Morphological and skill-related fitness components as potential predictors of injury in elite netball players: A cohort study.
Colleen J Sinclair, Frederik F Coetzee, Robert Schall
PMID 34192207WHAT IT FOUND
Higher body fat percentage predicted lower injury risk in elite netball players, while no skill-related fitness test predicted injury.
The protective effect of heavier players may reflect contact injuries where lighter players are more vulnerable.
Key findings
01Body fat percentage was the only significant predictor of injury in the multivariate analysis, with higher fat associated with lower injury odds.
02No skill-related fitness tests, including explosive power, speed, or endurance measures, significantly predicted injury risk.
03The authors suggest the lower injury risk in heavier players may be due to the high proportion of contact injuries, where lighter players are more susceptible.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study did not analyze the specific mechanisms of injury in detail within the regression models, relying on aggregate data. The protective effect of higher body fat may be confounded by the nature of contact injuries, which were not controlled for in the primary analysis. No skill-related predictors were found, which contradicts some previous literature, possibly due to the specific population or test battery used. The sample size was relatively small (77 players), limiting the power to detect smaller effects.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing body fat is a strategy for injury prevention. The association is likely driven by contact injuries where heavier players may be less vulnerable or cause more injuries to lighter opponents, not by intrinsic tissue protection.