SPORTS INJURIES IN TEAM HANDBALL - A ONE-YEAR PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF 16MENS SENIOR TEAMS OF A SUPERIOR NONPROFESSIONAL LEVEL

One hundred eighty-six players of 16 teams in 2 male team handball sen ior divisions were observed prospectively for 1 season to study the in jury incidence in relation to exposure in games and practices. Ninety- one injuries were recorded. Injury incidence was evaluated at 2.5 inju ries per 1000 player-hours, with a significantly higher incidence in g ame injuries (14.3 injuries per 1000 game-hours) compared with practic e injuries (0.6 injuries per 1000 practice-hours). Practice injury inc idence was higher in the lower performance level group, and game injur y incidence was higher in the high-level group. The upper extremity wa s involved in 37% of the injuries, and the lower extremity in 54%. The knee was the most commonly injured joint, followed by the finger, ank le, and shoulder. Knee injuries were the most severe injuries, and the y were more frequent in high-level players. There was an increase in t he severity of injury with respect to performance level. The injury me chanism revealed a high number of offensive injuries, one-third of the m occurring during a counterattack. The injury pattern showed certain variations with respect to player position and performance level. Prop hylactic equipment was used by a majority of players at the higher per formance level.