People often say that they have to tape or strap before sport because their flexible and don’t want to roll their ankle – well they may be onto something! A study investigated if there was a connection between hypermobility and injury in netball and the results are in!
Netball is a popular sport but unfortunately it is not without it’s injuries. It is one of the top five sports associated with sporting injruies in Australian children – particularly injuries to the ankle. A NSW study in 2005 investigated if there was a link between hypermobility and injuries in junior (ages between 6-16) netball.
Hypermobility is when a joint has a greater range of motion or laxity than typical for that joint. The study used a standard measurement for this that takes into account the mobility at multiple joints and assessed how hypermobile players were.
The study found that there WAS a correlation between hypermobility and injuries. Players who were more hypermobile tended to have more injuries.
This means that even if a young player has not had any injuries but is hypermobile, they would likely benefit from strengthening and stabilising exercises to help prevent injury.
For further support or advice, please contact our physios for specialist assistance.
Title: The Link Between Hypermobility and Injury in Junior Netballers
Source: Smith, R., Damodaran, A. K., Swaminathan, S., Campbell, R., & Barnsley, L. (2005). Hypermobility and sports injuries in junior netball players. British journal of sports medicine, 39(9), 628-631.
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