Volleyball Related Injuries in Adolescents: A Decade of Data

Playing sports is crucial to adolescents as a source of entertainment, a factor in improving mental health, and a way to promote physical development. However, sports, including volleyball, have an inherent risk of causing injuries to its players. The objective of this study is to determine the most common locations, types, and outcomes of volleyball injuries in adolescent athletes so that more people are aware of how these injuries occur. This would encourage volleyball athletes to be more mindful of these injuries when playing.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was used to analyze injuries in adolescents (ages 10-19) that occurred due to volleyball between the years 2013 and 2022.

Approximately 347,395 volleyball injuries occurred in adolescents between 2013 and 2022, with the median age of patients being 15 years old. 274,003 patients were female (78.9%) while 73,392 patients were male (21.1%). 59,530 had injuries in the head or neck (17.1%), 141,660 in the lower extremities (40.8%), and 119,230 in the upper extremities (34.3%). 151,364 patients had sprains or strains (43.6%), 35,760 had fractures (10.3%), 36,804 had contusions or abrasions (10.6%), and the rest of the patients had other injuries. 342,567 patients were treated and released (98.6%), 2049 patients were left without being seen (0.6%), and 1648 patients were hospitalized (0.5%).

This study shows that volleyball players are most vulnerable to getting sprains, strains, fractures, or bruises in the upper or lower extremities. While there are more injuries in adolescent females, this is likely because a majority of volleyball players between the ages of 10 and 19 are female. Further study may be done to identify how volleyball causes these injuries in an effort to prevent them.