Injuries associated with Japanese high-school men's volleyball: a two-year survey and analysis

[Purpose] There are many factors associated with sports injuries in volleyball that remain unclear; therefore, many of these injuries are still not being effectively prevented. This study aimed to help effectively prevent injuries among and provide conditioning guidance to participants of a high-school men's volleyball team. [Participants and Methods] The participants were 36 males of a high-school men's volleyball team, and the circumstances of injury occurrence, injury type, injury site, exposure time, and injury rate per 1,000 player-hours were evaluated among these participants. [Results] Over the 2 year period, 68 injuries occurred, and the injury rate was 1.51/1,000 player-hours. Specifically, the injuries comprised 40 cases of trauma (58.8%) and 28 cases of disorders (41.2%). Additionally, injuries occurring during training tended to be disorders, and injuries occurring during matches tended to be traumas. The most common site of injury was the ankle joint. [Conclusion] The results suggest that it is important for players to have appropriate knowledge about the injuries, acquire accurate form, and undergo various types of site-specific training in order to prevent injury. In the future, the causes and circumstances of occurrence of injury must be verified in a larger number of participants.