence interval = 1.02-4.68, = 0.045) of lower but not upper or whole-body injuries. Our findings suggest that the YBT-UQ has limited value as a field-based screening tool to assess the risk of sport-related injuries in adolescent handball players.
手球运动员遭受与运动相关损伤的风险很高。最近在不同成年人群(如美国陆军士兵/职业运动员和军人)中的研究表明,上肢Y平衡测试(YBT-UQ)得分较低与受伤风险增加有关。然而,尚不清楚这是否也适用于青少年手球运动员。因此,本研究旨在确定季前YBT-UQ表现是否与青少年手球运动员在比赛赛季中与运动相关的损伤有关。133名青少年手球运动员(年龄:15.4±1.7岁;男=99人,女=42人)参加了本研究,他们在2021/2022赛季参加了德国莱茵-鲁尔地区第二高级别的联赛。在比赛赛季开始前,运动员们进行了YBT-UQ测试,以评估投掷手臂和非投掷手臂的上肢活动度和稳定性。在为期8个月的比赛赛季中,教练们每周使用法定意外保险的 injury report form 监测与运动相关损伤的发生情况。57名运动员(43%)在比赛赛季中遭受了与运动相关的损伤,其中27人(47%)为上身损伤,30人(53%)为下身损伤。受伤球员和未受伤球员在投掷手臂和非投掷手臂的YBT-UQ表现上没有显著差异。此外,Cox比例风险生存回归模型分析显示,只有下外侧伸展不对称得分≥7.75%臂长与下身而非上身或全身损伤的风险适度增加(风险比=2.18,95%置信区间=1.02-4.68,=0.045)相关。我们的研究结果表明,YBT-UQ作为一种基于现场的筛查工具,在评估青少年手球运动员与运动相关损伤风险方面的价值有限。