Year: 2023 | Month: November | Volume: 13 | Issue: 11 | Pages: 397-404
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20231148
Predictive Ability of Dynamic Balance and Throwing Accuracy Assessment for In-Season Shoulder Injuries in Competitive Volleyball Athletes
Paraskevopoulos Eleftherios1,2, Plakoutsis George1, Papandreou Maria1
1Department of Physiotherapy, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
2Department of Physiotherapy, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Greece
Corresponding Author: Paraskevopoulos Eleftherios
ABSTRACT
Shoulder injuries are common in volleyball athletes. Although, research has shown the incidence of in-season shoulder injuries in this population, less is known about the ability of field-based tests to predict them. The purpose of this study was to examine whether assessment of dynamic balance and throwing accuracy performance of competitive volleyball athletes can predict in-season shoulder injuries. Thirty-nine volleyball athletes underwent dynamic balance assessment of the upper and lower extremities at the start of the season using the Y-Balance and Upper Quarter Y-Balance (UQYB) test, respectively. Furthermore, throwing accuracy was also examined using the Functional Throwing Performance Index (FTPI) test. Data collected at the end of the season were: injury, side and type of injury. Binomial logistic regression was conducted to ascertain whether the predictor variables could predict shoulder injury during in-season competition. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the cut-off scores for the statistically significant predictor variables. Twelve athletes sustained a shoulder injury during the season. From the five predictor variables, the Y-Balance Medial (p<0.05) and the UQYB Medial (p<0.05) were able to predict shoulder injuries with statistical significance. From calculating the Odds Ratios, this study found that those who scored less than the cut-off score on the Y-Balance Medial (117.6 cm) and the UQYB Medial (119.15 cm) were 2 and 1.6 times more likely to get injured in the shoulder complex, respectively. This study showed that the combination of upper and lower limb dynamic balance was able to predict in-season shoulder injuries.
Key words: Y-Balance, Functional Throwing Performance Index, Shoulder, Volleyball