Injury Pattern in Icelandic Elite Male Handball Players

Objective: To examine the incidence, type, location, and severity of injuries in Icelandic elite male handball players and compare across factors like physical characteristics and playing position. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: The latter part of the preseason and the competitive season of Icelandic male handball. Participants: Eleven handball teams (185 players) from the 2 highest divisions in Iceland participated in the study. Six teams (109 players) completed the study. Variables Measured: Injuries were recorded by the players under supervision from their team physiotherapists or coaches. Coaches recorded training exposure, and match exposure was obtained from the Icelandic and European Handball Federations. The players directly recorded potential risk factors, such as age, height, weight, previous injuries, and player position. Main Outcome Measures: Injury incidence and injury location and number of injury days. Results: Recorded time-loss injuries were 86, of which 53 (62%) were acute and 33 (38%) were due to overuse. The incidence of acute injuries was 15.0 injuries/1000 hours during games and 1.1 injuries/1000 hours during training sessions. No significant difference was found in injury incidence between teams, but number of injury days did differ between teams (P = 0.0006). Acute injuries were most common in knees (26%), ankles (19%), and feet/toes (17%), but overuse injuries occurred in low back/pelvic region (39%), shoulders (21%), and knees (21%). Previous knee injuries were the only potential risk factor found for knee injury. Conclusions: The results indicate a higher rate of overuse injuries in low back/pelvic region and shoulders than in comparable studies.