Typical Volleyball Injuries

The Problem

If you are a player, coach or frequent spectator of the sport of Volleyball, there is no doubt that you have witnessed some injuries within the game.  In fact, volleyball players in the United States have witnessed more than a 15,000 incident upswing annually of play-related injuries since the beginning of the new millennium.

The Reason

The reason for these common injuries is due to several factors, the first being the actual court on which the game is played. Unlike grass sports such as soccer, football, or baseball, volleyball is played on a hard gym surface that adds to the wear and tear of a player’s body.  Further proof of this is the fact that outdoor volleyball, usually played in a deep sand pit, has been proven to produce fewer injuries than its indoor counterpart.

A second factor is the nature of the sport itself.  Volleyball requires that players make quick, explosive movements in many different directions; often a player completes many repetitive movements in order to make a successful play on the ball.  What the sport lacks in the way of physical contact with other players, it makes up for in the constant impact with the ball and the floor.

A third factor that leads to volleyball injuries is that players practice the same basic game skills (overhead serving, digging, spiking) repetitively which leads to overuse in many joints, ligaments and muscles.  This over exertion of anatomical areas often leads to inflammation, stiffness, or chronic pain of those body parts.

Typical Injuries

Hands –While players normally sustain a finger sprain from blocking a spiked ball or hitting the floor awkwardly, the more severe injury could be a dislocated finger or thumb.

Shoulders –This injury tends to show itself as a weakening of the rotator cuff muscle due to repeated overhead arm movements.  The symptoms in this case include basic inflammation of the shoulder area to a sharp, shooting pain that could suggest a rupture of a tendon.

Ankles –The turning of an ankle is common for many players during their play. This could require as little as elevation and ice to combat inflammation, or it could lead to the tearing of the Achilles tendon.

Knees –The deep knee bends that many players perform over and over tend to lead to pain or swelling in the joint near the Patella, commonly called Patellar Tendonitis

Back –Because of directional changes anb the power placed on the overhead striking of the ball, many players develop chronic pain or debilitating injury during or after their careers.  This usually is the most severe of all injuries and often requires medication or physical therapy to remedy the pain.

Conclusion

Though volleyball is a dynamic sport that requires less contact than many other team sports, it does pose several problems for its players’ physical health.  It is necessary for players to utilize their entire bodies during play, which subjects them to the potential for injury.

Sources: Volleyball.Com & CollegeSportsScholarships.com