Quantifying throwing load in handball: a method for measuring the number of throws.

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Shoulder injuries are prevalent in handball, often linked to excessive throwing.
• Accurate quantification of throws in large studies is challenging with current methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a cost-effective method for identifying overhead throws in handball.
• Utilize a low-cost inertial measurement unit (IMU) for accurate throw detection.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage approach involving laboratory development and field validation.
• Developed a threshold-based automatic identification algorithm for overhead throws using IMU data.
• Validated the algorithm by comparing IMU-identified throws with video analysis in handball practices.

Main Results:

• The developed method achieved high performance in the laboratory, with median sensitivity of 100% and PPV of 96%.
• In field validation, the method showed a median sensitivity of 78% and PPV of 79%.
• The IMU-based method demonstrated promising accuracy for automatic handball throw identification.

Conclusions:

• The proposed IMU-based method provides a cheap and feasible solution for automatically identifying handball throws.
• This technology can aid in understanding throwing loads and preventing shoulder injuries in handball players.