The effect of fatigue on jump height and the risk of knee injury after a volleyball training game: A pilot study

Sports Injuries in Basketball, Handball, and Volleyball Players: Systematic Review

Sports injuries were prevalent across various sports and resulted in temporary or permanent limitations in an athlete's competitive performance. This research aimed to compile and analyze studies on sports injuries among basketball, handball, and volleyball players, with a particular focus on their frequency, nature, and variations based on gender and player position. A systematic search was conducted using digital databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, covering the period from 2015 to 2025. The search strategy involved relevant keywords and their combinations related to injuries and athletes, selecting studies that explored injury types, locations, and preventive measures. The findings indicated that lower limb injuries were the most prevalent in all three sports. Basketball players frequently experienced knee and ankle injuries, and handball players were prone to knee injuries, while volleyball players most commonly sustained knee and foot injuries. Additionally, specific risk factors contributing to these injuries were identified. Preventive interventions, such as neuromuscular training and plyometric exercises, were found to effectively reduce injury rates across these sports. The majority of studies suggested that female athletes had a higher injury incidence compared to their male counterparts. This may be attributed to several factors, including hormonal differences (such as the effect of estrogen on ligament laxity), anatomical factors (e.g., a larger Q-angle in women), and differences in training practices that could predispose female athletes to higher injury rates. Furthermore, regardless of the sport, injuries occurred more frequently during competition and tended to increase with the physical demands of the game.

Acute fatigue in indoor court-based team sports: A systematic review

Fatigue in team sports has been widely researched, with a number of systematic reviews summarising the acute (i.e., within 48-hours) response in outdoor sports. However, the fatigue response to indoor court-based sports is likely to differ to outdoor sports due to smaller playing fields, harder surfaces, and greater match frequencies, thus should be considered separately to outdoor sports. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review on acute fatigue in indoor court-based team-sport, identify methods and markers used to measure acute fatigue, and describe acute fatigue responses. A systematic search of the electronic databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE and CINHAL) was conducted from earliest record to June 2023. Included studies investigated either a physical, technical, perceptual, or physiological response taken before and after training, match, or tournament play. One-hundred and eight studies were included, measuring 142 markers of fatigue. Large variability in methods, fatigue markers and timeline of measurements were present. Cortisol (n =  43), creatine kinase (n =  28), countermovement jump (n =  26) and testosterone (n =  23) were the most frequently examined fatigue markers. Creatine kinase displayed the most consistent trend, increasing 10-204% at 24-hours across sports. There is large variability across studies in the methods and markers used to determine acute fatigue responses in indoor court-based team sports. Future researchers should focus on markers that display high reliability and transfer to practice. The robustness of studies may be increased by ensuring appropriate methods and timescale of fatigue marker measurement are used. Further research is required to determine which combination of markers best describes a fatigue response.

The effects of different fatigue types on action anticipation and physical performance in high-level volleyball players

This study examined the effects of different fatigue types on action anticipation and physical performance in high-level volleyball players. Twenty-four participants underwent four counterbalanced conditions: 60-min cycling at 60% peak power output, 60-min Stroop task, 60-min cycling at 60% peak power output with Stroop task and 60-min neutral documentary to induce physical fatigue (PF), mental fatigue (MF), dual fatigue (DF) and control group (CG), respectively. Action anticipation (anticipation test and visual search test) and physical performance (countermovement jump, T-test, and spike test) were conducted at baseline, immediately after (Post1), and after 10-min rest (Post2). DF and PF led to significantly lower jump height, T-test completion time, and spiking speed at Post1 and Post2 compared with CG and MF. Compared with PF, DF led to a significant decline in jumping, agility, and spiking performance at Post1 and decreased jumping performance at Post2. MF significantly decreased the reaction time of anticipation test at Post1 compared with CG. Reaction times of visual search test were significantly lower in DF and MF at Post2 compared with CG. It is suggested that PF decreased physical performance, and this is exacerbated in DF. Anticipation performance was affected by MF but not by DF and PF.

