Volleyball Popularity Is Growing: Here’s How to Prevent Injuries

Volleyball participation is on the rise. Acute and overuse injuries can cause lost play time because of ankle sprains, knee injuries, shoulder, hand and wrist damage.

Fortunately, many of these injuries can be prevented with proper training. “I see a lot of young volleyball players with knee, back and shoulder problems. So, I talk to athletes about core stability, jump mechanics and range of motion in their upper bodies and hip flexors,” says University Hospitals pediatric sports medicine specialist Laura Goldberg, MD.

How Volleyball Injuries Happen

Acute injuries from volleyball are the most common, says Dr. Goldberg, but many are due to overuse or poor conditioning. The forces of repetitive jumping, landing, moving side to side, serving and spiking can all lead to overuse injuries. Common overuse injuries include:

• Patellofemoral syndrome
• Patellar (knee) tendon injury
• Shoulder impingement
• Rotator cuff tendinitis
• Shoulder labrum tears
• Wrist tendonitis
• Lower back muscle strain
• Stress fractures

“Poor foot work, mental fatigue and tired muscles during long hours of tournament play often leads to bad mechanics, increasing the risk of injury,” Dr. Goldberg says.

“Lower back is the big one in terms of overuse injury,” she says. “In order to swing overhead, they’re jumping, extending their back, extending their arm and swinging through. If they don’t have upper back strength and the range of motion of the shoulder and hips, the load doesn’t transfer properly.”

In other words, if you can’t fully extend your back, you end up overextending your shoulder, leading to shoulder pain.

Keys to Injury Prevention

Young players’ bodies are still developing, which affects mechanics and alignment as the intensity of the game increases when they move into high school and beyond. That’s why it’s important to work on strength, mobility and mechanics to prevent injury, she says.

Dr. Goldberg’s keys to injury prevention:

• Strength training is important as you get into high school-level sports in general. Sport-specific training is best.
• Cardio fitness helps athletes prevent fatigue, which can raise risk of injuries.
• Jump training helps volleyball players keep their bodies aligned properly, with hips balanced, feet in position and knees over the toes instead of tilting inward. “Sometimes we see knees drop in and a hip drop down,” Dr. Goldberg says. “As people fatigue, it become worse and puts you at increased risk for shin splints, stress fractures, ankle sprains and knee injuries. Our body is not designed to absorb shock in that position.”
• Playing multiple sports benefits young athletes physically and mentally. Participating in different sports in different seasons, with time off for rest, makes for a more well-rounded athlete and also reduces risk of psychological stress, burn-out and overuse injuries.
• Proper nutrition helps protect ligaments, tendons and bones and promotes tissue repair. Proper fueling also helps prevent fatigue, which can lead to injuries. “Nutritional support is really important. My advice is to find a snack you like that has a healthy profile, a balance of proteins, fats and carbs,” Dr. Goldberg says. At tournaments, it’s especially important to fuel your body throughout the day.
• Quality sleep has been shown in studies to reduce injury risk in young athletes. Poor sleep can also impair athletic performance and injury recovery.

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