"Yeah, I Mean, You're Going to Handball, so You Want to Use Balls as Much as Possible at Training": End-Users' Perspectives of Injury Prevention Training for Youth Handball Players.

Karin Moesch,Alex Donaldson,Jennie Linnéll,Eva M Brodin,Eva Ageberg,Sofia Bunke

doi:10.3390/ijerph19063402

Abstract

Young handball players experience high injury rates. Specific injury prevention programs reduce injury rates but are not well implemented into youth players’ training. The ‘Implementing injury Prevention training ROutines in TEams and Clubs in youth Team handball (I-PROTECT)’ project addresses this challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate how youth handball coaches and players experienced the recently developed I-PROTECT GO pilot program, by focusing on barriers and facilitators. Three focus group interviews were conducted with coaches and players, and their answers were analyzed using a general inductive approach. The participants appreciated the program and found it useful for their context. The participants’ statements about facilitators and barriers centered around the categories of resources, exercises, program design, and learning. Facilitators that emerged were motivating exercises (e.g., handball-specific), a helpful set-up (e.g., variation), having a clear purpose of exercises, the possibility to fulfil basic psychological needs while training, receiving instructions and feedback, and having role models. Barriers that emerged were limited space and material, difficulties with exercises, an unhelpful set-up (e.g., too repetitive), and undisciplined training. It is important to address perceived barriers and facilitators among coaches and players when developing injury prevention training programs to enhance the uptake of such training.

Highlights

Young athletes, young handball players, experience high injury rates [1,2].Sustaining an injury results in physical harm, can cause psychological suffering, and is a risk factor for developing mental health problems [3,4]
Meta-analyses and systematic reviews show that specific injury prevention programs reduce the overall injury rate among adolescent athletes in team sports by approximately 40% [5–7], and such interventions in youth handball show promising results for reducing lower limb injury [8,9]
Focus groups are a resource-friendly way to elicit opinions and views on a focused topic in a small group of persons having the same experience with the specific topic, enabling interaction and exchange within the group [27]

Summary

Introduction

Young handball players, experience high injury rates [1,2].Sustaining an injury results in physical harm, can cause psychological suffering, and is a risk factor for developing mental health problems [3,4]. Young handball players, experience high injury rates [1,2]. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews show that specific injury prevention programs reduce the overall injury rate among adolescent athletes in team sports by approximately 40% [5–7], and such interventions in youth handball show promising results for reducing lower limb injury [8,9]. There are challenges in implementing and sustaining the use of injury prevention training [10]. DiStefano et al [11] identified a gap between short-term improvements (mainly occurring in controlled environments, i.e., during a study) and long-term implementation strategies (mainly occurring in uncontrolled environments). In uncontrolled environments within youth team sport athletes, complete injury prevention programs are rarely used, and single injury prevention exercises are only used to a moderate extent [12,13]. Even in a controlled environment, low utilization rates of injury prevention exercises in youth floorball players were reported [14]

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