Handball Injuries: Why Fatigue Matters

Ever noticed how handball players often get injured towards the end of a match? Well, fatigue might be the culprit. When you're tired, your body's awareness of its position and movement, known as proprioception, can drop. This makes it harder to control your limbs properly, heightening the risk of injuries like shoulder issues. Scientists took a closer look at this. They wanted to find out how fatigue from concentric exercises (think of lifting a weight and then lowering it slowly) affects proprioception, motor control, and overall performance of the upper limb in handball players. The study aimed to shed light on why those late-game injuries happen so frequently. The researchers believed that fatigue could weaken the body's ability to sense its own movements and control them effectively. This could lead to poor performance and increase the chance of injuries. By understanding these links, they hoped to provide insights for better training and injury prevention.