Abstract
BackgroundFemale handball athletes are at a particular risk of sustaining lower extremity injuries. The study examines time-dependent adaptations of static and dynamic balance as potential injury risk factors to a specific warm-up program focusing on neuromuscular control.MethodsFourty one (24.0 ± 5.9 years) female handball athletes were randomized to an intervention or control group. The intervention group implemented a 15-min specific neuromuscular warm-up program, three times per week for eleven weeks, whereas the control group continued with their regular warm-up. Balance was assessed at five time points. Measures included the star excursion balance test (SEBT), and center of pressure (COP) sway velocity during single-leg standing.ResultsNo baseline differences existed between groups in demographic data. Adherence to neuromuscular warm-up was 88.7 %. Mean COP sway velocity decreased significantly over time in the intervention group (−14.4 %; p < .001), but not in the control group (−6.2 %; p = 0.056). However, these effects did not differ significantly between groups (p = .098). Mean changes over time in the SEBT score were significantly greater (p = .014) in the intervention group (+5.48) compared to the control group (+3.45). Paired t-tests revealed that the first significant balance improvements were observed after 6 weeks of training.ConclusionsA neuromuscular warm-up positively influences balance variables associated with an increased risk of lower extremity injuries in female handball athletes. The course of adaptations suggests that a training volume of 15 min, three times weekly over at least six weeks produces measurable changes.Trial registrationRetrospectively registered on 4th October 2016. Registry: clinicaltrials.gov. Trial number: NCT02925377.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13102-016-0058-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Female handball athletes are at a particular risk of sustaining lower extremity injuries
Participant characteristics 21 participants were randomized to the intervention group and 20 to the control group
The results of this study suggest that short bouts of neuromuscular training incorporated into regular warmup routine can positively influence intrinsic injury risk factors in female handball players
Summary
Female handball athletes are at a particular risk of sustaining lower extremity injuries. The study examines time-dependent adaptations of static and dynamic balance as potential injury risk factors to a specific warm-up program focusing on neuromuscular control. Team ball sports athletes, such as handball players, are at a high risk of injury [1]. Neuromuscular training programs are increasingly implemented in professional and amateur team sport athletes [6,7,8]. They are widely accepted to be effective for the prevention of lower extremity injuries [9,10,11,12]
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