Volleyball is a wonderful and increasingly popular sport. Because it involves a lot of jumping and fast, powerful arm movements, injuries can be common. The good news is that many injuries can be avoided by taking a few easy preventive measures.
Colten Haack, a physical therapist with UW Health Sports Medicine, offers a few ways that athletes can minimize their risk of injury.
“Anything you can do to lower your injury risk is worthwhile,” Haack says, “because having one injury makes you more likely to experience another future injury. The most common injuries in volleyball are to the ankle, knee and shoulder,” Haack says.
“We always recommend starting out with a few minutes of warmup, whether you’re playing volleyball or engaging in any kind of physical activity. Warming up gets your blood flowing and prepares the body for movement.” See how-to videos of the warmups.
Preventing ankle injuries
More than 40% of volleyball injuries are to the ankle. They often are caused by landing poorly after a jump or through contact with another player at the net.
Haack recommends these techniques for reducing risk of ankle injury:
- Before starting, use a brace or athletic tape around the ankles as a preventive measure
- Warm-ups should include single-leg hopping back and forth over a line to enhance stability and muscle activation; spend a little time hopping on the left leg, then the right
- Side-stepping with a resistance band around your lower legs; hip strength is important for ankle stability
- Single-leg balance exercises should be added to your training program
- During practice or actual competition, athletes should land on both feet in a semi-squat or athletic stance; a stiff-legged stance increases the risk of injury
Preventing knee injuries
The next most common volleyball injuries are to the knee, such as ACL tears, tendonitis or meniscus tears. These can be caused by poor landing mechanics, poor hip/core control or lack of strength in the quadricep muscles.
To avoid knee injuries, Haack recommends:
- Warm up by spending a few minutes on side-to-side bounding (also known as the Lateral Heiden)
- Strength training that works on the hips and quadriceps
- During practice and competition, land on both feet in an athletic stance
- The single-leg balance exercises that were discussed for the ankle will also help prevent knee injuries
Preventing shoulder injuries
Injuries of the shoulder are also common, especially for front row players. These can include tendonitis in the rotator cuff, shoulder labral tears and shoulder instability.
Haack recommends proper stretching and warm-ups focused on activating and strengthening the muscles that protect the shoulder. Using resistance bands is an effective way to do this, particularly with exercises like the "No Money" exercise and “Band Pull-Aparts”.
- No Money Exercise: Hold a resistance band with both hands, elbows bent at 90 degrees and tucked at your sides. Rotate your hands outward while keeping your elbows in place, then return to the start and repeat.
- Band Pull-Aparts: Hold a resistance band at shoulder height with arms extended. Pull the band apart by moving your hands outward until your shoulder blades squeeze together, then return to the start and repeat.
During game competition, especially while cocking the arm to serve or attack the ball, Haack suggests keeping the elbow at or just below shoulder height.
“If your elbow is too high,” he says, “it puts your shoulder in a weaker, more vulnerable position.”
Should you experience an injury while playing volleyball, Haack advises paying close attention to your symptoms.
“It’s not always a good idea to play through pain,” Haack says. “Especially if the pain is increasing, it’s really important to get it checked out rather than risking something more serious,” he says.
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