PLAYER’ PERCEPTIONS OF OVERUSE SHOULDER INJURIES IN COMPETITIVE MALE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

T. Alnaser¹, A. Barnes¹, M. Shafizadeh¹, M. Butler²

¹Sheffield Hallam University, Sport and Physical Activity, Sheffield, United Kingdom, ²University of Lincoln, School of Health and Social Care, Lincoln, United Kingdom

Background: Overuse shoulder injuries are common amongst volleyball players given the repetitive nature of overhead movements. To date research has focused on identifying intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors. However, sports injuries are complex dynamic phenomena, and a more holistic approach is required that takes into account the complexity of the context in which overuse injuries occur. Adopting a holistic approach to understanding injury represents an important step in developing effective injury prevention rehabilitation strategies.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore injured volleyball players’ perceptions regarding overuse shoulder injuries. Specially it explored overuse injury in the context of multiple stakeholders within a dynamic, multi-level system: at the individual level (the athlete) , the sociocultural level (ex: coach, team-mates, club management) and at the environmental level (country policies).

Methods: Seven male competitive volleyball players belonging to clubs across Kuwait, and who had experienced an overuse shoulder injury during the 2020/2021 season completed a semi-structured interview. The course-of-action framework introduced by Saury, et al. (1997) was applied in designing this interview guide with the interview adopting a self-confrontation approach was in which players urged to recall and explain personal experiences during the season. The interviews were conducted in Arabic and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, through the lens of the different levels of the socioecological framework (Bolling et al., 2018). A deductive or ‘theory-driven’ approach was adopted to produce themes and codes related to the socioecological framework. The extracted codes and quotations were translated to the English language for findings presentation.

Results: Players perceived that pain and overuse injuries are a normal part of a player's life, something they mostly manage rather than something they can prevent. They perceived that injuries mostly happened due to a lack of physical preparation. Coach dictates volume and intensity of training that lead to injury. He has been considered as mean indicators for overuse shoulder injuries and have a significant role in managing the injury with volleyball participation. Players experiences with physiotherapists were limited to injury management rather than prevention; however most believed that physiotherapists could play a crucial role in preventing future injuries (for example by identifying functional deficiencies and offering customized injury pre-rehabilitation exercise plans). At national level, all players believed that the lack of professionalization of volleyball in Kuwait was a barrier for the provision of a safe environment for injury prevention. There was also a lack of awareness regarding sports medicine facilities provided by local authorities suggesting an institutional failure in making sure players have access to these facilities.

Conclusions: The results provide valuable insights for understanding the context of overuse shoulder injuries in Kuwait and the complex relationships between the stakeholders found at different levels of the socioecological model. Stakeholders have an important role to play in creating an environment that aims to minimize injury prevention.

Implications: This study supports strengthening the effectiveness of the key stakeholders involved, in particular by ensuring that they expand the role of the sport physiotherapists, coaches, organizers and administrators to include injury prevention.

Funding acknowledgements: Sheffield Hallam University has awarded funding for this study. This study is also funded by the Kuwait government through studentship.

Keywords:
Volleyball
Overuse Injuries
Shoulder

Topics:
Sport & sports injuries
Sport & sports injuries

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Sheffield Hallam University

Committee: Converis

Ethics number: ER26532223