Statistics on serious injuries in handball show that the number of injuries is far too high

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The statistics on serious injuries in handball show that there are many. Especially seen in the context of other sports. The game offers many sudden twists and tough duels that carry the risk of strain injuries and acute injuries. We see that the injuries not only come at a later age, but also in the youngest players.

The debate about injury prevention, and with whom the responsibility really lies, is well underway. Most “on the field” agree that we need more research in the area and that the numbers of injuries are far too high. We talk to Rikke Skiri Østigård, who now plays for Rælingen HK, to get up close to someone with first-hand experience in the field.

Rikke experienced rupturing the cruciate ligament at the age of 18. At this time, she played for the junior national team, Molde's women's team and the club's 3rd division team. The actual injury occurred during a national team match in Lithuania. What follows is a year of training, in close collaboration with physiotherapists and the club. After one year of long and thorough training, Rikke receives the go-ahead from a doctor to train as usual. Two weeks later, she jerks her cruciate ligament again, in the same knee.

Rikke has experienced having to juggle national team, school and two different teams within the same club. This sounds fierce, and she confirms it. “As a young player, when you have to balance handball, work and school, you have limited training time, and then you quickly do not prioritize time for injury prevention”.

Asked if she thinks clubs take responsibility for including injury prevention training at a young age, she replies, “Most teams have run 10 minutes of injury prevention as part of warm-up to training. But it helps so little if the total load is too great. You have the physical aspect but also the mental pressure around having to perform in all arenas”.

This is something that many people can recognize. Are there any unhealthy attitudes to overloading the body in handball? Is there a culture around prioritizing becoming the best over taking care of the body? “You're so inexperienced that you don't understand that your body can't handle that load. There was no one to help me understand, or facilitate that I should take a rest day or skip a game. I wish someone would say that to me and there needs to be another change,” Østigård replies.

It is clear that this is a problem, and one can debate who is really in charge of preventing injuries and creating healthy attitudes in young handball players. Rikke points to previous experiences with handball cups where they were happy to play up to 2-3 matches in a day, over a long period of time. To this Rikke replies: “As a young and hungry player, it is difficult to even understand when enough is enough, and you have such a desire to make a mark. Personal responsibility aside, someone has to step in and reality orientate you”.

How can we as parents and coaches support children in forming healthy routines and attitudes towards the physical and psychological pressures experienced in sport? What are you thinking?

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Published on Facebook 02.05.2019