Epidemiology of Sports Injuries in Basketball, Volleyball, and Handball in Iran: A Systematic Review

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the scientific structure of studies related to basketball, volleyball, and handball injuries and to make a good compilation and provide more relevant information from the previous Iranian studies.

The search for articles was performed in specialized databases and 22 articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

The results showed that most of the injuries in basketball, volleyball, and handball occur in the lower extremities, which is more of the sprain type, which includes ankle sprain and rupture of knee ligaments. Also, the results of the study showed that contact with an opponent and not warming before the practice was considered as the most important cause of injury in these sport fields.

By studying the research on basketball, volleyball, and handball sports in Iran, it has been shown that there are many conflicts in the reports. One of the conflicts that can be noted is that each of the researches used different patterns and terms for the type of injury, definition of injury, severity of injury, location of injury, and mechanisms of injury. This incompatibility of terms makes it difficult to reach a conclusion. It is possible that with correct training, sufficient warming up before competition, and practice by coaches and reviewing rules, especially in handball, as preventive measures, the effects of these measures on reducing injuries in these fields be understood in future studies.