Just like any other sports, volleyball also has its fair share of injuries, in which players might fall victim to. Injuries are very important to take into consideration because they are a big part of every athlete’s lives, so taking the necessary precautions is the first step to reducing the risk of injuries.
What Injuries Are Usually Suffered By Volleyball Players?
The basics of volleyball involve constant landing, diving, jumping and ball receiving, which mean that the common sites of injury are located in the knees, shoulders, lower back, legs, feet, arms, hands and fingers. Because of the nature of the sports itself, ankles and knees also get a lot of overuse injury without proper coordination, exercise and body mechanics.
Valuable and Safety Tips For Volleyball Players
- As we have said overuse injuries and ankle rolls are common injuries for volley ball players, because of the constant and high jumping they do. In order to protect them from this, volleyball players should have good support and padding on their shoes, which will act as the “shock” absorber. Proper landing is also necessary; landing on toes is more preferable than landing on both feet, because it reduces the impact of the jump. Ankle rolls, on the other hand, can be prevented by wrapping the ankles with bandage to provide additional support, strength and mobility. Check out this post for more information about overuse injuries.
- Aside from ankles and the feet, other areas of constant injury are the shoulder blades and lower back, because of constant bending, twisting, and diving, as well as spiking, tossing and receiving of ball. Unlike overuse injuries, injuries involving back and shoulders can become long-term if not given proper attention and emergency care. The best way to avoid shoulder and back injuries is to perform warm-ups, strengthening and conditioning exercises prior to the start of the game. This will help stretch and add more flexibility to the muscles. Careful and proper practice of shots is also necessary to avoid shoulder injuries.
- Finger injury is another type of injury that often haunts volleyball players. Finger injuries are common for players who are placed in the front line and whose primary role is to block the oncoming ball, regardless of the ball’s speed. Injuries associated with the fingers include dislocations, fractures, and ligament and tendon tears. Players usually tape two to three fingers so that these would receive equal impact and force from the ball, which make them less prone to injuries.
Always make sure that you understand how injuries can affect your performance and your entire sports life. Take precautions to avoid them, so you can have a better chance of staying within the competitive scene. Check out this site for more information about sports injury prevention.
Related Video On Volleyball Injuries:
Sources:
“Preventing Volleyball Injuries.” Stop Sports Injuries. Retrieved online on September 9, 2014 from http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/volleyball-injury-prevention.aspx
“Avoid Volleyball’s Most Common Injuries.” About Sports. Retrieved online on September 9, 2014 from http://volleyball.about.com/od/training/a/AvoidInjury.htm