Impact of ball weight on elbow kinetics and kinematics in team handball overhead throws

Overhead throwing is a dynamic motion critical for team handball performance. The purpose of this study was to compare elbow joint kinetics and kinematics during the acceleration phase (AP) via different weighted balls.

Eleven active male handball players (aged 21.36 ± 4.65 years), free from musculoskeletal pain and without any injuries, performed three trials with three different weighted balls in random order: a regular ball (RB: 427 g), a light ball (LB: 360 g) and a heavy ball (HB: 1000 g). The kinematic data were collected in an indoor laboratory with an 8-camera infrared motion capture system. A ten-segment mechanical model of the upper extremity was built via Simscape libraries in MATLAB/Simulink to calculate joint torques via inverse dynamics simulations. Kinematic and kinetic parameters were compared via one-way repeated-measures ANOVA.

Our results revealed that the ball release velocity decreases as the weight increases (p < 0.001). Increasing the ball weight resulted in a 12.5% decrease in the release velocity of HB compared with that of LB. The change in the ball release velocity was probably a result of the significant differences in elbow extension velocity and torque.

The findings of this study indicate that using lighter balls may reduce stress on the elbow during overhead throwing activities, while heavier balls significantly increase elbow extension torque. These findings have direct implications for designing training programs aimed at performance enhancement and injury prevention.