Descriptive Epidemiology of Injuries in Professional Speedball Athletes.

CONTEXT: Speedball is an increasingly popular racquet sport played in more than 25 countries. Our objective was to describe injury incidence and patterns among Egyptian national-level speedball athletes. DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiological. METHODS: We conducted a survey of athletes who were registered with the Egyptian Speedball Federation during the 2018-2019 professional season. The survey inquired about injury types and athlete exposures (AEs). The response rate was 63% (100/160 athletes). Respondent ages ranged from 18 to 41 years. We analyzed demographic characteristics; number, location, and mechanism of injuries; treatment; and speedball participation time lost because of injury. RESULTS: Of 100 respondents, 65 reported having sustained at least one injury during the season for a total of 90 injuries and a rate of 4.7 injuries per 1000 AEs (95% confidence interval, 3.7 to 5.7). More injuries occurred during practice (77%) than during competition (23%). Thirty percent of respondents reported having missed a competition because of injury. The most frequent anatomic locations of injury were the shoulder (50%; 2.4/1000 AEs), elbow (14%; 0.68/1000 AEs), and low back (9%; 0.4/1000 AEs). The most frequently cited causes of injury were increased intensity of training (40%) and lack of warming up (18%). Seventy-seven percent of injured respondents underwent treatment by a health care professional, and 9% of these respondents underwent surgery. CONCLUSION: The shoulder was the most common anatomic location for injuries in speedball athletes. Our results suggest that attention should be directed toward sport-specific injury prevention and intervention strategies because speedball is a fast-growing sport in several countries.