Descriptive Epidemiology of Injuries in Professional Speedball Athletes

Abstract

Context: Speedball is an increasingly popular racquet sport played in more than 25 countries. Our objective was to describe injury incidence and patterns among Egyptian national-level speedball athletes. Design: Descriptive epidemiological. Methods: We conducted a survey of athletes who were registered with the Egyptian Speedball Federation during the 2018–2019 professional season. The survey inquired about injury types and athlete exposures (AEs). The response rate was 63% (100/160 athletes). Respondent ages ranged from 18 to 41 years. We analyzed demographic characteristics; number, location, and mechanism of injuries; treatment; and speedball participation time lost because of injury. Results: Of 100 respondents, 65 reported having sustained at least one injury during the season for a total of 90 injuries and a rate of 4.7 injuries per 1000 AEs (95% confidence interval, 3.7 to 5.7). More injuries occurred during practice (77%) than during competition (23%). Thirty percent of respondents reported having missed a competition because of injury. The most frequent anatomic locations of injury were the shoulder (50%; 2.4/1000 AEs), elbow (14%; 0.68/1000 AEs), and low back (9%; 0.4/1000 AEs). The most frequently cited causes of injury were increased intensity of training (40%) and lack of warming up (18%). Seventy-seven percent of injured respondents underwent treatment by a health care professional, and 9% of these respondents underwent surgery. Conclusion: The shoulder was the most common anatomic location for injuries in speedball athletes. Our results suggest that attention should be directed toward sport-specific injury prevention and intervention strategies because speedball is a fast-growing sport in several countries.