Kári Árnason, Erla Ásgeirdóttir, Unnar Arnarsson, Kristín Briem and Atli Ágústsson
Introduction: Shoulder injuries are common in handball but the influence of lower body strength (LBS) and trunk rotation power (TRP) on shoulder problems among female handball players has never been investigated before. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between pre-season measurements, shoulder problems, and participation-related shoulder load (PSL).
Methods: Participants were 31 female handball players. Pre-season LBS, TRP and isometric external (ER) and internal rotation (IR) shoulder strength was measured. Shoulder problems (prevalence, substantial prevalence, and severity score) were documented weekly through a season (29 weeks) with the “The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center overuse questionnaire” (OSTRC-O2) and PSL with the modified Borg rate of perceived exertion scale.
Results: Moderate positive correlation was found between pre-season LBS and substantial prevalence of shoulder problems (p=0.027). A weak positive correlation was found between pre-season ER and IR strength and OSTRC-02 severity score (p=0.04; p = 0.04, respectively) and between ER strength and substantial prevalence of shoulder problems (p=0.04). An interaction was found between PSL and pre-season TRP, LBS and ER strength regarding their influence on the OSTRC-02 severity score (p=0.001,<0.001, 0.01, respectively). As PSL increased, the severity score increased more among players with pre-season TRP, LBS and ER strength more than one standard deviation above the group’s mean.
Conclusions: The results indicate that the association between the measured variables is more complex and that the effect of other possible influencing factors, such as playing time and throwing mechanics, on shoulder problems need to be investigated.
