The effect of a shoulder injury prevention programme on proprioception and dynamic stability of young volleyball players; a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: The “FIFA 11 + Shoulder” programme has been reported to reduce the incidence of upper extremity injuries among soccer goalkeepers. It has also been recommended for overhead sports. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of an 8-week “FIFA 11 + shoulder” (11 + S) programme on shoulder joint position sense (JPS), threshold to detect passive motion (TTDPM) and upper quarter Y Balance Test in young male volleyball players. METHODS: Thirty-two healthy young elite male volleyball players (17.49 ± 1.47 years) participated in this quasi-experimental study. Participants, recruited from two clubs participating in Iranian premier league, were randomly assigned into two groups; (1) the intervention group who performed the “FIFA 11 + shoulder” programme as their warm up protocol, three times per week, and (2) the control group who kept their routine warm up protocol meanwhile. Proprioception tests including JPS and TTDPM of internal and external rotator muscles of the dominant shoulder were recorded via the isokinetic system pro 4. The upper quarter Y Balance Test determined the shoulder dynamic stability. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed for JPS and TTDPM of shoulder internal and external rotator muscles; shoulder stability however significantly increased only in the intervention group (p = 0.03, ηp(2)=0.02). CONCLUSION: Upper quarter dynamic stability improvement due to the 11+S programme leads to volleyball players’ performance and may therefore contribute to a reduction in risk of sustaining injury if applied long-term. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was retrospectively registered atIranian Registry of Clinical Trials with the number of IRCT20201030049193N1 at 04/12/2020.