The effect of gender in risk factors and characteristics of injuries in athletes of handball national teams

The aim of the present study was to present the injuries and to examine the effect of gender in risk factors and characteristics of injuries in players of a high competitive level. The sample of the study consisted of 16 juniors, 16 men, 15 young women and 15 women handball players who were members of Greek national teams. All athletes were given a self-reported questionnaire. The questionnaire related to the injuries the players had suffered during their involvement in the sport during the last 24 months. The incidence was for male and female 40.6% and 37.9% respectively. The percentage of severity for male was 40.9% and for female 40%. Injuries occurred in both genders mainly during the training sessions. The type of injuries in male players was ligament injuries whereas in female it was muscular strains. The localization of injuries for both genders was the lower limbs. The mechanism of injuries was the contact with the opponent player. Players used conservative treatment in their long period of returning to the same sporting activities after injury. A small percentage presented a relapse after injury. Correlation analysis showed the prophylactic equipment, the rate of incidence of at least one injury, the players’ opinion about the cause of injuries, the injury mechanism, the severity of injuries, the treatment, the days of players’ absence and the players with no modification of training program after injury had a significant difference between male and female players. Conclusively, the gender affects risk factors and characteristics of injuries at a high competitive level. The necessity of studying this matter in another sample is obvious.