Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D Student of Motor Behavior, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Ph.D. of Sports Physiology, Azad University of South Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 M.A. of Pathology and Corrective Movement, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Tehran, Iran.

4 Ph.D in pathology and corrective movements, Faculty of Physical Education, University of Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: The number of damages and severity of the injury has increased in recent years in handball. Recent studies have reported that functional testing before the season is associated with future injuries of athletes. However, the findings related to these studies are inconsistent. The current study aims to examine the accuracy of functional testing to predict the amount and severity of lower limb injuries of handball athletes in Tehran.  Method: 80 people of handball players (men) of league clubs of Tehran in the age range of 20-30 years were purposefully selected. Next, functional testing, including the Y balance, single-leg jump, and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) was taken from them. The hours of exercise and competition for teams, along with the number of players' injuries, were recorded during the half-season of competitions. To predict the severity and incidence rate of the injury, the univariate curve estimation regression test was used. Results: The results of this test showed that among functional testing, only single-leg jump (p= 0.035) could predict the severity of the injury incidence, and none of the tests the incidence rate of the injury (p> 0.05). Conclusions: It can be said that only single-leg jump can predict the severity of weak injuries (less than 10 lost days), and screening tests of functional activities have a very limited application to identify the handball athletes at risk of the injury.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Akturk, A., Gouttebarge, V., Frings-Dresen, M. H., & Inklaar, H. (2014). Medical examinations in Dutch professional football (soccer): A qualitative study. International SportMed Journal, 15(4), 343-351. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC164103
Azzam, M. G., Throckmorton, T. W., Smith, R. A., Graham, D., Scholler, J., & Azar, F. M. (2015). The Functional Movement Screen as a predictor of injury in professional basketball players. Current
           Orthopaedic                 Practice,                 26(6),                   619-623.
https://doi.org/10.1097/BCO.0000000000000296
Bakken, A., Targett, S., Bere, T., Eirale, C., Farooq, A., Mosler, A. B., . . . Bahr, R. (2018). Muscle Strength Is a Poor Screening Test for Predicting Lower Extremity Injuries in Professional Male Soccer Players: A 2-Year Prospective Cohort Study. The American journal of sports medicine, 46(6), 1481-1491. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546518756
Bonazza, N. A., Smuin, D., Onks, C. A., Silvis, M. L., & Dhawan, A. (2017). Reliability, validity, and injury predictive value of the functional movement screen: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The American journal of sports medicine, 45(3), 725-732. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546516641937
Brumitt, J., Engilis, A., Eubanks, A., Mattocks, A., Peet, J., & Bush, N. (2017). Risk factors associated with noncontact time-loss lowerquadrant injury in male collegiate soccer players. Science and
           Medicine              in              Football,              1(2),                96-101.
https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2017.1282164
Brumitt, J., Engilis, A., Isaak, D., Briggs, A., & Mattocks, A. (2016). Preseason jump and hop measures in male collegiate basketball players: an epidemiologic report. International journal of sports physical therapy, 11(6), 954-961. 
Brumitt, J., Heiderscheit, B. C., Manske, R. C., Niemuth, P. E., & Rauh, M. J. (2013). Lower extremity functional tests and risk of injury in division iii collegiate athletes. International journal of sports physical therapy, 8(3), 216-227. 
Budnar Jr, R. G., Birdwell, R., Moody, C., Hill, D. W., Duplanty, A. A., Jackson, A. W., & Vingren, J. L. (2013). Functional Movement Screentm Scores in Collegiate Track and Field Athletes in Relation to Injury Risk and Performance. Paper presented at the International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings. 2(5), 68.
Butler, R. J., Lehr, M. E., Fink, M. L., Kiesel, K. B., & Plisky, P. J. (2013). Dynamic balance performance and noncontact lower extremity injury in college football players: an initial study. Sports health, 5(5), 417-422. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738113498703
Chalmers, S., Fuller, J. T., Debenedictis, T. A., Townsley, S., Lynagh, M., Gleeson, C., . . . Magarey, M. (2017). Asymmetry during preseason Functional Movement Screen testing is associated with injury during a junior Australian football season. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(7), 653-657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2016.12.076
Dallinga, J. M., Benjaminse, A., & Lemmink, K. A. (2012). Which screening tools can predict injury to the lower extremities in team sports? Sports Medicine, 42(9), 791-815. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03262295
Dorrel, B. S., Long, T., Shaffer, S., & Myer, G. D. (2015). Evaluation of the functional movement screen as an injury prediction tool among active adult populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sports      health, 7(6),     532-537. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738115607445
Engebretsen, L., Soligard, T., Steffen, K., Alonso, J. M., Aubry, M., Budgett, R., & Mountjoy, M. (2013). Sports injuries and illnesses during the London Summer Olympic Games 2012. British journal of sports medicine, 47(7), 407-414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-
2013-092380
Gabriel EH, Powden CJ, Hoch MC. Comparison of the Y-Balance Test and Star Excursion Balance Test: Utilization of a Discrete Event Simulation. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. 2020; 1(aop):1-6.
