The Effectiveness of Trunk and Balance Warm-up Exercises in Prevention, Severity, and Length of Limitation From Overuse and Acute Lower Limb Injuries in Male Volleyball Players.
Yuki Muramoto, Hironobu Kuruma
PMID 36237657WHAT IT FOUND
Adding trunk and balance exercises to an existing warm-up did not reduce lower-limb injury incidence in male volleyball players.
Overuse injury time loss was 2.82 days lower, but acute injury time loss was not different.
Key findings
01The study analysed 17 players in each group, and injury incidents were 22 in controls and 16 in the intervention group, but overuse and acute incidence did not differ significantly.
02Overuse injury severity was lower in the intervention group, with a mean difference of 2.82 days and p=0.04.
03Acute injury severity was not significantly different (13.3 days control vs 21.3 days intervention, p=0.81), although the paper reported overall injury burden 11.8 days/1000 player hours lower, including 7.1 days/1000 player hours for overuse and 4.7 days/1000 player hours for acute injury.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study compared one team across two seasons, so season-to-season differences could explain the results. Only male university volleyball players were studied, so it may not apply to female athletes or other sports. The intervention was added to an existing warm-up, so the contribution of trunk and balance exercises alone cannot be separated from the lower-extremity, jogging, stretching, and agility components. Injury incidence was not significantly different, and the reported burden reductions were not accompanied by significance testing. No biomechanical landing assessment was performed, so the mechanism linking trunk and balance work to injury severity is not shown. Seven players joined the intervention group through a sports referral program, so the groups were not identical.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that trunk and balance exercises alone prevented injuries. Injury incidence was not significantly different, the new exercises were added to an existing warm-up, and the study compared one team across two seasons.