Volleyball injuries

General Advice

Common injuries encountered whilst playing volleyball include:

• sprained ankle - a poor landing can cause the body to go over on the foot causing a lateral ankle sprain
• back injury - repeated hyperextension (arching backwards) of the lower back when serving and blocking irritates the joints on either side of the spinal column, which are called the facet joints, and over time can cause pain
• finger injury - finger sprains and sometimes fractures and dislocations can occur when spiking and blocking
• shoulder injuries - in common with all sports requiring overhead action, shoulder rotator cuff tears and shoulder impingement can occur. The suprascapular nerve may become compressed causing specific weakness.
• knee injury - the most common volleyball knee injury is patella tendonitis otherwise known as jumpers knee. The patella tendon attaches the knee cap and thus the quadriceps muscle to the tibia (shin bone) it has to work hard when jumping and landing and repeated stress can lead to tendon pain.

Every injury is unique, so to help you self manage your volleyball injury, we encourage you to first explore our injury advice and read our articles.

To greatly improve your chance in succeeding the self management of your injury, our expert team of Chartered Physiotherapists can help. You can choose a physio, with the specialist skills to provide you with a personalised treatment programme

Articles

• Ankle Exercises for Weak or Unstable Ankles

  by Jane Hodgson 29 September 2010

  Ankle exercises  increase strength, stability and reduce pain. Up to 30% of ankles which have been sprained will go on have long term problems, ankle exercises can reduce these problems.

• Knee Pain Info. Pes Anserinus Bursitis a Common Cause of Medial Knee Pain

  by Jane Hodgson 19 May 2010

  Pes anserine bursitis is a common, but frequently under diagnosed, cause of medial knee pain. Causing pain, and sometimes swelling on the area at the top of the shin bone on the inside of the knee, frequent cutting and pivoting movements such as those used when playing basketball, football and rugby can make an individual more likely to develop pes anserine bursitis.

• Uses and Benefits of an Exercise Disc Balance Cushion

  by Jane Hodgson 5 May 2010

  An exercise disc balance cushion, which is also sometimes known as a stability disc or wobble cushion, is used to improve balance, strengthen core stability and help children who have special educational needs.

• Sprained Ankle Treatment

  by Jane Hodgson 5 March 2010

  A sprained ankle is one of the most common leg injuries. Getting the correct sprained ankle treatment will help the injury to heal quicker and prevent reoccurrence.

• Wobble Board Benefits - Ankle Sprain Rehab

  by Jane Hodgson 9 January 2010

  Wobble board benefits include increasing ankle proprioception and ankle strength. Such post ankle sprain rehab decreases the likleyhood of repeated sprain.

• Achilles Tendon Pain Syndrome

  by Jane Hodgson 3 July 2009

  Achilles tendon pain is a common overuse injury, precipitated by a number of factors including change in training, inappropriate footwear, and altered foot pain it can be treated effectively with ice, stretches, and eccentric strengthening exercises.

• The Anterior Cruciate Ligament

  by Jane Hodgson 12 January 2009

  It is one of the main stabilising ligaments of the knee and injury to the anterior cruciate ligament will lead to feelings of instability in the knee. Symptoms can be helped with strengthening and exercises

• Rotator cuff injury: A Cause of Shoulder Pain

  by Jane Hodgson 12 September 2008

  Rotator cuff is the collective name for the four muscles that attach the scapula (shoulder blade) to the humerus (upper arm bone). As a whole the rotator cuff stabilises the shoulder joint and facilitates its movement.
  

• Sprained, swollen and turned ankle

  by Jane Hodgson 2 May 2008

  A sprained, swollen or turned ankle is one of the most commonly occurring injuries to the leg. Determining the severity of the sprain is the key to assessing the correct course of treatment.

• Helping to heal an injury with ice

  by Jane Hodgson 20 April 2008

  It is common to help heal an injury with ice. Deciding whether you should apply ice rather than heat, and for how long can make the difference between helping to heal your injury and making it worse.