Background: Female handball athletes are at a particular risk of sustaining lower extremity injuries. The study examines time-dependent adaptations of static and dynamic balance as potential injury risk factors to a specific warm-up program focusing on neuromuscular control.
Methods: Fourty one (24.0 ± 5.9 years) female handball athletes were randomized to an intervention or control group. The intervention group implemented a 15-min specific neuromuscular warm-up program, three times per week for eleven weeks, whereas the control group continued with their regular warm-up. Balance was assessed at five time points. Measures included the star excursion balance test (SEBT), and center of pressure (COP) sway velocity during single-leg standing.
Results: No baseline differences existed between groups in demographic data. Adherence to neuromuscular warm-up was 88.7 %. Mean COP sway velocity decreased significantly over time in the intervention group (-14.4 %; p < .001), but not in the control group (-6.2 %; p = 0.056). However, these effects did not differ significantly between groups (p = .098). Mean changes over time in the SEBT score were significantly greater (p = .014) in the intervention group (+5.48) compared to the control group (+3.45). Paired t-tests revealed that the first significant balance improvements were observed after 6 weeks of training.
Conclusions: A neuromuscular warm-up positively influences balance variables associated with an increased risk of lower extremity injuries in female handball athletes. The course of adaptations suggests that a training volume of 15 min, three times weekly over at least six weeks produces measurable changes.
Trial registration: Retrospectively registered on 4th October 2016. Registry: clinicaltrials.gov. Trial number: NCT02925377.
Keywords: Balance; Injury prevention; Neuromuscular training; Postural control; Sensorimotor training.