How to Prevent a Shoulder Injury in Volleyball for More Summer Fun
Summer is the best time of year for volleyball, whether you’re playing in a gym, at the park, or at the beach! With its long days and warm weather, it’s a fantastic time to get outside with some friends and enjoy the sport of volleyball.
Volleyball is a fantastic (and fun) way to get some exercise—it improves endurance, stamina, hand-eye coordination, and balance, and strengthens several key muscle groups. That said, it’s important to know how to prevent a shoulder injury and follow some best practices, so you can ensure you’re fit to play all summer long!
Are Shoulder Injuries Common In Volleyball?
Because of the motions used in volleyball, the shoulders can get a lot of use over the course of a few games. Spiking, setting, and serving all rely on large, swinging motions of the arms, relying primarily on the shoulders for each motion. Over time, this can lead to a variety of shoulder overuse injuries, including:
Irritation/inflammation of the AC joint (where your shoulder blade and collarbone meet)
Tendonitis in the rotator cuffs
Muscle and tendon tears, especially in the rotator cuffs
Shoulder impingement syndrome (when muscles/tendons in the shoulder get pinched as you move, causing pain and lack of mobility)
Scapular Dyskinesis (also called SICK scapula syndrome), caused by the shoulder blade not being correctly aligned with other bones in the shoulder, causing pain, lopsided posture, and instability
Overuse injuries to the shoulders are unfortunately fairly common for people who play a lot of volleyball. The good news is that with proper preventative measures, you can dramatically lower your risk of causing a serious injury in the first place, ensuring you can recover quickly and keep playing the sport you love. In this guide, we’ll go over a few tips for volleyball players looking to protect themselves from shoulder injuries.
What Causes Shoulder Injuries for Volleyball Players?
If you’re a more casual volleyball player (playing/practicing once a week or less), you’re at far lower risk of injuring your shoulders. However, keep in mind you're at a higher risk of sprains, strains, and tears because what you're doing is introducing your body to new or different movements that you may not be conditioned for yet.
Most other volleyball shoulder injuries are related to overuse and overtraining, which generally only becomes a problem with people who play and train very often. Of course, it’s still possible for anyone to develop a shoulder injury depending on their form, physical strength, and other factors.
Here are a few common causes for volleyball-related shoulder injuries:
Body Strength Imbalances
Without proper cross-training, i.e. practicing multiple forms of exercise/sports in parallel, it can be easy to develop imbalances in the overall strength of different parts of the body. This leads to certain muscles being much stronger than others, which can cause excess strain on key areas—in this case, the shoulders. Over time, the internal rotation of the shoulders during serves and spikes can bring about muscle imbalances and lead to injury.
Poor Control
In an effort to spike or serve the ball as hard as possible, some volleyball players might overextend their bodies. As with any physical activity, proper control over your motions is essential in volleyball. Poor control can lead to overexertion of the shoulders, possibly damaging tendons and muscles and creating painful, limiting injuries that can take time and effort to fully heal.
Improper Conditioning
If your shoulders and surrounding muscles (such as the core, chest, back, and arms) aren’t properly strengthened and conditioned, overuse of these muscles can lead to injuries to the shoulders. This is because the muscles in your shoulders aren’t properly supported, making you much more susceptible to overuse injuries.
How to Prevent Shoulder Injuries from Volleyball
As with so many physical injuries and concerns, preventing a volleyball-related shoulder injury is much simpler than treating one. Shoulder injuries can be difficult to treat, and it will certainly take a lot of time and effort on your part to fully rehabilitate this complex joint. Focusing on prevention is a far better alternative, saving you from painful injuries and tedious time away from your favourite sport.
Here are a few ways for volleyball players to help prevent a shoulder injury:
1. Cross-Training
As mentioned before, cross-training is one of the best ways to strengthen more of your body without overusing any one part of it. Not only will working on other forms of exercise take the load off of your shoulders, but it will also help to strengthen and condition surrounding areas, better supporting your shoulders when you are using them.
2. Improving Spike Technique
The powerful, dynamic motion of an overhead volleyball spike is one of the biggest culprits for shoulder injuries. Poor spiking technique can put excess strain on the glenohumeral joint, which connects your arm to your shoulder blade. Frequent volleyball players will need to learn ways to reduce the strain placed on the shoulder joint.
3. Consistent Dynamic Stretching
A consistent dynamic stretching routine is vital for athletes of all kinds, and volleyball players are no exception. Working to keep the shoulders, core, and back moving and flexible will mean you’re moving more efficiently during games and training, dramatically reducing your risk of an overuse or hyperextension injury.
4. Focusing on Core Strength and Stability
It might be surprising that the core plays such a big role in shoulder strength and stability—it’s true! A strong, stable core is vital for motions in virtually every part of the body, and this applies to the shoulders as well. Implementing a routine to strengthen and stabilize the core can be beneficial for volleyball athletes looking to reduce their risk of shoulder injury.
5. Shoulder Strengthening and Joint Mobilization
Of course, strengthening and mobilizing the shoulders is just as important as training the surrounding muscles. In addition to regular shoulder stretching, volleyball players should focus on exercises to strengthen the external rotator cuff muscles and mobilize the shoulder joint. A physical trainer or physiotherapist can help you find a strengthening and mobility routine that works for you.
This Summer, Let's Keep Your Body in Top Shape
Whether you play volleyball with friends at the beach or at a high level on a court, it helps to follow these prevention practices so you reduce the risk of a painful injury that will take time to recover from. Of course, finding ways to apply these methods to your specific needs, goals, and abilities can sometimes be difficult to do on your own. That’s why working with our team at Triumph Physio can be so beneficial. We can help you in finding sustainable ways to protect yourself and keep enjoying the sports you love.
Get in touch today if you're wanting help to prevent sports injuries and keep your body in tip-top shape all year long!
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