Abstract
Background: The spike is a key action in volleyball, and the landing technique and its asymmetries are commonly associated with an increased risk of injury. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess how male and female volleyball players land (i.e., unilaterally, or bilaterally) after spike jumps in matches and analytical settings (field or laboratory). Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines were followed, with eligibility criteria defined according to participants, interventions, comparators, study design (PICOS): (p) healthy indoor volleyball players of any sex, age group, or competitive level; (i) exposure to landing after spike actions during official matches AND/OR simulated 6 vs. 6 games AND/OR analytical training conditions AND/OR laboratorial experiments; (c) not mandatory; (o) data on landing mechanics after spike actions, including reporting of whether the landing was unilateral or bilateral; (s) no restrictions imposed on study design. Searches were performed in seven electronic databases (Cochrane Library, EBSCO, PubMed, Scielo, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) on 23 April 2021. Results: Automated searches provided 420 results. Removal of 119 duplicates resulted in 301 records being screened for titles and abstracts. A total of 25 studies were eligible for full-text analysis. Of these, eight studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in the review. Studies showed that (i) attackers landed asymmetrically 68% of the times (61% left leg, 7% right leg); (ii) bilateral asymmetries were observed for the hip, knee, and ankle joints; (iii) bilateral asymmetries were observed even when players were instructed to land evenly on two feet; (iv) landing contact of the leg opposite to the hitting arm preceded the contact of the homolateral leg. One match analysis study showed that men landed more often on the left (31.5%) or right foot (8.5%) than women (23.7% and 1.6%). Conclusions: Studies analyzing spike landing showed a prevalence of unilateral landings (mostly the left leg first, for right-handed players) in men and women but more prevalently in men. Registration INPLASY202140104, DOI: 10.37766/inplasy2021.4.0104.
Highlights
Volleyball is a team sport played by six players on each side of the court, divided by a net; the ball cannot be grabbed, and each team is limited to three contacts with the ball in each turn
A match analysis study with men showed that 91.6% of the landings after a spike jump occurred with the left foot first [52], and another showed that women landed 35% of times on the left foot, 10% on the right foot, and 55% bilaterally [11]
We reviewed the evidence concerning how volleyball players land after a spike jump, focusing on bilateral differences since the spike action in volleyball is highly asymmetric [54]
Summary
Volleyball is a team sport played by six players on each side of the court, divided by a net; the ball cannot be grabbed, and each team is limited to three contacts with the ball in each turn (with few exceptions where four contacts are allowed). In this sport, there are more symmetrically biased actions (e.g., set, pass) and predominantly asymmetric actions (e.g., the serve, the spike). Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess how male and female volleyball players land (i.e., unilaterally, or bilaterally) after spike jumps in matches and analytical settings (field or laboratory). One match analysis study showed that men landed more often on the left (31.5%) or right foot (8.5%) than women
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