COMMON INJURIES IN VOLLEYBALL - MECHANISMS OF INJURY, PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION

Volleyball has become an extremely popular participation sport worldwi de. Fortunately, the incidence of serious injury is relatively low. Th e sport-specific activity most commonly associated with injury is bloc king. Ankle sprains are the most common acute injury. Recurrent sprain s may be less likely to occur if an ankle orthosis is worn. Patellar t endinitis represents the most common overuse injury, although shoulder tendinitis secondary to the overhead activities of spiking and servin g is also commonly seen. An unusual shoulder injury involving the dist al branch of the suprascapular nerve which innervates the infraspinatu s muscle has been increasingly described in volleyball players in rece nt years. Hand injuries, usually occurring while blocking, are the nex t most common group of injuries. Fortunately, severe knee ligament inj uries are rare in volleyball. However, anterior crutiate ligament inju ry is more likely to occur in female players. Many of these injuries m ay be preventable with close attention to technique in sport-specific skills and some fairly simple preventive interventions.