Prevention of shoulder overload injuries.
Are you interested in reducing 28% shoulder overload injuries in handball players, both male and female?
Yes! In that case we have good news for you: in 10 minutes you can perform all 5 exercises of the shoulder injury prevention program of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center. In addition, the exercises are part of the warm-up, and it is sufficient to do them in 2 or 3 workouts per week. These aim to improve glenohumeral range of motion, thoracic mobility, external rotator cuff strength, periscapular muscles, and kinetic chain.
The program arose from the doctoral work of Physiotherapist Stig Haugsbø who defended his thesis brilliantly last June 26, 2018 at the Norwegian School of Sports Science. In particular, the results stem from the first and, to date, only randomized controlled study that aimed to prevent shoulder overload injuries in professional handball players: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/51/14/1073.
Admittedly, the prevention program will also have benefits for other throwing sports.
The prevention of shoulder injuries has been gaining space and another good example is the work that the Baseball Medical and Safety Advisory Committee developed within the scope of recommending when, how many and what kind of postings should be performed according to the age of the young baseball players. This, in order to protect them, as there is an association between non-compliance with the guidelines and the likelihood of players undergoing Tommy and John surgery, i.e., medial collateral ligament reconstruction surgery of the elbow.
A reality across sport seems to be the gap in the level of information and training of evidence-based practices. Thus, communication strategies and dissemination of good practices are an exercise of social and professional responsibility in which we militate. Today, we know that devoting more time to injury prevention in sport is to contribute to better individual and/or collective performance and, therefore, to sporting success and a healthier society.
We invite our readers to be present at V Atlantic Health Conference in which we will discuss the role of Sports Rehabilitation, Physical Activity and Nutrition.
Author: Physiotherapist Rogério Pereira