GALI, J. C., et al. (2021). O RISCO DE NOVAS LESÕES APÓS RECONSTRUÇÃO DO LCA PODE SER MINORADO COM O
TREINAMENTO FUNCIONAL. Acta Ortopedica Brasileira 29(1): 21-25. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-785220212901240903
Gonell, A. C., Romero, J. A. P., & Soler, L. M. (2015). Relationship between the Y balance test scores and soft tissue injury incidence in a soccer team. International journal of sports physical therapy, 10(7), 955-966. http://hdl.handle.net/10045/71801 
Hamilton, R. T., Shultz, S. J., Schmitz, R. J., & Perrin, D. H. (2008). Triple-hop distance as a valid predictor of lower limb strength and power. Journal of athletic training, 43(2), 144-151.
https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-43.2.144
Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Graf-Baumann, T., & Peterson, L. (2004). Football
Injuries During FIFA Tournaments and the Olympic Games, 1998– 2001 Development and Implementation of an Injury-Reporting System. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 32(1), 80-89.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546503261245
Junge, A., Engebretsen, L., Mountjoy, M. L., Alonso, J. M., Renström, P. A., Aubry, M. J., & Dvorak, J. (2009). Sports injuries during the summer Olympic games 2008. The American journal of sports medicine, 37(11), 2165-2172.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546509339357
Junge, A., Langevoort, G., Pipe, A., Peytavin, A., Wong, F., Mountjoy, M., . . . Charles, R. (2006). Injuries in team sport tournaments during the 2004 Olympic Games. The American journal of sports medicine, 34(4), 565-576. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546505281807
Karlsson, J., Heijne, A., & von Rosen, P. (2019). Handball and movement screening–can non-contact injuries be predicted in adolescent elite handball players? A 1-year prospective cohort study. Physiotherapy
Theory     and       Practice,           37(10), 1132-1138. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2019.1685034
Kiesel, K., Plisky, P. J., & Voight, M. L. (2007). Can serious injury in professional football be predicted by a preseason functional movement screen? North American journal of sports physical therapy: NAJSPT, 2(3), 147-158. 
Kiesel, K. B., Butler, R. J., & Plisky, P. J. (2014). Prediction of injury by limited and asymmetrical fundamental movement patterns in american football players. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 23(2), 8894. https://doi.org/10.1123/JSR.2012-0130
Konstantopoulos,      I.,    et    al.    (2021).    Fatigue-Induced      Inter-Limb
Asymmetries in Strength of the Hip Stabilizers, Postural Control and
Gait Following a Unilateral Countermovement Vertical Jump Protocol. Sports 9(3): 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9030033
Langevoort, G., Myklebust, G., Dvorak, J., & Junge, A. (2007). Handball injuries during major international tournaments. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 17(4), 400-407. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2006.00587.x
Laver, L., & Myklebust, G. (2015). Handball Injuries: Epidemiology and Injury Characterization. Sports Injuries: Prevention, Diagnosis,
Treatment and Rehabilitation, 141-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-
3-662-55892-8_11
Lijewski, M., et al. (2021). Asymmetry of Muscle Mass Distribution and Grip Strength in Professional Handball Players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(4): 1913. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041913
Manske, R., & Reiman, M. (2013). Functional performance testing for power and return to sports. Sports health, 5(3), 244-250. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738113479925
Marques, V. B., Medeiros, T. M., de Souza Stigger, F., Nakamura, F. Y.,
& Baroni, B. M. (2017). THE FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN (FMS™) IN ELITE YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS BETWEEN 14 AND 20 YEARS: COMPOSITE SCORE, INDIVIDUAL-TEST SCORES AND ASYMMETRIES.
International journal of sports physical therapy, 12(6), 977-985. 
Moradi, k., Mioonejad, h., & Rajabi, R. (2015). The immediate effect of core stability exercises on postural sway in athletes with functional ankle instability. Rehab Med, 4(3), 101-110. https://doi.org/10.22037/JRM.2015.1100154 
Moran, R. W., Schneiders, A. G., Mason, J., & Sullivan, S. J. (2017). Do Functional Movement Screen (FMS) composite scores predict subsequent injury? A systematic review with meta-analysis. Br J
Sports      Med,    bjsports.            51(23), 1661-1669. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096938
Morgan, B. E., & Oberlander, M. A. (2001). An examination of injuries in major league soccer: the inaugural season. The American journal of sports medicine, 29(4), 426-430.
https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465010290040701
Myklebust, G., Maehlum, S., Engebretsen, L., Strand, T., & Solheim, E. (1997). Registration of cruciate ligament injuries in Norwegian top
level team handball. A prospective study covering two seasons. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 7(5), 289-292. 
Piry, H., Alizade, M., Nasiri, K., & Rahimi, M. (2011). Injury Rates in Iranian Handball Players. World Applied Sciences Journal, 14(11), 1670-1677. 
Piry, H., Fallahi, A., Kordi, R., Rajabi, R., Rahimi, M., & Yosefi, M. (2011). Handball injuries in elite Asian players. World Applied Sciences Journal, 14(10), 1559-1564. 
Plisky, P. J., Rauh, M. J., Kaminski, T. W., & Underwood, F. B. (2006). Star Excursion Balance Test as a predictor of lower extremity injury in high school basketball players. journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 36(12), 911-919.
https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2006.2244
Reid, A., Birmingham, T. B., Stratford, P. W., Alcock, G. K., & Giffin, J. R. (2007). Hop testing provides a reliable and valid outcome measure during rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
           Physical                   therapy,                   87(3),                   337-349.
https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20060143
Smith, C. A., Chimera, N. J., & Warren, M. (2015). Association of y balance test reach asymmetry and injury in division I athletes. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 47(1), 136-141. DOI: 10.1249/mss.0000000000000380
Soligard, T., Steffen, K., Palmer, D., Alonso, J. M., Bahr, R., Lopes, A. D., . . . Mountjoy, M. (2017). Sports injury and illness incidence in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Summer Games: A prospective study of 11274 athletes from 207 countries. Br J Sports Med, 51(17),
1265-1271. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097956 van Beijsterveldt, A.-M., Steffen, K., Stubbe, J. H., Frederiks, J. E., van de Port, I. G., & Backx, F. J. (2014). Soccer injuries and recovery in Dutch male amateur soccer players: results of a prospective cohort study. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 24(4), 337-342. DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000028