Comparison of Inter-Rater and Intra-Rater Reliability of Raters with Different Levels of Experience When Using Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) in Field-Based Screening of Professional Football Players

It is essential for physical sports therapists to use reliable field-based tests to identify potential injury risk factors in athletes. The purpose of this study was to compare the inter- and intra-rater reliability of experienced and novice raters during use of the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) in a field-based examination of professional football athletes. Thirty-seven male football athletes underwent pre-season LESS assessment. Two raters independently evaluated the recorded landing techniques at two separate intervals, two months apart, following the LESS standard protocol. Inter-and intra-rater values were calculated for the LESS total scores and individual scoring items. The overall LESS scores had excellent intra-rater reliability values for both the experienced (interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.95, 95% CI, 0.89-0.97; p < 0.001) and novice rater (ICC = 0.95, 95% CI, 0.90-0.97; p < 0.001), and very good to excellent inter-rater values for the first (ICC = 0.90, 95% CI, 0.77-0.95; p < 0.001) and second (ICC = 0.86, 95% CI, 0.71-0.93; p < 0.001) evaluation. Most of the individual scoring items ranged from moderate to perfect agreement. In conclusion, sports physical therapists, regardless of experience, can reliably use the LESS's total score, through video analysis of the regime. Individual scoring items can inform clinicians about impairments in the landing mechanism but data should be interpreted cautiously.

Reference Values of the Forearm Tremor Power Spectra for Youth Athletes

The aim of the study was to determine reference graphs of power spectral density functions of forearm physiological tremor and to compare their parameters in the male and female population of young athletes from various sports. One hundred fifty-nine (159) female (15.7 ± 2.1 years, 59.8 ± 8.1 kg, 169.1 ± 7.5 cm) and 276 male (16.4 ± 1.9 years 72.7 ± 10.3 kg and 180.9 ± 8.7 cm) youth athletes participated in the study. Forearm tremor was measured accelerometrically in a sitting position. Power spectrum density (PSD) function was calculated for each individual tremor waveform. Because of right skewness of power distribution, the PSD functions were subjected to logarithmic transformation. Average log-powers in low (2–4 Hz) and high (8–14 Hz) frequency ranges and mean frequencies in those ranges were analyzed. Tremor log-powers for male were greater than for female athletes (p < 0.001), while frequencies of spectrum maxima did not differ from each other. Frequencies of spectrum maxima correlated (p < 0.001) with age (r = 0.277 and 0.326 for males and females, respectively). The obtained reference functions may be utilized in order to quantify and assess tremor size and its changes evoked by stress and fatigue, which can be applied for selection and training monitoring in sports, but also in medicine for detection and diagnosis of pathologic tremor in young individuals.

INJURIES BY FATIGUE FROM AEROBIC TRAINING IN JUMPING ATHLETES

ABSTRACT Introduction The increasingly tense and aggressive competition in the competitive sports field has led to a continuous increase in the athletes’ exercise load. Sports injuries resulting from this increased load are also increasing. Research in this area helps prevent jumping sports injuries and guides protocols for treatment. Currently, research on sports injuries in athletics jumping events is relatively rare. Objective This paper examines sports injuries in sport jumping athletes. Methods This article investigates injuries in 16 vault athletes with 5 to 10 years of training. Results Distance jumping is a significant risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injuries. The risk of injury when landing on one foot is more significant than when landing on both feet. Especially when the body is in a state of neuromuscular fatigue, this will significantly increase the risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Conclusion Excessive local exercise load, incorrect technical movements, and physical fatigue are the leading causes of sports injuries. Coaches should organize training and competitions reasonably. Athletes need to reinforce the protection of the knees, ankles, and other frequently injured parts. Evidence Level II; Therapeutic Studies - Investigating the result.

Observation on the Effect of Shoulder Pain Caused by Volleyball Training Injury Based on MRI Image Scanning

In order to observe the effect of MRI image scanning on shoulder pain caused by volleyball training injury, this paper proposes to analyze the value of MR arthrography and conventional MRI image scanning in the diagnosis of shoulder injury. Taking the female volleyball players in a no. 1 middle school for nearly ten years as the research object, the injury investigation and statistics were carried out. The shoulder joint injury was investigated using arthroscopy and no injury was found. All patients underwent MR arthrography and routine MRI image scanning after admission. All patients underwent MR arthrography and routine MRI image scanning after admission. The patient took the flat lying position and put their arms flat on both sides of the body, and the Philips Achieva 3.0T MRI image scanning and Sense Flex M soft coil for MRI image scanning detection were used. The plain scan included oblique sagittal, axial, and oblique coronal proton density weighted image sequences; echo chain ETL = 6, TR/TE 2300/25 ms; and oblique sagittal and oblique coronal SET1W1; TRTE is 400/10 ms. Comparison was made with regard to the sensitivity, specificity, Jordan index, and accuracy of MR arthrography versus conventional MRI imaging in the diagnosis of shoulder injuries. The results were 38 true positives, 19 true negatives, 1 false positive, and 2 false negatives; a normal MRI scan showed 33 true positives, 13 true negatives, 7 false positives, and 7 false negatives. MR arthrography is more accurate than MRI image scanners in the diagnosis of shoulder injuries.