Developing the Singapore youth shoulder overuse injury prevention program.

OBJECTIVES

To develop the Singapore Youth Shoulder Overuse Injury Prevention Program specifically for competitive overhead youth athletes in Singapore.

DESIGN

Two-round online Delphi technique with experts and a feasibility assessment questionnaire with youth athletes who represented end-users.

SETTING

Volleyball for youth athletes.

PARTICIPANTS

Experts were recruited through purposive sampling based on their knowledge and experience. Youth athletes were recruited though a volleyball club.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome measure was the level of consensus on the proposed (1) exercise program for the overhead youth athletes, (2) education program regarding overuse injuries for coaches of overhead youth athletes, and (3) education program regarding overuse injuries for overhead youth athletes. Consensus was set at 75% agreement in this study.

RESULTS

Eighteen experts completed the two Delphi rounds with 100% response rate. Consensus was achieved for the exercise program and both education programs. Twelve youth athletes completed the feasibility assessment questionnaire and found the exercises to be feasible in terms of usefulness, practical use, instructions, duration, and ease of execution.

CONCLUSION

Consensus was reached for the Singapore Youth Shoulder Overuse Injury Prevention Program, and feasibility of execution by end-users was successfully determined.